Puglia's whitewashed masserie and orecchiette-laden trattorias are finally drawing the kind of traveler who won't slum it through the journey there, and that's precisely why routing matters so much on this itinerary. There is no nonstop option: business class from West Palm Beach to Bari always requires at least one connection, typically through Atlanta or JFK on Delta, or via Rome and Frankfurt on ITA Airways and Lufthansa respectively. My preferred build is Delta out of PBI to JFK or Atlanta, then a transatlantic hop in Delta One to Rome, followed by a short intra-Italy connection on ITA down to Bari—Delta's widebody product (the newer suites with sliding doors on 767s and A330s/A350s) makes the long leg genuinely restful. Lufthansa routings via Frankfurt work too, and if you're lucky enough to land one of their retrofitted Allegris cabins, it's worth the extra connection, though availability on this specific pairing is still limited as the rollout continues fleet-wide.
The real craft is in the final descent into Puglia. ITA Airways operates the Rome-Bari or Milan-Bari legs typically on narrowbody Airbus A320-family aircraft, so don't expect lie-flat seating on that segment—treat it as a short regional hop and save your energy for the transatlantic leg. My insider tip: build in a 3-4 hour layover in Rome Fiumicino rather than a tight connection, because ITA's Bari flights are notoriously schedule-shifted a few weeks before departure, and a buffer saves you from a missed connection and an unplanned night near the airport. Also, if flying Delta through JFK, request an early boarding time slot for TSA PreCheck lines at Terminal 4—summer crowds there rival anything in Europe.
Seasonally, April, May, September, and October are your sweet spot—not just for lighter crowds in Puglia's old town, but because transatlantic business fares to Italy generally soften once the peak June-August rush passes and before December holiday demand kicks in. Given how erratic fare releases are on connecting itineraries like this one, setting up automated price tracking for the PBI-BRI corridor is the smartest move you can make before booking.
