People heading to property in Italy on holiday could choose to add a stopover in another EU country by checking the available routes on code share flights.

According to research from travelsupermarket.com, code share flights – where a seat on one airline's plane is booked through another operator – can lead to the same journey being available at substantially different prices.

The issue is most likely to arise with non-direct flights, meaning those planning a stopover on their way to property in Italy or other destinations could find they can benefit from shopping around on code share routes.

Nadine Hallak, travel expert at Cheapflights, adds that this could also lead to the chance to spend some time in the intermediate country, if the wait between flights is relatively long.

"If the stopover exceeds three hours, passengers could utilise the time to leave the airport and explore the city," she suggests.

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