Air to Barcelona?

Hi everyone......We are going on our 1st Med. cruise and I am starting to look for air Boston to Barcelona. I know it will be a red-eye and I try to avoid stops but this time it is not possible. Could some of you that have flown to Europe tell me some of the better airports to stop in? And some of the worst, too. We had an awful experience in Atlanta 2 yrs.ago flying back from Guatemala and nearly missed our connecting flight home, and I had given it much thought and plenty of time too. I'm willing to try any airline and there are no non-stops from here, so I hope I can get some advice from all you folks with experience. Thanks so much.........Patti

Frankfurt Germany is your best bet . Many planes stop here always had a good experience.

Hi everyone......We are going on our 1st Med. cruise and I am starting to look for air Boston to Barcelona. I know it will be a red-eye and I try to avoid stops but this time it is not possible. Could some of you that have flown to Europe tell me some of the better airports to stop in? And some of the worst, too. We had an awful experience in Atlanta 2 yrs.ago flying back from Guatemala and nearly missed our connecting flight home, and I had given it much thought and plenty of time too. I'm willing to try any airline and there are no non-stops from here, so I hope I can get some advice from all you folks with experience. Thanks so much.........Patti

If you would rather connect in the US, depending on your date of travel, you can usually get nonstops from Newark, Philadelphia, and JFK

Hi everyone......We are going on our 1st Med. cruise and I am starting to look for air Boston to Barcelona. I know it will be a red-eye and I try to avoid stops but this time it is not possible. Could some of you that have flown to Europe tell me some of the better airports to stop in? And some of the worst, too. We had an awful experience in Atlanta 2 yrs.ago flying back from Guatemala and nearly missed our connecting flight home, and I had given it much thought and plenty of time too. I'm willing to try any airline and there are no non-stops from here, so I hope I can get some advice from all you folks with experience. Thanks so much.........Patti

Check out "ITA Matrix" on the web for all of your options. Also, consider flying Star Alliance partner airlines (e.g., United, Lufthansa, et al.) for the greatest flexibility.

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Try Norwegian Airlines. I believe they stop in London. We have used them when traveling on 1 way flights for our Transatlantic cruises.

My favourite airport for a connection in recent years has been Zurich/ZRH. Swiss flies BOS-ZRH-BCN.

That said, for me the connection airport is only part of the equation. While important, I don't just focus on airports but look at the total package (price, comfort, etc.)

Hi everyone......We are going on our 1st Med. cruise and I am starting to look for air Boston to Barcelona. I know it will be a red-eye and I try to avoid stops but this time it is not possible. Could some of you that have flown to Europe tell me some of the better airports to stop in? And some of the worst, too. We had an awful experience in Atlanta 2 yrs.ago flying back from Guatemala and nearly missed our connecting flight home, and I had given it much thought and plenty of time too. I'm willing to try any airline and there are no non-stops from here, so I hope I can get some advice from all you folks with experience. Thanks so much.........Patti

I went to Barcelona through Miami, on American Airlines... would guess it is easy to go from Boston to Miami, then to Barcelona.

If this was me I would also post this on the Cruise Air Board where there are several experts on flying who can give you advice and also suggest some web sites to search flights.

Cruise Air is at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=128

Keith

You don't mention what cruise line you will be on. But have you considered checking on flight arrangements thru your cruise line?

I just booked one way flights to Barcelona thru Princess Cruises EZAir for just over $400 apiece. There were numerous flights available on a variety of airlines, and with their flexible option, the flights don't have to be paid for until final payment, and if a better fare is found, one can cancel and rebook with no change fee. I get to choose the timing that suits me best, and also which airports I prefer to have layovers in.

I have used EZAir a number of times for international flights to and/or from cruises. I can book online, and make changes online anytime up to 45 days before the first leg of the flight.

I avoid going thru JFK because it's an extremely busy and crowded madhouse!! And if you're returning to the US via JFK, the walk from the gates to passport control is VERY long, and the lines to get thru passport control are also VERY long!

Thanks so much everyone for the quick replies. Keith, thanks for telling me about the cruise air threads, I will try to write my request on there, too. I didn't look into cruise air because we are going 3 days ahead to see Barcelona and we got a hotel inclusion with our trip package. I did cruise air once back in 2001 and was not that happy with it. I like to pick my times, seats, etc. and like to know waaaaay ahead what the plan is. I've been trying to avoid JFK for connections for many reasons, although quite a few flights do that route. Will keep looking but want to book soon. We are going the first week in May and I don't see the prices getting any better....Patti

We flew Pittsburgh to Philadelphia then direct to Barcelona.

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Search here:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

You can use this to play around with dates and cities.

Personally, I’d rather connect in Europe. I can’t think of any airport I’d avoid there, and I’ve been through all the major ones.

When you find what works for you, book directly with the airline.

When we flew Barcelona to boston, we flew Lufthansa via Frankfurt. It was fine. On our first trip to Europe we felt more comfortable having our connection in Newark, but are over that fear!

Check out Norwegian Airlines.

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Check out Norwegian Airlines.

 

 

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OP’s cruise is 06 May to 13 May, and she’s leaving a couple of days early,

Norwegian flies BOS-BCN only on Saturdays in May, with a connection at LHR.

I Agree with those that suggest FRA, (or Munich) and ZUR. Swiss and Lufthansa are both great to fly with decent options out of Boston. When travelling to Europe i always connect across the pond. Shorter distance to go if a missed connection on the outbound and on the return you go through customs back in Boston.

LOL I was going to tell you to avoid Frankfurt if possible. Goes to show you everyone has different experiences :) If you do go through Frankfurt, give yourself LOTS of time to connect

I'd also prefer to avoid Frankfurt. It's not a bad airport but it's so big that it can take a lot of time to get between gates when you are unlucky.

Also, they have a lot if "gates" where you are bussed to or from the plane instead of a real gate with a jetway.

Munich is a better size.

But so many flights go through Frankfurt that I often end up connecting there.

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We are flying from Detroit to Philadelphia. Evening flight from philly to Brcelona getting in round 9 am Barcelona time. American Airlines

I think Frankfurt is was to nasty and it was difficult for us to navigate in the terminal. Worse than Newark use to be.