BOS-BCN Delta flight advice

Hi,

 

Prices have come down for my flight to what I was hoping to pay (around $1250). This price includes seats in Economy Comfort for the JFK-BCN flights only. I didn't bother to check the prices between BOS-JFK figuring we could handle the 1 hour or so in straight economy. If the flight is acceptable I will price it out.

 

Does this fare sound reasonable to you? I read that the best time to shop for international flights is about 6 months prior. This is more like 9 1/2. Do you think the flight could come down even more if I wait?

 

The first leg has a 55 minute layover to change planes at JFK. Is this enough time? Return has almost 3 hours between flights. Is this enough time to make it through customs or is that done in Boston when we reach our final destination?

 

BOS-BCN

DL 793 BOS-JFK 717-200

DL 476 JFK-BCN Airbus 330-300

 

BCN-BOS

DL 477 BCN-JFK Airbus 330-300

DL 445 JFK-BOS 717-200

 

 

Thanks!

 

Sheal

I read that the best time to shop for international flights is about 6 months prior.

I don't know why anyone gives any credence to stuff like this. If it were true that fares for a flight are cheapest around six months before the flight, why would anyone ever buy a ticket at any other time?

 

The trick is to know what is a good price for the trip you want to do, and to buy the ticket when you see a price that you like. It sounds like you've already got yourself a long way down that road.

 

Others will have to tell you what they think of the connection times, but on that itinerary you will have to clear immigration and customs at JFK before boarding the JFK-BOS flight.

The price might come down, but it could also double. In my opinion, if the price is where it's comfortable for you, book it and don't look back.

Not sure when you're going to BCN, but we are flying round trip from Syracuse NY to BCN, and changing planes at JFK each way. Our flight numbers from JFK to BCN and back are also 476 and 477.

 

Our cruise out of BCN is early next May, and I booked our flights in Economy Comfort at the end of July which was also about 9-months out. We are happy with the $1157 each round trip we received, plus, the additional $128 per person extra for Economy Comfort seating both ways.

 

Dave

 

 

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Thanks.

 

I am comfortable with it, just not sure on the transfer time on the leg out.

 

Hopefully someone familiar with JFK will see this.

 

Our flight is the end of May, I have been looking since we booked and the prices finally came down.

 

Sheal

I would not be comfortable with that connection to an international at JFK. Isn't there an earlier flight from BOS?

The fare seems fine for now. Adding EC is worth every penny on a long haul.

The connection time at JFK for your departure is not optimum. While you can almost always count on a schedule change with Delta, and any other major for that matter, it's a little risky. The ground time on your return is reasonable.

If you are only looking at pricing, change your search to Schedule and look at your options there. If you have a Delta frequent flyer number look both with and without entering your number and clear your cookies after each search. It's a tedious process but can often provide the best results. If you have access to more than one computer you can also do multiple searches at the same time....Delta is tricky that way.

Hello...I guess I have the same question from my post above as it relates to the amount if time we have to change planes.

 

We fly next May from Syracuse NY to JFK at 4:45-PM and arrive at JFK at 6:10-PM. Then we change planes to an A-330-300 and depart at 7:45-PM to Barcelona.

 

This itinerary was on the Delta website as an entire roundtrip choice.

 

Is thus enough time, or, should we try and change our time from Syr to JFK too?

 

And if so, will I get socked with a huge fee? This flight wasn't something we did A La Carte.

 

Our return flight back is fine with 6-hours in between flights.

 

Thanks

Dave

 

 

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Hello...I guess I have the same question from my post above as it relates to the amount if time we have to change planes.

 

We fly next May from Syracuse NY to JFK at 4:45-PM and arrive at JFK at 6:10-PM. Then we change planes to an A-330-300 and depart at 7:45-PM to Barcelona.

 

This itinerary was on the Delta website as an entire roundtrip choice.

 

Is thus enough time, or, should we try and change our time from Syr to JFK too?

 

And if so, will I get socked with a huge fee? This flight wasn't something we did A La Carte.

 

Our return flight back is fine with 6-hours in between flights.

 

Thanks

Dave

 

 

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I prefer to be at the gateway airport three hours (or more) before my flight leaves on international flights. It gives me time to deal with delays without totally stressing. I like to arrive at the airport, have a nice meal, and then board and settle in for the trip.

 

The times will change at least once between now and then. Wait until you are notified of a change and then call and they will usually be happy to get you on an earlier flight with no charge in this type of scenario.

Hello ducklite...Thanks for the helpful information. I did all of our flight booking on the Delta website. So, I will watch to see if there are any changes, then call. Luckily, out of our 4-flights, only the one flight from Syracuse to JFK is tight, and needs to be modified.

 

Thanks again

Dave

Hello ducklite...Thanks for the helpful information. I did all of our flight booking on the Delta website. So, I will watch to see if there are any changes, then call. Luckily, out of our 4-flights, only the one flight from Syracuse to JFK is tight, and needs to be modified.

 

Thanks again

Dave

 

Did you know that Hancock gets more snow than any other US commercial airport yet on average closes less than 24 total hours per year as a result of bad weather? (I lived in Liverpool for a few years.)

I did look and Delta has a flight out of Boston with a 3 1/2 hour layover.

 

ducklite,

 

We, too, usually have dinner while we are waiting. And your comment about delays reminded me that my in-laws missed their flight to BCN once when their 1st leg was delayed.

 

I briefly considered driving as the time spent to get to BOS, wait there, fly and then sit again at JFK doesn't sound like much fun. Sitting in NY traffic trying to catch a flight sounds like even less fun.

 

The joy of flying.

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

Sheal

Do you think the flight could come down even more if I wait?

 

The first leg has a 55 minute layover to change planes at JFK. Is this enough time? Return has almost 3 hours between flights. Is this enough time to make it through customs or is that done in Boston when we reach our final destination?

 

 

Yes, I think prices could come down if you wait. I also think they could go up if you wait. Bottom line is, you just never know.

 

Personally, I would not be comfortable with a 55 minute connect to an international flight. That flight will be boarding when your inbound arrives, the boarding door usually shuts 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure, (which means it's really about a 45 minute connect) so even a minor delay out of Syracuse could put you in a bad situation. As Ducklite says, if there is a schedule change, you can usually get rebooked without charge. If not, then I believe it's $250/person to change an international ticket with Delta, or maybe it's gone to $300, I forget. I'd wait for the time being and hope that they move your first flight up or 2nd one back a bit so you have a legitimate reason to have them change it without charge.

 

On your return, your will clear immigration and customs when you first land in the US, which in your case will be at JFK, not BOS.

Edited September 9, 2014 by waterbug123

Thank you both. We are coming from BOS to JFK but with the way you both described it it makes the connecting flight sound almost impossible to make with out sweating it out the entire time.

 

I think they are doing a huge disservice, to those of us unfamiliar with connections, to offer flights that could prove to be disastrous.

 

I am fine with the price, my budget was $1500 with a hope of finding a fare around $1200. My FIL was glad to hear that he will have that 4 extra inches of legroom.

 

Sheal

 

I think they are doing a huge disservice, to those of us unfamiliar with connections, to offer flights that could prove to be disastrous.

 

 

Then again, most of the time everything would be fine and you would make it, no problem. You wouldn't have a lot of time to dilly dally, but you'd make it. The trick is that you just never know if your flight will be the one that happens to get delayed. For a domestic, non-cruise related connection, I'd worry about it a whole lot less. But when you're trying to get to an international flight that doesn't run every hour or two, and you're trying to get to a cruise with a set departure date, it does make things stressful to have a short connection.

I think they are doing a huge disservice, to those of us unfamiliar with connections, to offer flights that could prove to be disastrous.

To those who matter most to airlines, ie the business passengers who pay big fares, a time saving can make a particular itinerary much more attractive. That's why they're prioritised in the display compared to itineraries that have longer connection times. No connection will be allowed unless it exceeds the official Minimum Connection Time for that journey. Those passengers know, as waterbug123 says, that most times you'd be fine.

 

So far from this being a disservice, this is a benefit to people who want it. They'd miss these options if they weren't offered.

 

If you want a longer connection time, it's almost always possible to choose a different connection option instead.

 

And missing a connection is very rarely disastrous. Except in unusual circumstances, your worst case scenario is a 24-hour delay, which is something that could easily happen even if you don't miss any connections.