Airline Choices

[fshagan]

We decided to celebrate our 35th anniversary with a 7-Day RT cruise out of Barcelona. We will fly into Barcelona early so we'll have 2 full days to walk around a bit and get over the flights.

 

From Los Angeles, we're finding the best flight itineraries are on either Continental, Lufthansa or British Airways. Lufthansa and British Airways fly larger jets for the longer leg of the trip (A340 or 747 from LAX). With them, the first "overnight" leg of the trip is to Frankfurt or London, a 10+ hour flight.

 

Continental is flying smaller aircraft, 737 and 757's, although each leg of the trip is shorter (6 hours to Newark, then 7 hours to Barcelona). Continental is a few hundred dollars cheaper, and it looks like the reason is they are not paying high taxes in either London or Frankfurt.

 

I know what to expect from Continental, the standard US airline experience. But I've never flown either Lufthansa (a United partner, and we could get miles!), or British Airways. Both Lufthansa and BA allow one checked bag without an additional charge; I think Continental will stick us with baggage fees, but we travel light so that's less of a concern.

 

Does anyone have experience with these three carriers on their long haul flights? I can't seem to find out if any of them have entertainment options in the seat back in coach, if the service is better than a US airline, etc.

[stevesinps]

What are the dates of the cruise?

[-Lew-]

Personally, I'd try to avoid connecting at Heathrow if at all possible. Although I've never connected in Frankfurt, I have heard good things. My daughter connected there on her way to and from Naples last year and said it couldn't have been easier.

 

I'd most likely pick Continental...shorter flights, lower cost. It's a no-brainer.

 

If you do decide to go with a foreign airline, be sure the flight isn't a code share. Your confirmation may say Lufthansa, but you may be flying United.

 

Lew

[AndyRusty]

I have travelled BA from Australia to London many times, a 24 hour flight with a two hour stopover in Singapore.

BA is as good as the other airlines I have travelled on. I have not travelled Continental or Lufthansa on an international flight but after traveling with them on domestic flights I expect BA is of the same standard.

[~Fianna]

I know what to expect from Continental, the standard US airline experience. But I've never flown either Lufthansa (a United partner, and we could get miles!), or British Airways. Both Lufthansa and BA allow one checked bag without an additional charge; I think Continental will stick us with baggage fees, but we travel light so that's less of a concern.

 

As of today, no US carrier is charging bag fees on international itineraries. This means any itinerary that's ticketed through. When we leave Vegas, we always go to a gateway and even our domestic luggage isn't charged because we're on a leg of an internationally ticketed flight.

 

Generally, even the US carriers are still offering much better service on trans-continental flights than on domestic flights. Food is still free and on Delta (cheap) wine with the dinner meal has been free.

 

Of course, this is always subject to change.

 

~Fianna

[fshagan]

What are the dates of the cruise?

 

NCL Jade, Oct-24-2010, but we'll be leaving LAX on Wednesday, Oct-20. The return is on Sunday, Oct-31; we don't plan to stay an extra day in Barcelona after embarkation, so we need a return flight that is after 10am.

[fshagan]

Thanks, ~Fianna, you are right. Continental has a chart at their site that says they don't charge for the first checked bag on flights from the US to Europe.

 

AndyRusty - thanks for the comments on BA. If they were substantially better, I would pay more. I did find that the seat pitch is the same as Continental, so the comfort level is probably about the same.

 

-Lew-, I've heard Heathrow can be a zoo. I've also heard that Frankfurt is a better connection airport because it is easier.

 

I need to check with my better half to see if she's more comfortable with two flights under 8 hours or a long flight/short flight combo. I suspect we'll be choosing Continental on this one (and saving the extra $160 to $300 that the other carriers would cost).

[Kerry's Girls]

I've flown BA from Los Angeles and loved the service and entertainment options in coach (individual tvs with free movies, etc.), and I actually had no problem with Heathrow, but on our last trip to Barcelona we chose AA through JFK because it was cheaper. It was not as comfortable or enjoyable, but the savings were worth it. We fly back to Barcelona in June and are doing Continental because of the savings, but our savings were a lot more significant than yours. Not sure what I would do in your situation. Also to consider is that when we flew American, we had to clear customs when we landed back in New York on the return. It was kind of a pain to have to gather all the luggage and deal with customs in the middle of the trip, but then nice once we landed in LA to be able to just go.

 

Sorry I'm not that much help. If it were me, for a little more cost I'd probably do British Air because of the large wide-body planes with on-demand entertainment, but there are positives and negatives to both itineraries. If there are just two of you, does Continental have rows with 2 seats? It's always nice not to have to share a row with strangers, and I'm pretty sure BA has a minimum of 3 seats per row section.

 

We had such an amazing time on that Jade cruise. I hope to do it again soon. We were not able to find a return flight after 10:00 am so ended up staying another day.

 

Best,

Mia

[fshagan]

I've flown BA from Los Angeles and loved the service and entertainment options in coach (individual tvs with free movies' date=' etc.), and I actually had no problem with Heathrow, but on our last trip to Barcelona we chose AA through JFK because it was cheaper. It was not as comfortable or enjoyable, but the savings were worth it. We fly back to Barcelona in June and are doing Continental because of the savings, but our savings were a lot more significant than yours. Not sure what I would do in your situation. Also to consider is that when we flew American, we had to clear customs when we landed back in New York on the return. It was kind of a pain to have to gather all the luggage and deal with customs in the middle of the trip, but then nice once we landed in LA to be able to just go.

[/quote']

 

I'm thinking the schedule of two flights under 8 hours would make the smaller aircraft bearable. I think the seating configuration on both the 737 and 757 are 3-3 in coach, but I'll check that out. Its been a long time since I was able to fly with an empty middle seat!

 

Sorry I'm not that much help. If it were me' date=' for a little more cost I'd probably do British Air because of the large wide-body planes with on-demand entertainment, but there are positives and negatives to both itineraries. If there are just two of you, does Continental have rows with 2 seats? It's always nice not to have to share a row with strangers, and I'm pretty sure BA has a minimum of 3 seats per row section.

 

We had such an amazing time on that Jade cruise. I hope to do it again soon. We were not able to find a return flight after 10:00 am so ended up staying another day.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

You've been very helpful! I'm still searching to see if I can beat the airfare I've found so far ... its actually more than the cruise itself which seems insane, but that's the way things are, I guess.

[chipmaster]

Congrats!

 

Have a look I believe that Delta and US Air also fly into Barcelona

 

US Air: LAX to Philly then to Barcelona

Delta: LAX to Atlanta then to Barcelona

 

have a wonderful anniversary!

 

We decided to celebrate our 35th anniversary with a 7-Day RT cruise out of Barcelona. We will fly into Barcelona early so we'll have 2 full days to walk around a bit and get over the flights.

 

From Los Angeles, we're finding the best flight itineraries are on either Continental, Lufthansa or British Airways. Lufthansa and British Airways fly larger jets for the longer leg of the trip (A340 or 747 from LAX). With them, the first "overnight" leg of the trip is to Frankfurt or London, a 10+ hour flight.

 

Continental is flying smaller aircraft, 737 and 757's, although each leg of the trip is shorter (6 hours to Newark, then 7 hours to Barcelona). Continental is a few hundred dollars cheaper, and it looks like the reason is they are not paying high taxes in either London or Frankfurt.

 

I know what to expect from Continental, the standard US airline experience. But I've never flown either Lufthansa (a United partner, and we could get miles!), or British Airways. Both Lufthansa and BA allow one checked bag without an additional charge; I think Continental will stick us with baggage fees, but we travel light so that's less of a concern.

 

Does anyone have experience with these three carriers on their long haul flights? I can't seem to find out if any of them have entertainment options in the seat back in coach, if the service is better than a US airline, etc.

[financialgrl]

I had similar problems of flights to Barcelona. In my case, I'd have to go to NJ/NY with a very long layover and then fly an overnight on to Barcelona. Instead I booked two separate flights. I'll take a nonstop morning flight to Heathrow, spend the night at an airport hotel and then fly the final 2 hour leg on to Barcelona the next morning. To do otherwise from Washingotn DC means at least a 16 hour day just on planes and in airports waiting for connecting flights until I got to Barcelona. I will be spending an additional 2 days in Barcelona pre cruise so hoping by then my ole bod is acclimated to the jet lag/time changes.

 

This option is a total of 9 hours split up 7 hours to London and the 2 to Spain but I also like that both are nonstops. Maybe not all flights but I think a lot of international flights now have the small TVs on the backs of the seats in front of them. I didn't see it listed on my flight to London but friends that have taken that same flight say they are on it - time flies by much faster when there is something to keep you occupied!

[Kerry's Girls]

 

 

You've been very helpful! I'm still searching to see if I can beat the airfare I've found so far ... its actually more than the cruise itself which seems insane, but that's the way things are, I guess.

 

For our trip to Barcelona this June, I ended up finding the cheapest airfare with cheapo air. We fly LAX/BCN on Continental and then on Air Canada back (a flight leaving BCN at 11ish that goes through Toronto). Cheapo has mixed reviews on Trip Adivsor, but I had no problem - I've confirmed our reservations and our specific seats with the airlines directly, so we're all set.

 

Best,

Mia

[English_in_Spain]

I would avoid booking British Airways until the threat of strikes is over. I am sure it will all be settled by the time you travel but why take the gamble.

[fshagan]

I'm not sure if BA has more contracts coming up, but the latest press release says they have an agreement to avoid a strike from the current union negotiations. That will be over by the time we fly.

 

The one thing that is in favor of BA and a Heathrow connection is that BA has a lot of flights out of there to BCN, and they are good at putting you on another carrier if they have to do so to get you to your destination. I don't know how many flights Continental has from Newark to BCN, but if you miss a connection it could be dicey getting there the same day. I'll look into that.

 

The pricing is changing by the minute on Continental; every time I log on I get a slightly different price. I checked ElCheapo and found the same thing I found on some of the other sites, flights with 5+ hours in a layover. Some of the flights take 32 hours to get you back to LAX from Barcelona. Swiss Air has some good flights (and a good reputation), but I don't see any flights after 10 AM.

[chipmaster]

My 2cents is take the first flight out of LAX into Newark, Kennedy, Atlanta or Philly the major carriers out of LAX usually have an early and a later but still early AM that get into the US airport either 2 to as much as 4 hours before the daily international deperature goes. If you go in summer thunderstorms and other weather can wreck havoc with late PM schedules but being on the first flight usually is pretty good you will and way before the international takes off. Very very rarely do the daily internatiionals get canceled. I thought long and hard about the same international transfer and decided somehow I trusted US change and luggage transfer versus Frankfurt/Amsterdam/Heathrow options, but that was just me.

 

You are flying in a couple days earlier so connect miss is a huge inconvenience but not a show stopper.

 

I agree flying the smaller 757 and 767 suck for amenties like private entertainment and carryon space, but you shoudl be sleeping anyways ;)

 

Good luck,

 

I'm not sure if BA has more contracts coming up, but the latest press release says they have an agreement to avoid a strike from the current union negotiations. That will be over by the time we fly.

 

The one thing that is in favor of BA and a Heathrow connection is that BA has a lot of flights out of there to BCN, and they are good at putting you on another carrier if they have to do so to get you to your destination. I don't know how many flights Continental has from Newark to BCN, but if you miss a connection it could be dicey getting there the same day. I'll look into that.

 

The pricing is changing by the minute on Continental; every time I log on I get a slightly different price. I checked ElCheapo and found the same thing I found on some of the other sites, flights with 5+ hours in a layover. Some of the flights take 32 hours to get you back to LAX from Barcelona. Swiss Air has some good flights (and a good reputation), but I don't see any flights after 10 AM.

[fshagan]

Thanks, everyone. I am learning a bit more. We had planned on arriving Thursday and spending 2 full days in Barcelona before we set sail on Sunday, and then flying home the following Sunday when the ship docks. But arriving on Friday and staying overnight in Barcelona after our cruise saves us $700 on airfare if we use Swiss International. That's very tempting; tickets are ~$1700 rather than ~$2400. That's probably the way we'll go.

 

I also like the 2-4-2 seating on the A340s that SWISS flies.

[lksyr]

I LOVE BA, but I've not connected through Heathrow in over a decade---just flown to London as my destination. I've heard that Heathrow is a pain to connect through though, so I probably would veto BA for my own flight for that reason.

 

I'm constantly checking flights to BCN from Chicago for my October cruise on the Jade. The rates have been pretty static for the last month or so---the European airlines have cheaper base rates but sky-high taxes compared to sky-high base rates and lower taxes for domestic airlines. I'm hoping United, American or Continental will drop their rates in the next couple months. I have June in mind as a deadline to buy flights. As someone mentioned, it's disturbing for the flight to cost more than the cruise!

 

Someone on another thread suggested buying a roundtrip from Chicago to Dublin on Aer Lingus, then get a separate flight from Dublin to Barcelona. The Dublin-BCN fare is cheap, though the Chicago-Dublin is currently not.

[fshagan]

Swiss is the only airline with reasonable travel times and fares at about $850 pp tax included. From LAX, 15 1/2 hours to BCN and 17 1/2 hours on the return. The problem is that the latest flight out of BCN is 9:45; NCL tells me to not schedule anything prior to 10 AM, so we'll stay a night and go the next day (Monday).

 

Everyone else is up around $1100 per person for comparable travel times. There are cheaper fares, but some of them have travel times above 22 hours (long layovers, multiple connections, etc.)

 

Swiss also flies the A340 with a 2-4-2 seating configuration from LAX to Zurich; we can avoid the sweaty middle seat guy problem if we book on them. Continental is flying the 3-3 configuration 757s, and its so rare to get a middle seat empty these days that I'd rather not do the seat roulette thing for long flights.

 

I'm not sure you can do much better than $600 to $800 for the fares any more. Its a little like that game show with all the briefcases, where you bet against the banker ... and you could end up paying $1200 each if rates don't fall.

[lksyr]

I'd jump at $600. Currently from Chicago, the cheapest fare is around $800. That's why I'm watching---though none of the airline specials go that far out yet---I'm hoping something changes. I figure six months out leaves me some wiggle room, but not too much.

[fshagan]

I'd jump at $600. Currently from Chicago, the cheapest fare is around $800. That's why I'm watching---though none of the airline specials go that far out yet---I'm hoping something changes. I figure six months out leaves me some wiggle room, but not too much.

 

Yeah, me too. I don't see anything close to that level yet. Air fares seem to be higher this year.

[fshagan]

Lufthansa has a "spring sale" for flights booked now and taken before May 14 that gives some insight into what "sale" fares are for this route.

 

LAX to Barcelona is listed at $362 each way, plus taxes and fees. $724 before taxes puts it pretty close to the $844 rate I'm seeing on Swiss (a Lufthansa company). It may be that international fares are now up to that level and won't drop too much lower.

[UKBayern]

BA, Swiss and LH are amongst the airlines with the best reputation in Europe. We are a great fan of Swiss, and Zurich airport is medium size, modern and hassle-free, the shops are nice, the airport- and Swiss staff is polite and speak at least 4 languages. You get unbelievable bang for your buck. It often works out as the cheapest deal for us Europeans too. We like flying Swiss and changing in Zurich.

 

That unfortunately cannot be said for LHR. What a nightmare airport! They have one of the worst track-records when it comes to losing your luggage or missed connections due to the complicated layout with the different terminals. I only changed at Frankfurt once, but ran from gate to gate, so have no comparison. Munich airport is great, a bit like Zurich: clean, efficient, medium sized.

 

DH and I were just talking about your different options, and we came to the conclusion that we would prefer the option of changing in Europe above the NY-option any time. The plus would be that you can adjust to European time straight when you arrive, which will probably make the jetlag slightly less.

 

The comment made about how many flights from Newark to BCN there are a day is certainly a good one too. I would not think there are a lot of options if you were to get stuck at Newark. Barcelona is one of the most frequently flown-to destinations within Europe, because of European holidaymakers enjoying its surroundings beaches and city, (a lot of Europeans have holiday homes in the area) and because BCN is a major hub for Iberia.

[fshagan]

BA, Swiss and LH are amongst the airlines with the best reputation in Europe. We are a great fan of Swiss, and Zurich airport is medium size, modern and hassle-free, the shops are nice, the airport- and Swiss staff is polite and speak at least 4 languages. You get unbelievable bang for your buck. It often works out as the cheapest deal for us Europeans too. We like flying Swiss and changing in Zurich.

 

Thanks for the information from a frequent/European traveler. I'm used to busy airports ... changing terminals at LAX can be daunting also ... but losing your luggage would not be pleasant! I have heard that BA will go out of their way to accommodate you when bad things happen. So while I'm not afraid of LHR, especially with a 5 hour layover, I prefer shorter layovers and less hassle. Swiss had the best options for us.

 

I went ahead and booked the flights through Swiss this morning. The price was $100 higher this morning at $949 each, but I see they only have 9 seats at that price (if you select "Check Swiss and Lufthansa" they tell you the number of seats available in each class.) With BA and Continental at $1200 and $1150 each, and the "Spring Sale" fares up around $800 each, I thought I would go ahead and book and put this part of it behind me! Its only money (did I say that?) And the flights are still less than the cruise -- I don't know why that matters, but paying more to fly for 15 hours than you do on a 7 day cruise just seems ludicrous to me!

 

I need to call them to see if we can secure seat assignments; the on-line booking doesn't give you the opportunity to select seats until 24 hours before the flight.

[Desert Cruizers]

My husband & I presently are scheduled with Cruise Air for our Oct 29, 2011 TA sailing out of Barcelona. I am working on our best options.

Option 1: Drive to Los Angelas 2 + Hrs spend 1 night + food etc, would need another Hotel night coming home, then the drive home

Option 2 Use our City, Palm Springs, connect in Dallas to BA thru Heathrow arrive BCN 2:20 Differance in cost = Los Angelas Hotel Stay

Option 3 Arrange flight out of Palm Springs thru Los Angelas for possible better connections & Direct flight from East Coast City & stay with Cruise Air.

[fshagan]

My husband & I presently are scheduled with Cruise Air for our Oct 29, 2011 TA sailing out of Barcelona. I am working on our best options.

Option 1: Drive to Los Angelas 2 + Hrs spend 1 night + food etc, would need another Hotel night coming home, then the drive home

Option 2 Use our City, Palm Springs, connect in Dallas to BA thru Heathrow arrive BCN 2:20 Differance in cost = Los Angelas Hotel Stay

Option 3 Arrange flight out of Palm Springs thru Los Angelas for possible better connections & Direct flight from East Coast City & stay with Cruise Air.

 

You may be able to get a flight from ONT (Ontario, CA), which would be quite a bit closer than LAX. Traffic isn't as bad either from PS to Ontario, so you could drive up the day of the flight.