book now or wait

[Dave4120]

Hello flyer talker ....Thanks for responding to my several, on-going posts.

 

Since we have never flown more than once ever, I've made a point to research our cruise and pre-stay in Barcelona, along with our air arrangements. I must say the hours I've spent so far hasn't bothered me at all. I think it will be a letdown once I'm done.

 

You are so correct about the different titles each airline gives their upgraded seats with additional legroom. I have seen the different names and variations of service from Air France, British Airways, Delta, American, and Lufthansa. These are the airlines I've researched out of JFK, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, DC, Toronto, and, even Chicago.

 

We are concerned, but not overly concerned about pricing from regular economy, to and upgraded premium economy because with my back, I just want to be comfortable and stretch out as much as possible.

 

Out of all the airports listed above, only JFK, Newark, and, Philadelphia have non-stop flights , and, the only two airlines that offer the non-stop flights are Delta and American.

 

I did do a mock reservation with each, and from Syracuse, NY to JFK, then, JFK to Barcelona, and the same coming back, Delta was at $1,244.00 each round trip which is pretty darn cheap in think, because just from JFK to Barcelona is $1,174.00 each. We are almost flying the Syracuse to JFK and back portion of the airfare for almost nothing. American wants $1,746.00 for the same non-stop fare, even though Delta's flight times fit us better.

 

Delta is using an Airbus A-333-300 and American a Boeing 767-300 version 2 aircraft. Delta is charging $69 each way for their Comfort for a total of $276, while American wants $520 total for their premium seats.

 

I did see a great video from Jake Redman who is a travel guy that has a show on Sirius/XM radio and he was in row 13 near the window of the Delta A-333-300 this past April. His review said the plane and Economy Comfort seat was just great.

 

So, even though we can get the air in the low $900 range, it comes with changing planes, long layovers, and places we feel might bento hectic for our personalities, especially for the first time to Europe

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Dave4120]

Hi 6rugrats...what you mention about booking this early if I decide to do so, would probably happen, especially on Delta from what I've read. Not sure if I'll book very soon, or, wait until about 5-months out as many have suggested. I'm only worried about not getting an Economy Comfort seat if I wait too long as there aren't many of those seats on the plane. Otherwise, I would never think of booking this soon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Riverroad]

Dave4120, the price for the Delta non-stop to Barcelona for next May sounds about right. Doubt you'll see lower especially if the cost of fuel keeps going up. Book the flight and your Economy Comfort seats and don't look back. Just know that there is no "stretching out" in those seats.

 

I suggest you purchase some of the seating comfort items mentioned in post #21. Also purchase the best noise canceling head phones you can afford. You might want to ask your dr. for a prescription for Ambien. Try it a few weeks before you leave to see your reaction. If you're o.k. with it, then I suggest you eat something at JFK prior to boarding, take the Ambien as soon as the seatbelt light is off and skip the meal. You'll wake up in Barcelona before you know it with all this angst behind you.

[Dave4120]

Thanks Riverroad for the additional advice. The Delta flight would leave at 7:45-PM Eastern time and arrive in Barcelona at 9:45- AM Barcelona time, so, your suggestion of eating first , then trying to dose off when we get on the plane makes sense, because when our flight leaves at 7:45-PM, it is already 3:45-AM Barcelona time. Not sure how long it takes for the system to adjust to the time change, but, your advice is most welcome.

 

Dave

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Riverroad]

Thanks Riverroad for the additional advice. The Delta flight would leave at 7:45-PM Eastern time and arrive in Barcelona at 9:45- AM Barcelona time, so, your suggestion of eating first , then trying to dose off when we get on the plane makes sense, because when our flight leaves at 7:45-PM, it is already 3:45-AM Barcelona time. Not sure how long it takes for the system to adjust to the time change, but, your advice is most welcome.

 

Dave

 

Barcelona is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast of the US so when your flight departs at 7:45 PM, it is 1:45 AM in Barcelona. It generally takes 1 day for the body to adjust to each hour of time change. By arriving 3 days in advance of your cruise, you should be well on your way to adjusting to the change when the cruise begins.

[waterbug123]

Out of all the airports listed above, only JFK, Newark, and, Philadelphia have non-stop flights , and, the only two airlines that offer the non-stop flights are Delta and American.

 

Are you sure about that? I haven't gone back to re-read all the prior posts so maybe I'm misunderstanding, but given that Newark is a United hub, I would imagine they have nonstops EWR-BCN. Likewise, with PHL being a US hub, I would imagine they have nonstops PHL-BCN.

[Globaliser]

... but given that Newark is a United hub, I would imagine they have nonstops EWR-BCN. Likewise, with PHL being a US hub, I would imagine they have nonstops PHL-BCN.

Correct on both counts, as far as I can see. The PHL-BCN flight has both AA and US flight numbers.

[CantanaLobo]

If leaving from Syracuse doing Syracuse->Newark->Barcelona on United, it looks like the Syracuse->Newark leg uses a Dash 8 (turboprop). SeatGuru says these have no recline. Only an hour and 15 minutes, so that may or may not be an issue with your back.

[Dave4120]

Thanks for the update. As I had mentioned in a previous post...JFK, Newark, and Philadelphia are the only airports that offer non-stop service.

 

I did fail to mention US Air and United in addition to American and Delta. There are NO non-stops out of Boston, Washington DC, or Toronto.

 

It would appear that US Air and United are operating older aircraft than the other airlines, but I may have read this incorrectly. The pricing except for one flight out of Philadelphia is higher than the flights out of JFK or Toronto.

 

And, Cantanalobo...I am too afraid to fly in any prop plane. It makes me think I'm in an old Charlie Chan movie. We can take a small jet with a Delta partner airline called Chattauqua airlines to JFK. We would feel more comfortable with that. The price on Delta roundtrip from Syracuse to JFK and back is only $84 each ROUNDTRIP!!!! If, we combine that flight with the JFK to Barcelona and back portion.

 

Thanks again for the heads up

Edited July 8, 2014 by Dave4120

[CantanaLobo]

The price on Delta roundtrip from Syracuse to JFK and back is only $84 each ROUNDTRIP!!!! If, we combine that flight with the JFK to Barcelona and back portion.

 

(My DW is not a fan of props either.)

 

Are you talking about two round trip tickets - SYR-JFK as one round trip, and JFK-BCN as the other?

 

I would not do this. If SYR-JFK is late/cancelled and you miss the JFK-BCN segment, reaccommodation becomes problematic, even on the same airline. To minimize risk, it is better to have 1 round trip ticket, with explicit connections like SYR-JFK-BCN. That also helps if schedule changes result in an illegal connection.

 

In the world of airline pricing, 2 round trips SYR-JFK and JFK-BCN might be cheaper than one round trip SYR-BCN, even though they use the same exact aircraft. There are protections you get if it is one ticket vs two, and you're paying for the protection. You need to decide if it's worth it.

[Dave4120]

The flight would be just ONE roundtrip ticket.

 

It is listed as roundtrip from Syracuse to Barcelona with the connection at JFK to change planes.

 

I probably did not explain it properly, but what I was attempting to point out was that if we did separate air from Syracuse to JFK, then, another separate roundtrip from JFK to Barcelona, it would end up costing $240 each for the Syracuse/JFK roundtrip, then an additional $1159 each for the JFK/Barcelona portion for a total of $1400 each.

 

By purchasing just one roundtrip ticket each from Syracuse to Barcelona and a connection at JFK to change planes, it only costs $1244 each.

 

If I take the 1-ticket roundtrip from Syracuse to Barcelona with the JFK connection at $1244, and minus the $1159 that it would cost for the JFK/Barcelona roundtrip only, that makes the Syracuse/JFK roundtrip portion of the trip a crazy $45 each versus $240 each if we did the air as two separate ticket purchases.

 

So, I totally agree that getting just one airfare us the best route to take.

Dave

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Twickenham]

The flight would be just ONE roundtrip ticket.

 

It is listed as roundtrip from Syracuse to Barcelona with the connection at JFK to change planes.

 

I probably did not explain it properly, but what I was attempting to point out was that if we did separate air from Syracuse to JFK, then, another separate roundtrip from JFK to Barcelona, it would end up costing $240 each for the Syracuse/JFK roundtrip, then an additional $1159 each for the JFK/Barcelona portion for a total of $1400 each.

 

By purchasing just one roundtrip ticket each from Syracuse to Barcelona and a connection at JFK to change planes, it only costs $1244 each.

 

If I take the 1-ticket roundtrip from Syracuse to Barcelona with the JFK connection at $1244, and minus the $1159 that it would cost for the JFK/Barcelona roundtrip only, that makes the Syracuse/JFK roundtrip portion of the trip a crazy $45 each versus $240 each if we did the air as two separate ticket purchases.

 

So, I totally agree that getting just one airfare us the best route to take.

Dave

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

That's because distance or even number of flights rarely are the determining factor for airfare pricing. For instance, I have seen YQB-YUL-CDG or LHR flights price out at the exact same fare as just the YUL-CDG/LHR rate. And at least twice, I've purchased tickets with connections that were cheaper than one non-stop segment:

 

-YUL-JFK-LHR a few years ago, $590, when just the JFK-LHR flight was over $600;

-YQB-DTW-RSW, $395; had I just purchased the YQB-DTW flight, it would have been over $700.

 

BTW, let me put in a good word for the most-maligned Dash-8 - a good, honest little plane (and not the smallest commercial aircraft I've ever flown). I find it just as comfortable as most regional jets.

[Dave4120]

Thanks for the additional, helpful information

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Globaliser]

BTW, let me put in a good word for the most-maligned Dash-8 - a good, honest little plane (and not the smallest commercial aircraft I've ever flown). I find it just as comfortable as most regional jets.

+1

 

On one of my regular routes (Sydney to/from Canberra) there's often a choice between similarly-timed 737 and Dash-8 flights. I'll usually pick the Dash-8 because on that route it doesn't get me to the other end any slower than the 737, and it makes for much more relaxed flying at an altitude which usually offers much more to see. I don't find it much less comfortable than a 737, and it's definitely no worse than most regional jets that I've been on.

[Dave4120]

I just cannot get the nerve to go into a prop plane even though in the event something goes wrong, the prop might be better to be in.

 

What I'm finding out is that there are just a scattering if non stop flights, and when more than half of them leave Barcelona to head back to JFK at 10:00 in the morning, it reduces the number of flights.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app