Flights to BCN....how do you find the cheap flights?

[gkrnjlr]

I'm searching online for air fare and our travel dates are not available yet, but when searching the same timeframe for 2016 it doesn't look like air fare is going to be less than $1300.

 

I've seen online advertisements for air that is about $800. How do you find those fares? Are they reputable companies?

[Kamloops50]

For airfare you can try this site

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

 

Some of the cheap airfares are sold by ticket consolidators.

Can't discuss TA on this site.

[gkrnjlr]

I'm not sure I know what a ticket consolidator is other than what it sounds like.....

 

Thanks for the link. I'll try that!

[Keith1010]

You can also ask for input on the Cruise Air Board.

 

Keith

[Twickenham]

I'm searching online for air fare and our travel dates are not available yet, but when searching the same timeframe for 2016 it doesn't look like air fare is going to be less than $1300.

 

I've seen online advertisements for air that is about $800. How do you find those fares? Are they reputable companies?

 

Firstly, you have to make sure you're comparing like to like. Are those $800 flights for the same timeframe as you are going? Are the flights/connections what you consider to be acceptable? Etc, etc...

 

I personally have been playing the FF miles games of late. Through various CC sign-up bonuses and other promos, I have acquired enough miles that I have my second R/T Europe ticket booked in business class in 2 years - arriving in BCN, leaving from DUB. There are plenty of opportunities to quickly accumulate miles, but you need to plan ahead.

 

If you go the paid route, sign up for airline email lists. I personally get lots of sales emails from Air France/KLM, including their WOW Wednesday specials - some really great deals turn up on those, I think it was $699 to Nice last week. Also, the more flexible you can be - with dates, arrival/departure airports, etc. - the better able you will be to take advantage of deals.

[Clarea]

We use the cruise line's ticketing service.

[hkto]

Usually deals are advertised for nonstop flights. Try looking at AA nonstop from Charlotte. Without knowing your dates can't quote exact amount but fares in June 2016 are in $700-800 ballpark. Summer will be higher.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[KirkNC]

The only time I have seen a sub $1,000 RT fight to Europe is via Icelandair. We have flown them twice and they were fine.

[cruisequeen4ever]

It can be difficult. Try Condor; they have great pricing. Icelandair can offer good deals, but this year, they've seemed pretty high. Don't fly through London; taxes are high. Play around with different city pairs. We found a European city we want to explore that had mileage ticket availability, then booked a paid one way ticket on a European airline nonstop to our embarkation city the next day, and then kept tweaking the return until our disembarkation city became available for miles. The beauty of using Alaska Airlines miles is the flexibility to change as better flights become available. Oh and check flights late at night on Tuesday and Wednesday! Good luck! Perseverance is key!

[ken_nyc]

I researched for our Harmony cruise with all sites (airlines, travel sites and Air2Sea) and Air2Sea was $400 pp cheaper than everyone else. Go to BCN at least 2 days ahead and 1-2 days after the cruise is cheaper. There is more demand the days of embarkation and debarkation so those would be higher and the summer months.

[jh2360]

I'm searching online for air fare and our travel dates are not available yet, but when searching the same timeframe for 2016 it doesn't look like air fare is going to be less than $1300.

 

I've seen online advertisements for air that is about $800. How do you find those fares? Are they reputable companies?

 

I'm looking at flights to BCN for this December. Best I've seen as of now is about $1050/pp from Florida.

[hbrote]

I think that going through the cruise line gets your best fare. Last year we flew into and out of Rome from Atlanta and the fare was $1,493.00 PP. This year we are on two cruises and we booked through Princess and got our airfare at $534.00 PP. Less than the cost of one ticket last year. These tickets are flying United and American Airlines. Check with your cruise lines.

[shipgeeks]

We have always used our cruiseline air, and have been very happy with it. The first time, the airline quoted us $4400 each; ChoiceAir (Celebrity) was under $700. Same airline, same seats, same dates. You can do a mock booking to see what times and prices there are, even if you are just guessing at the dates.

[cc_rider]

Last summer/fall I was shopping for flights from April from Washington, DC to BCN. One stop flights were running around $1200 pp/rt. Decided to look into breaking it into pair of non-stop flights. Watched the fares for a while and booked from JFK to BCN for $725 pp/rt, on Delta, and plan to book from DCA to JFK for $153 in a couple of weeks, also on Delta. There are a lot of flight choices from DC to NYC.

[Saildude16]

cc-rider, if you have 2 different tickets(to JFK & then on to BCN, and subsequent return)might that require picking up bags @ JFK after first outbound flight & rechecking to BCN for second flight? On the way home wouldn't you have to retrieve/recheck bags @ JFK? Or, will the airline(s) tag the bags as if they were simply one stop flights via JFK?

[cc_rider]

Picking up and rechecking bags between flights is an inconvenience, but one we can deal with. We have allowed extra time between flights.

The risk is if something goes wrong with the first flight, the airlines are under no obligation to make good the second. I'm making sure we have time to make other arrangements if the first flight is canceled. As long as the trip over to BCN works, I'm not too worried about the return trip.

[cruisinlawn]

We're in Atlanta and fly almost exclusive Delta, business and pleasure. We're headed to BCN this Summer at $1130pp. For the past two years, DW maintained a constant watch on ATL-BCN nonstop for travel during Summer months. She did this via delta.com and a couple of other fare watch sites. For what we wanted it seemed consistent that the least costly fare would show up in late December or throughout January. This was true in 2013 and 2014. Booked our Med sailing in January 2015.

 

We originally had a $1350pp fare booked thru cruise line that allowed us to cancel without penalty. At the time we booked this we had been seeing fares at $1650-1700pp. We did this in October of 2015.

 

Continued to watch the fares as noted above. Sure enough, 3rd week in January Delta had a sale. We booked direct with Delta at the $1130pp and cancelled the air booking via cruise line. After the 3-4 day sale, the rates jumped back up and have remained at that pricing point...around $1850-$1900pp.

 

We had hoped for less but are content/satisfied with what we obtained. Enjoy :)

[tncap]

Airfare to Barcelona has been a hot topic for a roll call I'm in for later this year. There are five main avenues people have taken:

 

1.) Airfare through the cruise line (much success with this one so far)

2.) American Airlines reward travel

3.) Cheap Fare Guru

4.) 1800FlyEurope.com

5.) Booking direct through Icelandair

 

Hope some of these options help.

[Saildude16]

Cruisinlawn -

 

I've done a somewhat similar exercise. In 10/2015 we began monitoring PNS/BCN RT for 5/2016 travel in business class. From Oct. thru early Jan. the fare was ~$2670 each on AA(best connections from/to PNS via CLT). Just after Jan. 8 the fare jumped to over $4000 even though the seat maps indicated plenty of availability. Now fare is over $5000, still with plenty of seat choices.

 

This was a simulation because we're not really travelling until May 2017. But, it was a one data point learning experience. You can book 330 days out. TA says we'll look at options 270 days in advance. In any case if there is a pattern one should not wait past 4-5 months prior to May cruise departure from BCN to book air on AA.

 

What fare watch sites do you suggest?

[zoncom]

CheapAir.com says 276 days out for Europe.Tuesday afternoons best. Trip fare price changes 70 times. For one ways I agree cruise line excellent.

[Saildude16]

Our trip is complicated by 2 factors which affect the air offered by RSSC. First, since we'll arrive 2 days early there is a $175 deviation fee. Next, since PNS is not a gateway we'd have to go 70 miles to MOB and pay a $249 upcharge.

 

By the time all is rolled in, and even though RSSC offers a business class upgrade of $1299 each way, it is more cost effective to arrange our own air. Doing own air also results in a credit of $800 towards the all inclusive cruise/air/etc.

[Cellagirl]

I just booked through Air2 Sea ( Royal) for 6 people. It was the cheapest from all of the choices I did on my own. Even when I went directly to the airline's website it was $300.00 more. This was the first time to use this service and I can assure you it won't be the last.!! The added protection that you will be assisted if there are fight issues is also an added perk:cool:

[ken_nyc]

When I booked our flights through ChoiceAir it was cheaper by over $400pp than the airlines site or other travel sites.

[swin26]

I just booked a flight today. If I booked it myself the cost was over $1350, but through the cruise line the fare was $813. Huge savings

[Saildude16]

Is Air2Sea/Choiceair only available to Royal Caribbean passengers?