1045am Flight from BCN to us. WOuld you?

[Joel0917]

the cheapest flight..by like $400 each so save me $1600 would be a 1045am back to the states from BCN after our MED cruise.
would you take it?

i hate stress and know i'll worry but if it's doable i want to rather than stay the night in Barcelona and fly back next am.

have you or would you?

 

[Trera]

I seem to remember getting through security in Barcelona last year taking a long time. Also if you are going to apply to have VAT refunded on items purchased, That line was over an hour long as well.

Seems risky to me. Maybe others have had better experiences.

 

[Chirple]

We flew from BCN to the U.S. in 2014, and I would not book a flight that early. I seem to recall security being far more efficient than here, but we still had a bit of a wait. Then the terminal for U.S. flights felt so remote and was a long walk from the main terminal (where all of the "good" places to eat and shop are located). I think our gate was nearly at the end.

 

[cheermom2four]

I wouldnt risk it. We added a day after our cruise to enjoy the city one more day when we get off our Med cruise.

 

[Mommb]

If you hate stress, I'd avoid taking a transatlantic flight this early. The Barcelona airport isn't that far from the cruise terminal (much closer than the Orlando airport to Port Canaveral), but there could still be traffic. If you disembark as soon as the ship clears a little after 7, and you carry all of your luggage, and the debarkation line at the port is short, and your airport transit runs quickly, and the lines at the airport are short, you could make the flight. However, if any of those are not true, you might be in trouble.

Last month it took my family nearly an hour and a half from the time we exited the Magic until the time we exited the terminal building. We heard there was a computer issue that delayed processing on non-EU passengers, so that was an anomaly, but if we had scheduled a flight for 3 hours after the ship docked, we would probably have missed it.

If you can spare one more day of vacation, you could spend the night in Barcelona and fly home at 10:45 the next morning -- the additional cost (even if you took a tour for several hours after you left the ship) would be less than the cost of taking a later flight on debarkation day.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I think the key question is, "What is your back-up plan?"

If you miss the flight, when is the next one? How much will it cost to change flights, etc. If it works for you, even if you miss that early flight, then no worries, but if missing the flight would cause big hardships, probably best to plan on spending the night.

 

[kiford]

I have a friend who made a 10:30 flight on our Med cruise. He was practically the first one off and got a taxi right away. I would be so stressed out. Even though he managed that, I wouldn't suggest it now. There's likely to be higher security at the port, in town and at the airport with recent incidents so I expect everything will take longer than a few years ago. I'd suggest staying overnight and fly back the next day. More expensive than the early flight that day but less expensive than taking a later flight and less expensive than missing it and having to rebook.

 

[Joel0917]

ok..thanks for the feedback. i will look at flights tomorrow morning for the next day on Delta. and spend one day extra in Barcelona.

 

[Denise W]

With the union airport strikes that are going to begin in September, you will need to allow a lot of extra time to fly out of Barcelona. We arrive there 9/15 and that is one of the scheduled strike days.
Denise

 

[Dug720]

With the union airport strikes that are going to begin in September, you will need to allow a lot of extra time to fly out of Barcelona. We arrive there 9/15 and that is one of the scheduled strike days.
Denise

Also security level has been raised in the country, so that will add time as well.

 

[mmouse37]

I am flying to Europe on Monday...Portugal then Barcelona (flying back from BCN). I just received an alert from Delta telling me that all flights from Europe to the US will have extra security screening so they want you to allow extra time.

I know it is a huge savings but it is risky.


MJ

 

[jrabbit]

BCN is a lovely city. Enjoy an extra day, and then the next day get to the airport without the stress! You will still save a bundle even by staying an extra night.

 

[GeauxTigers23]

I booked this flight. Living life on the edge.

 

[Dznypal]

I think we might be on the same cruise as OP. We leave on the 9th. I've been freaking out about the flight since I heard of the attacks. And the the strike although our flight home is on a non strike day. The 16th. But you just never know what could/can happen. Anyways I contacted American Airlines. And got a call back. The person was very reassuring that having a later flight 345pm and probably getting to the airport early. We have Disney transfers. But she could understand my concerns. She did make me feel better but it will be nice to get on the ship.

 

[longboard55]

When we went the walk off was about 7:30 and there was no delay in leaving, get the bags and go, huge line of taxis. I think you could be at the airport by 8:15. Problem is that darn security line, and also it was a very long walk to the gate. With no strike it would be no problem

 

[GeauxTigers23]

What's your estimate time for the walk to the gate?

 

[longboard55]

Maybe 20 minutes. When considering a tight schedule luggage check in is always a first concern, you will have no issues with that. You should have at least 1 1/2hours for the security line, if they can't make that a lot of people will miss flights

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I wanted to offer my recent experience as we were in Barcelona before and after our recent Med cruise on 8/12/17 (and also before/after the terrorist attack).

Our cruise ended on Sat, 8/19 but since I couldn't get flights home on that day with my points on AA, we flew home on Mon, 8/21 so we had an extra two days in Barcelona after the cruise ended on 8/19. Our flight was at 2:30pm and was direct to CLT.

We left our hotel around 10:30am and as mentioned, the airport isn't that far away so I'd say about 20 minutes approximately. Clearly we left when there was extra security due to the attacks and I didn't find it extra long or tedious. I was honestly more concerned about the strikes going on but either we timed it on a day they weren't doing it, or they had called in others to help which is what our hotel had told us would happen. It definitely did not take any longer than TSA at MCO!

For those not familiar with International flights back to the US, you do go through a few check-points with the last one being passport control. In BCN, they held people back in a waiting area until near the boarding time for the flight, then you show your passports and go to the area to board the plane. They were definitely pulling people out of the line for extra screening, questions, etc., but I didn't see those people taking too much longer.

All things considered, we didn't experience any issues flying home, no extra delays, it ran smoothly, etc.

I remember they started letting people off the ship around 7am and I want to say we were in port by 5:30am. We actually said when we disembarked it was the easiest and quickest one we've experienced and we've been to Port Canaveral, Miami, Vancouver, NYC, Dover, etc. We weren't in a hurry but I'd say we were leaving the ship by 7:30am and then easily found a taxi outside and headed back to our hotel in Barcelona.

I would be on the fence about a 10:45am flight so it would depend on my back-up options. If you can stay an extra night (which sounds like you made that decision already!), it is a great city, however for those reading along - it's doable based on what I've read and experienced. I'm not saying others won't have delays and other unforeseen circumstances which is why the earlier flights are always a gamble but I don't think it's completely NUTS to consider it!

Enjoy,
Heather

 

[cruiser21]

I booked this flight. Living life on the edge.

We booked took a 1030 flight to JFK. We were at the airport by 800. Security was a breeze. I wish I could say the same for customs and security at JfK. We missed our connection.

 

[longboard55]

We booked took a 1030 flight to JFK. We were at the airport by 800. Security was a breeze. I wish I could say the same for customs and security at JfK. We missed our connection.

we actually changed our US customs connection for a longer wait, this is where the big delays are, your first stop in the US. They rescheduled us to 1 1/2 hours between flights which we would have not gotten close to making, it was Philadelphia, I have heard other locations are worse