Question about international flights?

[tammymacb]

I'm getting close to making a deposit on a 2011 Magic cruise out of Barcelona. We'll be sailing June 8th. I know this is way early, but I want to plan as soon as flights come available.

I live in Charleston, SC so I have to travel to a hub. My guess is I'll be looking at CLT, ATL, MIA, or one of the NY airports...I'll probably book something to get to the HUB and hope for a direct flight from there.

My questions are, at what point will '11 fares start showing up? Will YAPTA or another fare watcher help me out here? Are there any airlines that you'd recommend ( other than the typical USair, Continental, Delta etc...I've flown all of those ) Not looking necessarily for the cheapest seat, just a recommended carrier that will get me there with little hassle. Preferably an overnight flight.

BTW, I'm planning on flying into Barcelona at least 2 days prior to sailing to avoid tight connections...Thanks

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, US-based carriers typically have larger baggage allowances than foreign flagged carriers, if that matters to you; that is, in terms of how much they will allow at all, not in terms of how much they charge for it. They also are more generous with ice. (Whenever I visit Europe I always end up looking forward to my first drink coming home on either a US carrier or US soil -- with LOTS of ice, LOL. My cousins tell me that my ice obsession is the only thing that really gives me away as American!)

You should probably check on the seat pitch; it can be very tight in coach on foreign flag carriers. They do, however, typically have better food, LOL.

Iberia is the Spanish flag carrier, fwiw. If you take them, you *could* fly via ATL, but I don't think you would want to -- all the flights through there route you first to Chicago, then to Madrid, then Barcelona. Time consuming and quite expensive. Flying Iberia via JFK is MUCH cheaper, and there are some non-stops from there to Barcelona. Most of the other European flag carriers are going to have you change planes in their home countries.

Delta flies out of ATL to BCN non-stop, though only on one flight per day. The other flights have you make a connection at CDG.

Most of the big carriers will allow you to book starting at about 330 days out. Remember that if you don't want to stop anywhere other than your destination once you leave the US, you want to book a "non-stop" flight, not a "direct flight" -- in airline-speak, a "direct" flight may include stops.

 

[librarygal]

You will not be able to book your flights until the middle of July 2010. We are flying to Barcelona over Thanksgiving from JFK. On the flight there we are flying nonstop on American and on the way back we are on Iberia. Not all foreign carriers have tight seating. Next year we are flying Korean Air and their seat pitch is much better than Delta or United.

 

[Lewisc]

...I'll probably book something to get to the HUB and hope for a direct flight from there.

Not sure what you mean. Are you planning on booking one flight from your local airport to a HUB and separately booking a flight from the HUB to Spain?

You don't want to do that. The second airline won't owe you anything if your first flight is delayed. You'll have to claim your luggage and check in early enough to comply with the airlines policy regarding check in time requirements for international flights. You'll also have a problem with schedule changes.

You want to make one reservation from your local airport to Spain.

 

[tammymacb]

Not sure what you mean. Are you planning on booking one flight from your local airport to a HUB and separately booking a flight from the HUB to Spain?

You don't want to do that. The second airline won't owe you anything if your first flight is delayed. You'll have to claim your luggage and check in early enough to comply with the airlines policy regarding check in time requirements for international flights. You'll also have a problem with schedule changes.

You want to make one reservation from your local airport to Spain.

Using Bonaire as an example ( because I'm used to flying to tiny spots in the Caribbean instead of Europe ) you can only get to Bonaire on Saturdays with the major carriers. Or, I can go out of Miami on Insel. So, I fly to Mia on an early flight the day before, then spend the night and fly on the next day. Even with the extra ticket and hotel room stay overnight, it usually ends up being cheaper than Charleston. And, with the exception of NY, if there was a problem with the flight the day before, I still have time to Cannonball Run it to the airport in Atl, CLT or Mia...

Thanks for the info on seat pitch. Definately need to check that out. DH is 6'8 and I'm 5'11 and longer than 5-6 hours, we are hurting.

 

[NotUrsula]

If your DH is 6'8", he's going to be really squashed unless you can manage business class, or perhaps purchase a third seat between you if you can get permission for that. Economy pitch on both Iberia and Delta is 32" (I just checked.) Iberia's seats are 17" wide and recline 6", while Deltas are 18" wide and recline 6". Neither one of those is likely to be a particularly comfortable seat for either of you, but I'm thinking that your DH is in for the flight from hell unless you can snare an exit row at the very least.

Remember that pitch is a measure from a fixed point on one seat to the same point on the seat behind it, not the measure of the legroom between them. On most planes, legroom is normally pretty much pitch minus about 6 inches.

Iberia generally does not get high marks for thier seat comfort, and Delta isn't much better.