Budget Travel - LCCs to BCN

I was looking for reliable LCCs that fly into BCN. Looking to connect from FRA, MUC or FCO. OneWorld and Star Alliance options are also welcome. Any suggestions?

I had a great experience with Vueling. The pitch stinks, but their tickets, if purchased a couple weeks in advance, are dirt cheap. I paid 35 EUR incl. tax to fly FCO-MAD and then 20 EUR to fly from MAD-BCN.

Air Berlin are an excellent LCC and serve FRA/MUC-BCN.

There are a couple of good tools to get an idea of LCC routes and prices in Europe:
http://www.skyscanner.net (http://www.skyscanner.net/gbp/flights-from/bcn/cheapest-flights-from-barcelona.html)
http://www.dohop.com

Also look into Germanwings STR-BCN. Took them a few years ago and can't complain. If you are flying into Germany, consider booking your ticket to ZWS (Stuttgart train station). PM me for more info.

Also look into Germanwings STR-BCN. Took them a few years ago and can't complain. If you are flying into Germany, consider booking your ticket to ZWS (Stuttgart train station). PM me for more info.
I guess that's some variation of what LH used to have a while ago. Where you would fly into a LH gateway like MUC or FRA and then ride the Deutsche Bahn on the last leg to ZWS?

From FCO it's a no-brainer; take Vueling. From FRA or MUC Air Berlin is a good choice; their service is great but the tickets can be pricey for a "LCC". Also be sure to look at their schedules carefully; many trips involve either a stop or change of planes in Mallorca which isn't obvious at first glance.

Swiss and LH offer returns in the range of 100 or 130 Euro.

We just flew Clickair (Iberia's LCC) FRA-BCN and BCN-MUC. Flights were cheap; 30 Euros and 60 Euros respectively all-in, and reliable. Downside: out of BCN (Clickair's hub), lots of flights leaving about the same time with no self check-in (you can't use Iberia's machines) therefore long lines. It looked like Vueling had kiosks and much shorter queues so I'd try them next time. Pitch was the worst I've experienced.

please follow this thread in the Budget Travel forum where it belongs :)

regards

chrissxb
moderator
europe forum

I was looking for reliable LCCs that fly into BCN. Looking to connect from FRA, MUC or FCO. OneWorld and Star Alliance options are also welcome. Any suggestions?

The routes MUC-BCN, FCO-BCN and BCN-FRA are all served by clickair (ww.clickair.com = IBERIA's LCC).

Plans firming up some what. More questions.

What are my choices if i wanted to do a open jaw LON-BCN NAP-LON?

I am looking for a non-stop LON-BCN. Then, BCN-NAP(one way) and a NAP-LON

When i say LON = STN (stanstead), LGW (Gatwick), LHR (Heathrow).

We will arrive from SFO into LON a few days earlier. Our checked bags will obviously be ~45-50 lbs apiece. I know some LCCs charge for any checked bags . So, what should I expect there?

Assigned seating? Group 1 seating? Are these priced options?

... Our checked bags will obviously be ~45-50 lbs apiece. I know some LCCs charge for any checked bags . So, what should I expect there?

Assigned seating? Group 1 seating? Are these priced options?Varies a lot by LCC. On some the baggage cost will be greater than your ticket price. Some charge for assigned seating, others don't. But 2x30kg bags can cost an extra EUR 100, so best to check when computing the cost.

Plans firming up some what. More questions.

What are my choices if i wanted to do a open jaw LON-BCN NAP-LON?

I am looking for a non-stop LON-BCN. Then, BCN-NAP(one way) and a NAP-LON

When i say LON = STN (stanstead), LGW (Gatwick), LHR (Heathrow).

We will arrive from SFO into LON a few days earlier. Our checked bags will obviously be ~45-50 lbs apiece. I know some LCCs charge for any checked bags . So, what should I expect there?

Assigned seating? Group 1 seating? Are these priced options?

According to www.skyscanner.net, AlpiEagles (http://www.alpieagles.com) and clickair (http://www.clickair.com) fly BCN-NAP.

As for LON-BCN, and NAP-LON, there are a number of options. I would highly recommend staying away from Ryanair, not least because they don't actually fly into BCN, but into Girona, a podunk airport roughly 2 hours away from Barcelona. And because Ryanair is a nightmare as far as customer "service" is concerned.

Here's what i have now:

For the London-BCN, NAP-London Open jaw

STN-BCN NAP-STN Easyjet
LHR-BCN NAP-LHR BA
LGW-BCN NAP-LGW BA
LHR-BCN NAP-LHR BMI British Midland

For the cost of the checked bags, seating - its possible that Easyjet may well end up costing as much as a BA fare.

For the oneway BCN-NAP:

www.clickair.com. BCN-NAP.
www.alpieagles.com BCN-NAP.

Comments welcome.

Here's what i have now:

For the London-BCN, NAP-London Open jaw

STN-BCN NAP-STN Easyjet
LHR-BCN NAP-LHR BA
LGW-BCN NAP-LGW BA
LHR-BCN NAP-LHR BMI British Midland

For the cost of the checked bags, seating - its possible that Easyjet may well end up costing as much as a BA fare.

For the oneway BCN-NAP:

www.clickair.com. BCN-NAP.
www.alpieagles.com BCN-NAP.

Comments welcome.

There's not that much to say other than that it's a pain getting out to STN from LON.

BA from LGW may be cheaper than either BA or bmi from LHR, but then again you may get lucky. bmi has the advantage that you'll be earning UA miles (though not many) and will have lounge access as a UA *G.

For BCN-NAP, just pick whichever is cheaper or has better flight times. I would give slight preference to clickair, they have relatively new A320s, whereas AlpiEagles flies older Fokker 100s.

clickair doesn't fly BCN-NAP on the days we are interested in. So I booked on Alpieagles.

How do I call Alpieagles from the US? Their website (http://www.alpieagles.com/contatto.aspx?lang=en)lists a bunch of phone #s which i can't seem to reach from the US.

Are 899 numbers the Italian version of a US 1.800 #? Dialing 011 plus 39 plus the 899 # doesn't yield anything meaningful.

...Girona, a podunk airport roughly 2 hours away from Barcelona. ....Girona is a tiny airport, but surprisingly good and it is actually 60 min by bus from Barcelona (compared to 45 min for the BCN airport which is about 40 miles closer to the city, but has a much slower bus). I only used Girona once, but it was actually a good experience (and a nice scenic bus ride on the highway through the countryside).

...Are 899 numbers the Italian version of a US 1.800 #? ...More like 1-900 numbers -- they have a per minute charge, typically EUR 2 per minute. An interesting way to charge for ticketing. Your phone call to book the airfare might cost more than the ticket!!!!! Be glad that you couldn't get through (probably blocked by all US phone companies due to the many complaints about the high charges these numbers can incur).

More like 1-900 numbers -- they have a per minute charge, typically EUR 2 per minute. An interesting way to charge for ticketing. Your phone call to book the airfare might cost more than the ticket!!!!! Be glad that you couldn't get through (probably blocked by all US phone companies due to the many complaints about the high charges these numbers can incur).

I'd like to confirm that my online booking went through and my details are on record correctly. Don't they have a 1.800 #?

I'd like to confirm that my online booking went through and my details are on record correctly. Don't they have a 1.800 #?Every airline that I have ever used offers an email confirmation. In fact they have to do this, to give you the ticket number (often a legal requirement in some countries). So, you will receive an email with your ticket number; if you don't have reliable email, or didn't provide an email address, then check your credit card statement. If you don't have access to that, for whatever reason, and your bank doesn't have a 1.800 number, then maybe you need to rethink about buying things on the internet.