portland67

I'm looking to book my trip on my honeymoon and with the fare sales that are going on for C Class I'm looking really at CO, LH, or US to go from PDX to BCN. Another factor I'm looking into as well is where we would have to connect. We need to get into BCN because my fiance and I are going to be leaving on a cruise that leaves at 5 P.M so I'd prefer to arrive in BCN no later than noon.

All 3 airlines are roughly about $3100 r/t per person from PDX in C class. Also most of my flying is domestic so I've never truly experienced TATL C class so I'm trying to take that into consideration as well. But here are the options that I've done my research on

1. LH/UA would have me connect in ORD and FRA with a 1 hr 15 min layover in FRA on the way to BCN and in MUC and ORD on the way back. I also have the option of flying either LH or UA C class however the UA flights are on the 777 and I'm not sure about the conversion schedule and what routes it would be put on.

2. US seems like the easiest with just the connection in PHL, but US as we all know is US and I'm looking at various trip reports and I haven't been impressed with Envoy.

3. CO would connect in EWR but on the way because of the departure time from BCN I would have to connect in FRA and IAH with only a 1hr 10 min layover in FRA to make the connection to IAH.

channa

If you can work it into the schedule, I would go the day before.

Presumably you've paid good money for the cruise, not to mention $3,100 per ticket for the flights, all on top of the wedding costs, you wouldn't want to mess this up.

As for flights isn't there a CO PDX-EWR-BCN that would be easy? As for the return, 1:10 in FRA is fine, but if you're going to double-connect anyway, maybe worth trying LH or something just to change it up.

windchill

I'd take LH C over the other options anyday.

mahasamatman

I couldn't agree more. Due to work commitments, we did a same-day arrival for a Baltic cruise last year, and it was nerve wracking.

SEA1K4EVR

DO NOT PLAN TO ARRIVE THE SAME DAY YOU DEPART ON CRUISE!! This is a recipe for disaster. Fly the day before. Not only will it give you piece of mind, but you can then also consider other route options that may get you to BCN later in the day. You could then take CO with just one stop at EWR.

FlyinHawaiian

Since options other than UA are being considered, let's move this to the Star Alliance Forum so the non-UA travellers can add their input.

Thanks,

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

sjlin0121

Couldn't agree more. Barcelona is so beautiful and definitely worth 3+ days visit. Why not go several days earlier to see the city and also adjust the jet lag at the same time?

portland67

The CO and US flights seem easy but also I'd rather not fly a 757 across the atlantic. I'd prefer flying a widebody , but single connections do make it easier. Thanks for the advice on coming in a day earlier, I didn't think about that very much. If I'm coming in a day earlier, has anyone flown C on Swiss?

sbm12

CO's 752 is a pretty good ride up front. They are putting in fully flat seats on the fleet and should have about half converted by the fall. You're actually better of on that plane than on a CO 767, for example, in terms of the product offered.

On the 333 it is one of the best C products out there. On their other types just OK.

And definitely go in the day before. Plenty to see and do in BCN to keep you busy and let you sleep off the jet lag so that you're fresh for the cruise.

portland67

Does anyone have any good hotel recommendations for BCN?

I think I'm going to with CO but I'm going to do a double connect in IAH and FRA to try CO new business first seats. Although I am worried about the 1 hour connection time in FRA coming from BCN. If I miss the CO flight to IAH, does CO protect you onto a LH or UA flight from there to get me back to PDX in C Class?

igloocoder

I've stayed at two places in two different locations in the city. The first was the Hotel AC Barcelona in the Diagonal Mar area. While a nice hotel, it was in a bit of an odd location if you wanted to do the tourist thing. That said, it was only about one block and five stops from the main core of the city via subway.

The second was the H10 on Placa Catalunya. While a fantastic location, the hotel was slightly sub standard. I only stayed one night and it sufficed for that. If I was flying in and leaving again the following day, this location would be where I'd look again.

I've been through FRA a number of times (both to and from Europe). I'm not sure what it is about that airport, but I always feel like it's a mess. I find it hard to find your way around (poor signage and indifferent workers when asked) and it always feels like it's under construction. My last trip I decided to fly through MUC instead. With shorter transfer times than I've ever had in FRA, the process seemed to be easier. I'm not sure why that was, but it certainly cemented for me that MUC is the better transfer point in Germany.

portland67

Has anyone tried CO new Business First seat?

snod08

How do you know you will get the new business seats on CO?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/conti...-flat-bed.html

portland67

On the CO website it's showing the new seats on the IAH-FRA route, so I'm guessing they're just putting the new seats on only certain routes.

snod08

At this point, the choice of routes is quite random, since all the aircraft have not been converted yet. I am sure as your departure time nears, more aircraft will have the new seats.
However, its still hard to predict very far in advance as to what seats you will get.

You can definitely look-up the seats (under amenities) for the next couple of days on co.com or pda.continental.com
THese are not definitive indications for future travel.

The only route that is guaranteed to have the new seats are the EWR-LHR routes...starting June-2010 (AFAIK).