Austin to Barcelona. Best airport to change planes

For me the timing of the overnight flight is more important than the airport. I do much better with jet lag if I'm arriving between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Euro time.

Also, if I'm flying in the back of the plane I tend to want the overnight flight to be shorter - gets uncomfortable after a while. So East Coast is preferred. If I'm flying at or towards the front of the plane, where I can get longer and better sleep, then I want the overnight flight to be longer. Midwest to West Coast departure.

Another option, which I would prefer (I like my overnight flights to be as long as possible), is to fly on British Airways (an American Airlines partner) from Austin to London and change there. American Airlines sells tickets for those flights.

Otherwise, of your other options, Atlanta is a good layover airport but not JFK! Can't speak for Philadelphia, or for Chicago after the remodelling.

I connect through Atlanta regularly with Delta and it's very easy to get between terminals. You just head downstairs on the escalator and take the train which runs about every 2 minutes. This would be a good option to minimize your walking.

I don't think you need 6 hours though, and I say this as someone who's always paranoid about missing a flight and selects connections a bit longer than I need. I try to find an approx. 3 hour layover, which worked out well a few months ago when my connection was delayed.

I agree with Mary. The system at Atlanta makes changing planes quite easy.

wow Hank

do you have to fly from Seattle to the east coast and then across the pond?

That is one long flight.

Thank you everyone

Atlanta is a big Delta hub, isn't it. I was in Atlanta one time. I think that I remember having an Orange Julius.

And I think that Philadelphia is an American hub.

I will also look into B A through American.

I am just beginning my research.

This is my thrid time flying to Europe and it gets easier (the research and the planning)

Boston Phil, no, I fly from the west coast. But I'm nowadays flying business. So I don't mind the 10 hours on the plane.

When I was flying economy, my preference was to first fly from the west coast to the Northeast, Boston, New York, Toronto, etc. and then from there do the red eye in a tiny seat part of the flight for s
6-7 hours. I don't like to do a 10+ hour overnight flight in economy.

There is a good option though from Seattle for economy red eye. Icelandair breaks the flight into two pieces of reasonable length.

But anyway my greater point is that for me, it's important to arrive later in the morning through lunch time. I do much better with jet lag than if I'm arriving at 7:00 a.m. so my planning is always primarily about timing, less so about which airports I'm going through :)

Of all the options listed, Atlanta would be our choice over JFK. We avoid changing in JFK if at all possible. If memory serves correctly, the last time I was in the Philadelphia airport things seems a bit chaotic, and I just can't speak to Chicago or DFW.

I connect through Philly regularly. It's very easy.

I also often fly out of JFK. On either Delta or AA, your connection would be within the same terminal (4 or 8, respectively), and thus quite easy.

Chicago is fine for going to Europe on American (I'm not sure they fly to BCN from there...). But it's a little tricky coming back, as it requires a terminal change.

I'm no fan of short layovers, but 6 hours is more than I'd ever look for. 3-4 should offer lots of cushion without too much extra time to kill.

I prefer Delta so here is what I recommend.

Fly to BCN via ATL. I looked at a Friday in mid October. There is a 12:35pm from AUS to ATL arriving at 3:53.

At ATL, take the 6:25pm to BCN arriving at 9:10am on an Airbus A350. This itinerary I would do. The JFK flight is on an old 767-300. The A350 is MUCH BETTER. Plus you arrive mid morning which I prefer.

If you want to arrive at ATL earlier, you can take the 10:45am departure from AUS.

Thank you to all for your feedback

It is still a little early for me to finish my research yet alone book but it is coming.

It looks like I have a lot of options

I am unique in a lot of my ways at looking at things, this included. I love to travel and travel is a function of $$. So, ....

I do a google flight search set up with 1 layover of 2 to 4 hours each way. Go to the date grid and adjust the dates within the range that I can travel until I find the flight with the most days per dollar ..,. And buy it.

Sometimes, if 2 layovers will save $200 or more, I will go that route.

The only ticket requirement is I get to choose my seat. With some airlines that is possible on the lowest fare and with other airlines not.

So which airport to change in is best? With two exceptions they are all adequate. The two exceptions are LHR and Chucky D. I avoid both as they add 90 minutes to the required layover time. My favorite is IST and I might pay $50 extra for that.

bostonphil7

You're getting a lot of really good info here. Is the appointment with your doctor for the referral for your new knee this month?

We travel to Spain every summer from Massachusetts. Usually we fly from Boston to Madrid on a direct, non-stop flight. Because we live in a part of Massachusetts that is closer to the Hartford airport (BDL), we sometimes try to leave from BDL, but the flights are only direct to Dublin on Aer Lingus. So, if we want to go to Spain, we have to take a connecting flight at some point. A few years ago, we had to fly from BDL to PHL, then connect to a flight to Madrid. Our flight was late and we missed our connection. It was a huge PITA and our options were limited to one flight a day (we waited two days). So, my rule of thumb now is to fly direct to Europe. At least once we are there, we have options to get to our final destination.

Nigel

Funny that you should ask because my appointment is today.

I plan to ask for a referral to an Orthopedics Specialist but also to ask for a referral to physical therapy.

Thank you for your concern. I will keep you updated

And, yes, I have been getting some excellent information and feedback.

marctshark

One of my fears when traveling is getting stranded in the airport like when there is only one flight a day and the flight is full like what happened to you.

I am willing to wait patiently for hours if I must but I would have difficulty with days.

That is another advantage of a huge airport like Atlanta, which is well served and probably also has numerous Barcelona flights daily.

It's why it is such a good option - the combination of ease of moving around between the various parts and the sheer volume of flights available.

I am most definitely leaning towards Atlanta and that would mean using Delta which would work just fine.

I am very soon going to check out schedules.

I thought the recent suggestion to fly from Austin to London and change there is a really good one

I did a quick check at Google Flights for a random two weeks next October. Right now the round trip flights from Austin to Barcelona are in the 700-800 range which is pretty reasonable. I didn't see any good connections through Atlanta.

I always think that it is best to get to Europe in one hop if possible and then make your connections there. I would lean toward the British Airways flight (booked on American) that goes non stop from Austin to London and then connects to Barcelona. You would still be booking with one of your preferred airlines.

Carol

When I did a very quick check and it was very quick, the fare was about $1,000 round trip which I thought was very good.

I always want to pick out my own seat and be allowed one bag checked free and one carry on as well.

Next week I will get more serious about booking air but still just doing the research.

I go directly to the Delta or American website and yes, I am going to consider American as well as Delta.

I always want to pick out my own seat and be allowed one bag checked
free and one carry on as well.

What if I offer you a flight that is $350 less expensive but you will have to pay $70 each way to check your bag? I get faced with that from time to time.

If you change at LHR, give yourself 4 hours.

Having said that. Dont beat it to death. With 2 hour or greater lay overs the odds of something happening are real, but real small. I haven't missed a flight or been canceled in 15 years and I go overseas 3 to 4 times a year. I also have not had to gate check my carryon .... ever .... despite being the cheapie that boards in group 28. Some day all this will happen to me. I will count up how much I saved over the 15 years and figure the one time inconvenience was worth the $15,000+ i saved.

If you are lucky you will see a flight that just "feels" good and the price is "fair" .... take it and go enjoy.

Darn

I can get a good flight from Austin to Barcelona changing at Atlanta going but coming home I would have to change at JFK. That is on Delta

I still have to check out American and B A through American.

Stay tuned

I'm just chiming in to say that I loved the Orange Julius memory 😊

Never the same since they changed their logo.