Are there any airlines that you would not recommend flying inside the country. We will likely be flying from Barcelona to Granada and then Madrid to Lisbon. The options all look like small airlines that I have no experience with . Thanks
Answering in reverse ... have used Vueling. Spanish carrier like RyanAir, easyJet that also fly in Italy+
Just fine.
Vueling and easyjet are fine.
Try and avoid Ryanair.
Pay attention to checkin and luggage requirements.
Well, RyanAir is the biggest airline in Europe and Vueling is from the group AIG (which resulted of the merger of Iberia, the Spanish national carrier and British Airways, hence becoming also a very large player)... just sayin'.
I wouldn't say there are no-no airlines, only unfortunate incidents. I do travel a lot, have taken all sorts of companies and planes and, IMHO, among the big carriers one can't really say "don't take this or that one", just happens that on this particular flight on this particular day on this particular carrier one happens to have an incident... but this doesn't apply to the hundreds of other daily flights from the same company.
Still... for budget airlines, my personal preference is Vueling, then RyanAir then EasyJet.
Another vote for Vueling. We flew from Barcelona to Vienna using them, and the ticket was very inexpensive, which was a bit troubling, actually (like you get what you pay for thing). I was told it was a budget airline so I wasn't expecting much, and typically you can't expect much from any airline. ;) From checking in in Barcelona thru Vienna everything was positive and quite pleasant. We were pleasantly greeted at the counter, we were instructed and pointed to the correct security line, the waiting area was bright and clean. The flight attendants were attentive and kind. The interior of the plane was fresh and clean. I'd certainly fly them again. I've never used Ryan Air, but I've been told to be very aware. They sometimes use airports an hour away from the major airport and there is extra charges for luggage
RyanAir is fine except the seats on our two hour flight did not recline at all. On time, constant pre flight emails with instructions and offers.