I'm having problems deciding which is the best US airline to take to Barcelona. Any ideas?
The cheapest. If you can save an extra $150 or so, that's another day in Europe (day and a half for me since I'm cheap). It's not hard to endure eight or nine hours of rude service or bad food when you put it in perspective.
Are you talking about traveling in first class or just getting great service.
For the first, it doesn't matter....most US airlines first class are similar. (Make sure they offer flat beds).
If you're looking for a US based airline with great service in coach, the answer is easy--none of them.
Swiss International Airlines won Skytrak's best airline in Europe award for 2009. I just flew with Swiss to Madrid in November...best airline I've flown. They also serve Barcelona...connections are via Zurich. BA won best transatlantic. Continental won best in North America. The best first-class in the world is Singapore. The top five in the world overall are: Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Asiana, Qatar, Emirates.
Not sure how much advice you'll get here regarding first class...most folks on this Helpline fly economy and are interested in low fares. Good luck with your search.