I'm looking into flights from Washington, DC to Barcelona. I've read more then enough bad reviews about Iberia, so I want to stay away from them.
Most of the other airlines are similar price, so wondering which would you recommend. I was thinking connecting in Copenhagen or Amsterdam may be out of the way.
Lufthansa and/or United - via Munich or Frankfurt (although I prefer connecting in Munich)
KLM - via Amsterdam
Delta - via JFK or Atlanta
Continental - via Newark
SAS - via Copenhagen
From DC, when I have to connect, I always try to connect in Europe. If your first leg is delayed and you are connecting in Europe, you still have a good chance of getting to your destination on the same day. Munich, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen are all decent airports for a connection.
Here's a conundrum. I usually fly to Madrid, and prefer Continental because I like their service, and I want to avoid JFK. BUT Continental flies a nice 2-aisle 767 to Madrid.....only a 757 (1 aisle) to BCN. I went crazy in a 757 after only 4 hours in the air. Delta makes you go thru JFK, and I've had problems with them rescheduling flights until connections were impossible....BUT they fly a 767 to BCN. The other destination are too far out of the way. Spain sticks out quite a bit to the west....so going to anywhere else in Europe will mean back-tracking.
Probably Continental because connecting in Newark is easy...
Avoid Frankfurt like the plague. I'm all in favour of airport security but Frankfurt is a case of overkill. It takes too long to get anywhere.
Amsterdam is just a pain when it comes to connections. It's a nice airport but the walking distances can be very long.
Copenhagen is a great little airport to connect through and it's SAS's home turf so the chances are you won't have a lot of walking distance.
Continental and Newark have many delays. My last trip from my local town to Newark was delayed 1.5 hours but worse yet out of Newark to London was delayed 11 hours - and then another hour delay while on the plane. I have frequently taken small hops in and out of Newark via Continental and I am not sure any have ever been on time. I was once re-routed through Cleveland becuase there were so many delays in Newark. My best expereinces when hopping over the pond have been on European airlines. Any chance of flying through Paris CDG on Air France?
these replies show how much we are influenced by our previous experiences. personally, i love the frankfurt airport, possibly because it is familiar from many trips. lufthansa is my favorite airline--pleasant fa's, free booze, good movies, decent food. it is head and shoulders above the united flights through frankfurt.
i've only been through newark once, and it was a nightmare. waited almost 2 hours just to clear customs.
it's certainly enlightening to read about others' experiences and learn from then.
Every airport has a horror story. I do agree with the poster who said connecting in Europe is preferable over connecting in the US -- when possible to do so. A delay at connection there creates a few hours delay. A delay at connection here means missing the international flight and losing a day. I also agree with Carrie -- Lufthansa is one of the best experiences in the air. So, my connections are influenced by carrier -- you're in the air longer than on the ground.
I have been through every airport you listed many times, except Copenhagen which was only twice, and I would rank my preference as follows. Copenhagen and Amsterdam aren't really that far out of the way -- it's the equivalent of DC to Nashville or Memphis.
1) Lufthansa via Munich
2) Lufthansa via Frankfurt
3) KLM via Amsterdam
4) SAS via Copenhagen
5) Continental via Newark
6) Delta via JFK
7) Take a boat
8) Delta via Atlanta (I hate that airport)
