Barcelona Flights

Leaving Barcelona to go to Göteborg, Sweden I had booked a flight with Spanair (with a transfer in Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Göteborg was with SAS).

We boarded the plane a bit late, but eventually we were all seated. Unfortunately we were seated and not moving for about an hour. It was only then that we were told that the airport was short on baggage handlers and that it had taken so long for us to have our baggage put in the plane that we had missed our spot on the runway for departure and may have to wait another hour or two! Not good when my connecting flight was supposed to depart 1hr15mins after the arrival of my Barcelona flight - if it had been on schedule.

Luckily 15 minutes later we were told we would be taking off. Apart from that flying with Spanair was comfortable and the flight attendants helpful when I asked questions in regards to my connecting flight. They also showed a movie (no personal screens, just one each side of the plane about every 4th or 5th row), but you had to pay for headphones.

It must have been my lucky day, as my connecting flight ended up being delayed by 1hr30mins, so I made it.

I would say Spanair is a nice airline... just hope they have enough baggage handlers.

To get to Barcelona my friends and I flew with Ryanair (from Venice Treviso). The flight was short and sweet. When I am in Europe I fly with Ryanair frequently and I have never had a problem with them. The flight attendants are always nice and helpful.

If you haven't flown with Ryanair before, just note that they serve food and drinks onboard, but you have to pay for it. You can of course always bring your own food.

From arrival at Girona (just north of Barcelona, the airport on the Ryanair website is 'Barcelona (Girona)') it is easy to grab your bags, buy a ticket for the bus to Barcelona (from a counter in the arrival hall) and then just hop on the bus. It takes just over an hour to get from the airport in Girona to the main station in Barcelona (from there you can get a taxi, bus or the metro to different areas within Barcelona).

If you fly with low cost airlines you will be landing in Girona (=Spanish) or Gerona (=Catalan) which is a busride of approx. 1:15 hrs from Barcelona. There is a shuttle service that brings you to the Estación del Norte in Barcelona and back to Girona Airport. Find schedules of the shuttle services on the homepage of Girona Airport.

Arriving at BCN Airport, you have several possibilities to get to the city center:

-> by TRAIN : get out of the airport building and at the level of terminal C you will see a bridge that looks a little bit like a train passing over the street to the other side. Take the lift up there, cross over, buy a ticket at the machines and take the train to Estación Sants or Plaza Catalunya.

-> by AIRPORT BUS : The AEROBUS is a blue bus that stops in all terminals (A, B and C). The bus stations are right at the exit of the arrival halls at the different gates. For schedule, exact itinerary and price check out http://www.bcn.es/turisme/english/turisme/mobilitat/ser_tra_hom11.htm
The main stops are at Plaza Espana, Urgell, Plaza Catalunya.

-> by REGULAR BUS nr. 46 : this is a bus line of the ordinary bus transportation system of the city. The advantage is that it is the cheapest (you can use the T-10 ticket, see my info on bus/metro transportation in Barcelona). The disadvantage is that these busses don't have specific luggage store compartments like the aerobus. This bus stops at Terminal B, at least this was so in JAN 2008.

-> by TAXI : if you want to travel in comfort and style, take the taxi. It is still affordable in Barcelona!

For those who are disabled or cannot walk great distances, be aware of the following: there is no transportation (shuttle, tram, people mover, etc.) provided between the two main terminals at BCN. We landed at Terminal A and had to go to Terminal B to get our rental car. My wife had a wheelchair from the moment we landed at Terminal A, but the attendant could not take her to Terminal B ("a very long distance," he said) and there was no other means of transportation. End result: with our luggage loaded on a cart, my wife got atop the luggage and I pushed her through the walkway between terminals, to Avis, and then out to the Avis lot. And I have pulmonary fibrosis, so it wasn't easy jaunt. For our return trip, some Barcelona friends (who have similar problems) assisted us. We are surprised that Barcelona is so far behind in taking care of handicapped travelers.

My travel partner and I were completely unaware and caught off guard by a strike at the airport. We were told afterwards that this is a pretty common occurence, which apparently happens annually. Because of the Barcelona airport ground crew boycotting, we missed our flight to Madrid, and subsequently, our flight to NYC. Our airline did not have another flight out until the following Monday, so we were surprised with an extra 4 days in Spain. No complaints here whatsoever, especially b/c the travel insurance covered almost everything! We did spend the better part of 9 hours dealing with paperwork and lines in the airport. My advice: make sure you have trip insurance and call ahead to the airport.

Easyjet offer very cheap flights to Barcelona airport which is just a short train or bus journey away from the city centre.
Planes arrive and depart from terminal A at Barcelona and there are flights from various airports around the UK.
The flight took around 2 hours 15 minutes (from Liverpool).

My flight in June left very early in the morning but it did allow for almost a full day in Barcelona.

The aircraft (a modern Airbus A319) was clean with plenty of snaks and drinks available on board.
It is also well worth paying a few extra £'s to get speedy boarding, this allows you to be one of the first 20 to board the aircraft and choose your own seat.

Barcelona Airport departures is, in our experience, shambolic and a disgrace. Suffice to say that we arrived two and three quarter hours before our flight and got to the plane with five minutes to spare. There was an interminable queue to check in the baggage and then an equally long queue to get through security. This was in early June - what the place is like at the peak of the tourist season I dread to think. Our flight was then delayed because the airport was sluggish in dealing with the paperwork permitting the plane to leave. The plane's captain treated us to a lengthy monologue about what he thought of the level of 'efficiency' of Barcelona Airport, so I can only assume that our experience was far from unique.