August 2017 - Detroit to Barcelona

[rclibertygirl5]

We have a cruise booked out of Barcelona in early August 2017. This is our first trip to Europe so we have no experience with flight prices. The current Air2Sea prices for flights from Detroit to Barcelona are approximately $1,600 for Economy and $2,600 for Business Class. I know August is high season for Europe travel but I have no idea if these prices are high or low. Could someone please provide a common range for traveling to Europe in August based on your experience? Thanks for your help.

[bugeater2]

My advice is to be flexible with your departure and arrival cities.

 

A quick look at Chicago to Barcelona 8/3 - 8/18 brought up a $870 flight on Turkish and a $1220 flight on Aer Lingus.

Edited October 12, 2016 by bugeater2

[fbgd]

Summer is high season for economy class travel, whilst it's low season for transatlantic business travel so you can often pick up a far better experience for not much money.

 

Past experience is now no indicator of future performance so bear that in mind.

 

I'd personally stay away from Cruise Air type offers.

[Gardyloo]

$2600 for business class in mid-summer is pretty average, maybe a bit high as many airlines put business class on sale for mid-summer travel. $1600 for coach is quite high in my view. (The business class sale fares usually don't show up for booking until sometime in the spring, i.e. book in April for travel in August.)

 

I would look at prices for both coach and business class that depart out of Windsor or (better) Toronto; for the time being the supply-demand picture for Canadian departures is way, way more favorable than from the US. For next August, for example, I can see business class fares from Toronto to Barcelona on American or British Airways for US $2100, almost $1000 cheaper than the same days flying from Detroit. It might make driving to Toronto well worth it.

 

You have plenty of time; the planes aren't going to sell out, and in fact prices might well fall once the airlines have a better handle on things like fuel costs. Use that time to learn how to use ITA - http://matrix.itasoftware.com - for its 30-day calendar function. It's well worth the effort.

[rclibertygirl5]

$2600 for business class in mid-summer is pretty average, maybe a bit high as many airlines put business class on sale for mid-summer travel. $1600 for coach is quite high in my view. (The business class sale fares usually don't show up for booking until sometime in the spring, i.e. book in April for travel in August.)

 

I would look at prices for both coach and business class that depart out of Windsor or (better) Toronto; for the time being the supply-demand picture for Canadian departures is way, way more favorable than from the US. For next August, for example, I can see business class fares from Toronto to Barcelona on American or British Airways for US $2100, almost $1000 cheaper than the same days flying from Detroit. It might make driving to Toronto well worth it.

 

You have plenty of time; the planes aren't going to sell out, and in fact prices might well fall once the airlines have a better handle on things like fuel costs. Use that time to learn how to use ITA - http://matrix.itasoftware.com - for its 30-day calendar function. It's well worth the effort.

 

Thank you so much! This is very helpful information.

[waterbug123]

In my view the prices you are seeing for biz tickets are average to good. On repeated occasions I've seen biz tickets to Europe during summer travel be upwards of $5k! We traveled to Europe this past June and I was thrilled to find biz tickets on our preferred carrier/routing/dates/itinerary for $2200. $1600 for coach tickets in the summer is merely average. Not great, but not horrible, and we've paid in that range multiple times.

[michst8alum]

We booked. Toronto to Barcelona in July 2017 and it was $1700 for 2. We live in Michigan and can drive an extra couple of miles to save $1700. That is with air Canada with the extra $100 a seat for bulkhead.

 

 

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[buggins0402]

In my view the prices you are seeing for biz tickets are average to good. On repeated occasions I've seen biz tickets to Europe during summer travel be upwards of $5k! We traveled to Europe this past June and I was thrilled to find biz tickets on our preferred carrier/routing/dates/itinerary for $2200. $1600 for coach tickets in the summer is merely average. Not great, but not horrible, and we've paid in that range multiple times.

 

This exactly matches what I've found from DTW to Europe high season for one stop flights to destination.

 

I would rate the biz class ticket price as good if it was one stop on SkyTeam, where you probably collect some miles since you live in Metro Detroit.

[rclibertygirl5]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses!!

 

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on the $2600 business class tickets but my cruise is not until next August. Do you think it is too far out to buy them? How far out do you normally buy your tickets? Thanks again!

[buggins0402]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses!!

 

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on the $2600 business class tickets but my cruise is not until next August. Do you think it is too far out to buy them? How far out do you normally buy your tickets? Thanks again!

 

What are the flights? That might help others be able to determine whether it' s a grab it now price.

[rclibertygirl5]

What are the flights? That might help others be able to determine whether it' s a grab it now price.

 

Airline Flight Cabin Class Departure Arrival Duration Aircraft Fare Rules

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 2271

First Class DETROIT, DETROIT METRO, USA (DTW)

03Aug2017

1:45 PM ATLANTA, HARTSFIELD INTL, USA (ATL)

03Aug2017

3:45 PM 12h 40m 320 Baggage and Change fees may apply

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 114

Business Class ATLANTA, HARTSFIELD INTL, USA (ATL)

03Aug2017

5:50 PM BARCELONA, BARCELONA INTL, ESP (BCN)

04Aug2017

8:25 AM 333 Baggage and Change fees may apply

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 6596

Standard Economy BARCELONA, BARCELONA INTL, ESP (BCN)

19Aug2017

6:25 AM ROME, FIUMICINO, ITA (FCO)

19Aug2017

8:10 AM 15h 32S Baggage and Change fees may apply

Op. by Alitalia

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 233

Business Class ROME, FIUMICINO, ITA (FCO)

19Aug2017

11:15 AM DETROIT, DETROIT METRO, USA (DTW)

19Aug2017

3:25 PM

[Gardyloo]

Airline Flight Cabin Class Departure Arrival Duration Aircraft Fare Rules

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 2271

First Class DETROIT, DETROIT METRO, USA (DTW)

03Aug2017

1:45 PM ATLANTA, HARTSFIELD INTL, USA (ATL)

03Aug2017

3:45 PM 12h 40m 320 Baggage and Change fees may apply

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 114

Business Class ATLANTA, HARTSFIELD INTL, USA (ATL)

03Aug2017

5:50 PM BARCELONA, BARCELONA INTL, ESP (BCN)

04Aug2017

8:25 AM 333 Baggage and Change fees may apply

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 6596

Standard Economy BARCELONA, BARCELONA INTL, ESP (BCN)

19Aug2017

6:25 AM ROME, FIUMICINO, ITA (FCO)

19Aug2017

8:10 AM 15h 32S Baggage and Change fees may apply

Op. by Alitalia

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines 233

Business Class ROME, FIUMICINO, ITA (FCO)

19Aug2017

11:15 AM DETROIT, DETROIT METRO, USA (DTW)

19Aug2017

3:25 PM

Flying from Windsor (YQG) on the same days Air Canada business class is US$2289 via Toronto and Munich (both ways.) A bit longer overall going out, a more reasonable departure time from Barcelona returning. Try pricing it on Expedia to see what comes up.

 

For what it's worth, $2600 for your flights is around $600 less than the price quoted by Delta, so there's obviously some wrinkle with the ticket's terms and conditions that might be worth investigating.

 

Would I buy now? Frankly, no. The idea of giving the airlines (or cruise lines) $2600 (or $5200 for two) for ten months doesn't sit well with me. I don't think you're at any risk of the prices jumping up in the meantime, and in fact they may come down. Early birds sometime get cats instead of worms. If it was me I'd monitor fares until late winter or the spring, in case some fare sale comes up.

 

If by any chance you're AARP members or eligible, British Airways has a terrific discount program - $400 per person off for business class bookings. http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/offers/partners/aarp-member-benefits

[buggins0402]

I'd grab them now and not look back, but that's just me.

 

But, I'd keep reminding myself that it was a good price for the ticket when I was waking up at 4am in BCN.:D

[waterbug123]

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on the $2600 business class tickets but my cruise is not until next August. Do you think it is too far out to buy them? How far out do you normally buy your tickets? Thanks again!

 

Given the pricing I usually see for similar Delta flights to Europe during summer travel, I'd be very tempted to buy now. The aforementioned flight I got to Barcelona for this past June for $2200? A friend decided to join the trip a few months prior to our travel dates and the same tickets (slightly different departure city, TPA instead of CHS, but the same ATL-BCN and FCO-ATL) were close to $5500.

The thing is you never know whether waiting will hurt you or help you. Could the tickets at some point be available for $1800? I guess, though I doubt it. But they could and that would be great. Then again, they could also skyrocket to $3k or $4k or higher.

General rule: When you see a price you like, buy the tickets and don't look back.

[rclibertygirl5]

Well I took the plunge and bought the $2,600 business class tickets!! So excited and I think it will be well worth it!!

 

thanks for everyone's input!:)

[TruckerDave]

Every few weeks go back and check your reservations and make sure they haven't adjusted the flights too much. (you can almost guarantee they will change once or twice between now and when you leave). If you are lucky it will only be a few minutes or so each way, but You may need to make some changes if they make the connection time too short or to long. Just keep your original flight #'s and times in case you need to call and make a change.

Edited October 17, 2016 by TruckerDave