Should I wait?

[Eggtuary]

I've never been to Europe before, so the whole process of booking TA flights is new to me.  Plus, I'm interested in flying business class for the first time.  I'm intrigued by the idea of taking advantage of some of the nicer lounges, though I wonder if they'll be terribly limited during COVID.

 

I've been using Kayak and Matrix ITA (based on recommendations here) and so far, the most intriguing option is this:

 

March 25, 2022 SDF to VCE thru ORD and MUC

UA 4599

UA 952

UA 9699

 

April 9, 2022 BCN to SDF thru EWR and ORD

UA 121

UA 1180

UA 3491

 

The only thing I don't like is that the first layover is 5h 45m.  The others are around 2 hours, which seems ideal.

 

Cost is $3,127, and the flights are changeable.

 

Is this worth booking now, or should I wait for more options?

 

Thanks!

 

[CruiserBruce]

The truly nicest lounges are for first class, and the highest level of elites. However, you will have, Covid permitting, United Polaris and Lufthansa Business Lounges, which aren't bad. Not sure whta lounge you will have in BCN.

 

I would book the fares. The chances are probably greater the fare will go up, although historically United has done some good Business class sales in January...sometimes. You can always cancel the current booking and book the new lower fares, if the sales happen.

[Ashland]

We've used the lounge at BCN but can't remember if it was flying with DL or AA and it was very nice. These are the two airlines we fly business/first on.

[CruiserBruce]

22 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We've used the lounge at BCN but can't remember if it was flying with DL or AA and it was very nice. These are the two airlines we fly business/first on.

Different airline alliances will probably use different lounges, although occasionally there are contract lounges that multiple airlines buy into. The OP is flying on United or United affiliates...the chances they will be in the same lounge as AA or DL is small.

[Eggtuary]

So, the flights back from BCN are no longer available.  Instead, for the same price, it offered me this:

 

April 9, 2022 BCN to SDF thru YYZ and ORD

UA 8603 (Air Canada)

UA 4510 

UA 3491

 

I went ahead and booked it, knowing that I have 24 hours to cancel for free.  Thoughts?  

[fbgd]

I'm surprised there are no 1 connection options to get you from SDF to BCN given there are non-stops to on the big airlines to the hubs you're mentioning, but then connecting on once again elsewhere.

 

Delta operate non-stops from Cincinnati to Paris-CDG. Why not drive to CVG and save an extra connection, and a 5hr one at that. Lots of flights between CDG and BCN.

 

I'd avoid unnecessary international connections (such as through Canada) in the COVID era.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, fbgd said:

Delta operate non-stops from Cincinnati to Paris-CDG. Why not drive to CVG and save an extra connection, and a 5hr one at that. Lots of flights between CDG and BCN.

 

I'd avoid unnecessary international connections (such as through Canada) in the COVID era.

 

 

I agree with your thinking.  For the OP having to make two connections.....well, that's just more opportunity for "things to go awry".

Edited September 24, 2021 by rkacruiser

[Eggtuary]

Talked to my wife. She doesn’t want to drive to CVG, despite the advantages. However, she agreed with the idea of not flying through Canada. So I canceled my previous flights and booked these:

 

March 25

LH9133 to ORD

LH431 to FRA

LH326 to VCE

 

April 9

LH1809 BCN to MUC

LH434 to ORD

LH9166 to SDF

 

All of my layovers are about 4 hours, except the last is 95 min. I know that sounds like an awful lot of waiting, but my wife feels safer about making connections this way and will be more relaxed.  Also saved some money. 
 

[CruiserBruce]

34 minutes ago, Eggtuary said:

Talked to my wife. She doesn’t want to drive to CVG, despite the advantages. However, she agreed with the idea of not flying through Canada. So I canceled my previous flights and booked these:

 

March 25

LH9133 to ORD

LH431 to FRA

LH326 to VCE

 

April 9

LH1809 BCN to MUC

LH434 to ORD

LH9166 to SDF

 

All of my layovers are about 4 hours, except the last is 95 min. I know that sounds like an awful lot of waiting, but my wife feels safer about making connections this way and will be more relaxed.  Also saved some money. 
 

Just to confirm you know that LH 9133 and 9166 are United flights, not LH.

[Eggtuary]

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Just to confirm you know that LH 9133 and 9166 are United flights, not LH.

Ah, yes. Thanks. 

[MoreyCreek]

On 9/24/2021 at 1:43 PM, Eggtuary said:

Talked to my wife. She doesn’t want to drive to CVG, despite the advantages. However, she agreed with the idea of not flying through Canada. So I canceled my previous flights and booked these:

 

March 25

LH9133 to ORD

LH431 to FRA

LH326 to VCE

 

April 9

LH1809 BCN to MUC

LH434 to ORD

LH9166 to SDF

 

All of my layovers are about 4 hours, except the last is 95 min. I know that sounds like an awful lot of waiting, but my wife feels safer about making connections this way and will be more relaxed.  Also saved some money. 
 

 

[MoreyCreek]

A layover of 95 minutes in ORD seems a little risky to me.  You know you will have to go through immigration there.  Even if you have Global Entry.   You will likely have a terminal change as well.  I hope you aren't trying to catch the last flight of the day to your destination.

[Eggtuary]

1 hour ago, MoreyCreek said:

A layover of 95 minutes in ORD seems a little risky to me.  You know you will have to go through immigration there.  Even if you have Global Entry.   You will likely have a terminal change as well.  I hope you aren't trying to catch the last flight of the day to your destination.

There is one flight after ours. 

[FlyerTalker]

12 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

There is one flight after ours. 

 

And you will only fly on it if there are seats available for you as a standby.  They will not bump other passengers to accommodate you.

 

You WILL have to make the change from T5 to T1 at ORD.  Currently, the train between stations is shut down, so you may have to take a bus transfer.  They are officially running every 5-15 minutes, but you know how airport bus schedules are.  Then through security once again.

[Eggtuary]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And you will only fly on it if there are seats available for you as a standby.  They will not bump other passengers to accommodate you.

 

You WILL have to make the change from T5 to T1 at ORD.  Currently, the train between stations is shut down, so you may have to take a bus transfer.  They are officially running every 5-15 minutes, but you know how airport bus schedules are.  Then through security once again.

Ok, so it sounds like I should proactively switch to that flight. Thanks!

[Post Captain]

@Eggtuary~

 

I'm late to this conversation, and am not sure whether the following suggestion will be helpful.  But, just a thought:

 

Personally, I would not be comfortable with the number of separate flights and layovers that are involved in the various itineraries that have been discussed in this thread.  Of course, living in the NYC metro area, I'm spoiled with a wide selection of non-stop flights from JFK and/or EWR to virtually all major European destinations.

However, sometimes, when taking a transatlantic trip to a destination that is not well served by convenient flights, I fly into a major airport and take a train onward to my final destination.  I find that that that works better than adding an additional flight to my final destination.  If nothing else, it cuts out a bit of the anxiety of possibly missing the connecting flight, as well as a potentially additional process of going through immigration and security formalities yet again. In your case, it will also cut out the layover at ORD, giving you just a single layover--in the U.S.--en route.

 

With that in mind, this could possibly simplify the outbound flight(s), where your final destination is Venice:  Rather than taking a series of three separate flights that will eventually get you to Venice, why not consider flying to Milan (MXP) and taking a train to Venice from there?  A quick search on Google Flights shows this:  UAL 4456, departing SDF at 12:08, pm, arriving EWR at 2:05 pm; then, UAL 19 departing EWR at 6:25 pm, arriving MXP at 7:25 am. From MXP, take the train into Milan (Milan Centrale station), from where there are relatively frequent direct trains to Venice, taking just over two and a half hours.  Anyway, this would be my preferred route.

 

You would have just one layover en-route, with no immigration formalities at EWR, of course, no change of terminal during the layover, and a reasonably straightforward (if not entirely pleasurable) security check* before your connecting flight to MXP.  (*The process at EWR is nothing to write home about, but it's preferable to being herded like cattle at JFK Terminal 4.)   EWR is a United hub, and United's Terminal C features both a United Club lounge and a Polaris Lounge.  Those lounges are currently closed, or were the last time I checked, but one can hope that they'll reopen before March 2022.

 

I'm afraid your flight options from BCN to SDF will be the same as outlined in previous posts, making it a two-layover trip in that direction.

 

Hope this helps.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Post Captain

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Post Captain said:

With that in mind, this could possibly simplify the outbound flight(s), where your final destination is Venice:  Rather than taking a series of three separate flights that will eventually get you to Venice, why not consider flying to Milan (MXP) and taking a train to Venice from there?  A quick search on Google Flights shows this:  UAL 4456, departing SDF at 12:08, pm, arriving EWR at 2:05 pm; then, UAL 19 departing EWR at 6:25 pm, arriving MXP at 7:25 am. From MXP, take the train into Milan (Milan Centrale station), from where there are relatively frequent direct trains to Venice, taking just over two and a half hours.  Anyway, this would be my preferred route.

 

 

So instead of taking three flights, you want them to take TWO flights and TWO trains.  So an additional connection over just flying.

 

Plus, you would have to handle your own luggage at both Milan airport and Milan Centrale, while doing it all by air, you'd check in your bags in the USA and see them again in Venice.

 

Also, you would now have the price of a ticket to MXP and an additional ticket into Venice, rather than a through fare from USA to Venice.

 

For those who pack light, or don't mind wheeling their luggage through train stations, you might have an option.  And it might make economic sense, depending on current pricing.  But it is FAR from the easiest method to make this trip.

[Post Captain]

41 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

 

So instead of taking three flights, you want them to take TWO flights and TWO trains.  So an additional connection over just flying.

 

Plus, you would have to handle your own luggage at both Milan airport and Milan Centrale, while doing it all by air, you'd check in your bags in the USA and see them again in Venice.

 

Also, you would now have the price of a ticket to MXP and an additional ticket into Venice, rather than a through fare from USA to Venice.

 

For those who pack light, or don't mind wheeling their luggage through train stations, you might have an option.  And it might make economic sense, depending on current pricing.  But it is FAR from the easiest method to make this trip.

 

What can I say?  I like trains.  And I travel light.  I routinely have gotten onto trains and done journeys of 3 or 4 hours (mainly in the UK and in Switzerland/Austria) immediately after coming off a transatlantic flight, and am planning to do so from MUC to Innsbruck next year.  And I'm no spring chicken.

 

Milan Centrale to Venice Santa Lucia can be priced as little as  €19.90 per person with advance booking.

 

Anyway, it was just something I threw out there for the OP to consider.  I won't be offended in the least if he/she thinks it's a crazy idea and decides to stick with the original plan of three flights.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Post Captain

[rkacruiser]

On 9/24/2021 at 4:43 PM, Eggtuary said:

Talked to my wife. She doesn’t want to drive to CVG, despite the advantages.

 

I don't want to cause marital discord, but I think your wife's thinking is wrong given the flight options that I have read on this thread.  Why does she object to drive the short distance from Louisville to Cincinnati's airport which is located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River?  (It's a heck of a lot more convenient for you Kentuckians to access than we Ohioans.)  

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

19 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I don't want to cause marital discord, but I think your wife's thinking is wrong given the flight options that I have read on this thread.  Why does she object to drive the short distance from Louisville to Cincinnati's airport which is located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River?  (It's a heck of a lot more convenient for you Kentuckians to access than we Ohioans.) 

 

And if she objects to driving to CVG, I bet I know her answer to taking two trains.

 

😏

 

 

[Post Captain]

19 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And if she objects to driving to CVG, I bet I know her answer to taking two trains.

 

😏

 

 

 

If there were a train from Louisville to CVG, they wouldn't have to drive. 😉 

 

(Evidently you can get from Louisville to CVG by taking a series of three buses--but not even I would suggest that!😁)

Edited September 27, 2021 by Post Captain

[Eggtuary]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:56 AM, FlyerTalker said:

 

And you will only fly on it if there are seats available for you as a standby.  They will not bump other passengers to accommodate you.

 

You WILL have to make the change from T5 to T1 at ORD.  Currently, the train between stations is shut down, so you may have to take a bus transfer.  They are officially running every 5-15 minutes, but you know how airport bus schedules are.  Then through security once again.

The company I booked through says it would now be hundreds of dollars to switch to the later flight, or to cancel altogether. Guess I will stick with my current flight and hope for the best. 

[FlyerTalker]

On 9/27/2021 at 3:29 PM, Eggtuary said:

The company I booked through says it would now be hundreds of dollars to switch to the later flight, or to cancel altogether. Guess I will stick with my current flight and hope for the best. 

 

"The company I booked through".....makes me believe that we are talking about discounted consolidator tickets here.

 

Caveat emptor.

[Eggtuary]

8 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

"The company I booked through".....makes me believe that we are talking about discounted consolidator tickets here.

 

Caveat emptor.

Bought through Kayak. Should I be concerned?

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, Eggtuary said:

Bought through Kayak. Should I be concerned?

As far as I know, Kayak is purely a search engine. It takes you to other places (some decent, like the airlines themselves; some sketchy, like CheapOAir) to actually book. Do you know who you actually booked through?