Custom Air to Barcelona

[Flgreg]

Hello--anyone have any luck using Custom Air to fly from Atlanta to Barcelona (we'd be starting out of Tampa) on Delta.

 

It would be one way as it's for a transatlantic crossing. We will do practically anything to avoid JFK (although we had to earlier this month to get to Dublin. It's as bad as ever, including us having to change terminals which required us to go through security twice after arriving from Tampa).

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[mrstanley]

We live in NE Florida and prefer to fly Delta from Atlanta when flying internationally.

Last November Regent wouldn’t put us on the direct flight from Atlanta to Rome.

 

We had to fly out of JFK and had to change terminals and the train was not working.

Just awful!

[cruiseej]

I'm not sure I understand your question. Delta has an ATL-BCN nonstop. Regent should be able to book you on it, but you'll likely have to pay a cost differential unless it happens to be am flight they have contracted — which seems unlikely since Delta connecting flights through JFK are such less expensive. Depending on what Regent quotes you, it might be better to book the flight on your own and take the air credit.

 

But assuming you want Delta One, the prices are crazy high ($8,200 pp one way for Nov. 18, a date I just looked at prior to one of the November '23 crossings). Delta Premium Select is roughly a quarter the price.

 

If Regent can get you to Barcelona with a connection for less money, that's what they'll offer. You might have to pay a supplement of $3-$4k per person to get that nonstop.

 

Do you have to fly Delta? On the same date I checked, United via either Houston or Newark, in Business Class, is $3,516 — less than half the Delta nonstop.

Edited June 25, 2023 by cruiseej

[Flgreg]

Thanks. No, we don't have to fly Delta. We simply prefer it. However I perfectly understand your point. 

 

I guess our main goal is to have business class with hopefully only one connection and we'd prefer to arrive in Barcelona no later than noon. Thanks for checking on the United flights.

[red1head]

FWIW, we just flew on United from Tampa through Dulles to Barcelona in business + domestic FC arriving about 8:30am. We paid the deviation fee, but that’s all. We were at the hotel by 10:30am. Immigration was very slow…   On board Voyager now. 

[Flgreg]

4 minutes ago, red1head said:

FWIW, we just flew on United from Tampa through Dulles to Barcelona in business + domestic FC arriving about 8:30am. We paid the deviation fee, but that’s all. We were at the hotel by 10:30am. Immigration was very slow…   On board Voyager now. 

Thank you red1head.  What was your impression of United's business class? Which hotel did you use in Barcelona and was your room available upon arrival?

 

Hope you're enjoying your trip!

[red1head]

5 minutes ago, Flgreg said:

What was your impression of United's business class? Which hotel did you use in Barcelona and was your room available upon arrival?

Flgreg, the flight to Barcelona was a Polaris flight, so we had access the the Polaris lounge at Dulles. Very nice with food a cut above the United Club. The flight had lay-flat beds in BC and the service was United competent with dinner and light breakfast right before landing 7.5 hour flight, so not all that much time for sleep if you wanted it. We had visited Barcelona twice before and so took the Regent pre-cruise tour which included a night in Barcelona and two nights in a hotel situated in a medieval castle in Cardona. It included a visit to the Abbey at Monserrat, a tour of the castle and church (tallest Romanesque church in Spain) and the nearby salt mine which was the source of wealth for the dukes of Cardona in the 12-15th centuries. Our hotel in Barcelona was the NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderon. It was in a good location to visit the city if you wished, with  nice rooftop pool and bar with killer views of the city and the sea. It was for the tour group. We booked the night before our arrival to ensure we could go straight to the room.

 

[Flgreg]

38 minutes ago, red1head said:

Flgreg, the flight to Barcelona was a Polaris flight, so we had access the the Polaris lounge at Dulles. Very nice with food a cut above the United Club. The flight had lay-flat beds in BC and the service was United competent with dinner and light breakfast right before landing 7.5 hour flight, so not all that much time for sleep if you wanted it. We had visited Barcelona twice before and so took the Regent pre-cruise tour which included a night in Barcelona and two nights in a hotel situated in a medieval castle in Cardona. It included a visit to the Abbey at Monserrat, a tour of the castle and church (tallest Romanesque church in Spain) and the nearby salt mine which was the source of wealth for the dukes of Cardona in the 12-15th centuries. Our hotel in Barcelona was the NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderon. It was in a good location to visit the city if you wished, with  nice rooftop pool and bar with killer views of the city and the sea. It was for the tour group. We booked the night before our arrival to ensure we could go straight to the room.

 

Thanks again.

[vitacura]

I booked our airfare through Regent for an upcoming cruise later this year. Flying TPA-EWR-BCN on United. First on the domestic portion then Business across the Atlantic. I have enjoyed the Polaris product and the timing worked on the flights. I do recall they offered no options through ATL without an extra charge. I didn't inquire on what cost or airline those were, since the United flights worked for us.

Edited June 26, 2023 by vitacura

[cruiseej]

@Flgreg We just flew United business class from Newark to Barcelona last month. The Polaris lounge in Newark is huge and quite nice (although it was packed when we were there). The flight was fine; the Polaris pods on United are reasonably comfortable; service was fine and the food is okay but not grand, typical for a US-based carrier.

 

We arrived three days before our cruise and stayed at Le Meridien, which we enjoyed and would stay in again. It's a great location, midway up La Rambla, making it easy to walk around the city; we walked to restaurants each night and only took a cab to go to Park Guell. For most in our group, it was a first visit to Barcelona, so we were happy doing two half-day walking tours with a guide and walking to other attractions on our own.

[Flgreg]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

@Flgreg We just flew United business class from Newark to Barcelona last month. The Polaris lounge in Newark is huge and quite nice (although it was packed when we were there). The flight was fine; the Polaris pods on United are reasonably comfortable; service was fine and the food is okay but not grand, typical for a US-based carrier.

 

We arrived three days before our cruise and stayed at Le Meridien, which we enjoyed and would stay in again. It's a great location, midway up La Rambla, making it easy to walk around the city; we walked to restaurants each night and only took a cab to go to Park Guell. For most in our group, it was a first visit to Barcelona, so we were happy doing two half-day walking tours with a guide and walking to other attractions on our own.

Thanks very much.