Ticket buying advice for family European trip

[JBDuke]

Thought I'd poll the folks here for some airline ticket buying advice.

Here are the basic facts:
- My wife and I are taking the kids on a cruise out of Barcelona early this June. The cruise leaves on a Saturday afternoon. The last day of school is the Thursday before. We're okay with pulling them from school a little early that day, but we can't leave before Thursday afternoon. We are flexible on our return plans, and we're thinking about spending a couple of days in Barcelona before heading home.
- We live in the DC area, near Dulles. Flying out of Dulles would be best, but we'd consider going to Reagan (DCA) if it makes a big difference (and it does for some airlines). BWI is probably out, unless the deal is just too good to pass up.
- Flying east over the Atlantic pretty much requires a redeye. Taking the kids on a redeye isn't much fun, as I'm sure neither will sleep well, and I probably won't sleep at all. (I use a CPAP machine to help me sleep, and I doubt I'll be able to use it on the plane.) Upgrading would help, but I only have miles on United, and upgrade options are pretty much nonexistent.
- Current coach fares are starting at $1250 roundtrip. Premium coach (which looks pretty nice on British Airways or Air France) would start around $1800 each. I can get business class for about $2700 each. That's as high as I'm willing to go, and that would be a stretch.
- I have about 150K of United frequent flyer miles, and might be able to score a coach-class award ticket, but I need to do that soon, or there won't be options left. I'm a Gold Advantage member with American Airlines, which might give me a small amount of priority seating, but my miles have expired.

So, any advice at this point would be welcome.

I think if I wait a while longer, the coach fares will drop, but not that much. I was planning to monitor and pull the trigger on a coach deal if I saw the price drop much below $1000, or just bite the bullet if we get to about 2 months out and prices are still at this level. I'm not that worried about planes filling up, given the large number of options we have. (United/Luththansa via Frankfurt, Berlin, Geneva, etc.; BA/AA via New York or London; USAir via Philly; Delta/Air France via NYK or Paris, etc.)

I'm pretty tempted by the "premium economy" option. The seats are a an inch or two wider (helps me, as I'm pretty wide). There's also more legroom, and they recline further, so it might be easier for the kids to get some sleep. I might be willing to pay a significant cost upper, but I'm not sure I'm willing to double the price. If anyone has experience with these seats, I'd love to hear about it. (I know all about United's "Economy Plus" and the other similar options for domestic airlines, but the European options are significantly better.

I'm also tempted by the relatively cheap business class option. If the coach fares don't come down much, I might be willing to pay the 100% upper. It's not as expensive as most international business tickets because the seats aren't as big and the service probably isn't as plush, but the extra room would mean a lot more comfort and a real chance for the kids to sleep. I might even be able to sleep with a power outlet. The biggest concern on the business class tickets is that I'll probably have to make a move to get those fares well before I would have to buy the coach fares. Again, any experience here would be welcome.

That's it. Sorry for the long post. I have lots of options, which is nice, but I tend to agonize over such decisions, which isn't. Thanks for any advice/help!

[hurleyfor3]

If only this were 2011-12; I had a bunch of United systemwide upgrades I never used...

Forget about upgrading/using miles for C. Kids probably won't fully appreciate it anyways, even if they're teenagers. Gold on AA doesn't get you lounge access IIRC; you need Plat for that. Also it's not THAT long a flight compared to starting further west in the US or going further east in Europe. $2700 doesn't sound jump-on-it-cheap for C on IAD-BCN, actually. I'd hope for low $2000s.

Would look for nonstops out of IAD over cxns anywhere. You should have nonstop options on multiple airlines. Not having to deal with changing planes/missed cxns on intl flights is a big deal, especially with kids. Also, when returning to the US, I hate having to get on another plane after a long flight and clearing customs.

The premium coach option is compelling. European airlines can be stingy with awarding miles on the cheapest fares, but you're probably buying a few fare classes up from the bottom. Check the fare class and mileage awarding rules if this matters. Also sign the kids up for the miles programs if they're not enrolled already. Other than UA E+ the only "premium economy" I've actually flown in is SAS's, but it was very agreeable. That was back in 2003 I think; ever since then all my intl flights have been up front.

Generally the lowest summer fares post in Jan/Feb, so you should probably have a few weeks, but I wouldn't go too far past mid-March. There have been exceptions to this during recessions (2009 summer airfares stayed obscenely cheap all summer). Also act fast if oil prices shoot up.

[JBDuke]

If only this were 2011-12; I had a bunch of United systemwide upgrades I never used...

Forget about upgrading/using miles for C. Kids probably won't fully appreciate it anyways, even if they're teenagers. Gold on AA doesn't get you lounge access IIRC; you need Plat for that. Also it's not THAT long a flight compared to starting further west in the US or going further east in Europe. $2700 doesn't sound jump-on-it-cheap for C on IAD-BCN, actually. I'd hope for low $2000s.

Would look for nonstops out of IAD over cxns anywhere. You should have nonstop options on multiple airlines. Not having to deal with changing planes/missed cxns on intl flights is a big deal, especially with kids. Also, when returning to the US, I hate having to get on another plane after a long flight and clearing customs.

The premium coach option is compelling. European airlines can be stingy with awarding miles on the cheapest fares, but you're probably buying a few fare classes up from the bottom. Check the fare class and mileage awarding rules if this matters. Also sign the kids up for the miles programs if they're not enrolled already. Other than UA E+ the only "premium economy" I've actually flown in is SAS's, but it was very agreeable. That was back in 2003 I think; ever since then all my intl flights have been up front.

Generally the lowest summer fares post in Jan/Feb, so you should probably have a few weeks, but I wouldn't go too far past mid-March. There have been exceptions to this during recessions (2009 summer airfares stayed obscenely cheap all summer). Also act fast if oil prices shoot up.

I miss systemwides. I was UA 1K for 6 or 7 years straight, but have basically stopped all work travel the last couple of years, so my UA status is bupkis now. I was a million mile flyer on AA back in the 90's, so I have permanent Gold status with them, but no miles in the bank.

Good to know on the C class fares. I was thinking $2700 was pretty good, but if we can knock a few hundred more off of that by waiting a few weeks, I'm okay with that, since, as you say, the coach fares ought to come down somewhat as well.

Would you believe that there are no non-stops from IAD to BCN? We can connect here in the Americas (New York, Philly, Toronto, Miami) or Europe (London, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Geneva). Like you advise, I'm most tempted to connect in the states on the way there and in Europe on the way back. There's a Delta/Air France ticket that would take us via New York on the outbound and via Paris on the return.

I'm not real worried about getting the miles for the tickets. We don't travel enough to make it worthwhile yet. The premium economy on the European airlines is mostly for the extra room and recline on the seats.

So, it sounds to me like your advice would be to keep an eye on things, but wait a few more weeks to buy, as we can expect all of the fares to come down somewhat in Jan/Feb. But if I catch a good deal (say, nearing $2000/ticket) on that business class option, I should probably grab it. Otherwise, don't go much past the ACC Tournament before buying something. And I should seriously consider the premium economy options as a good idea.

Does that sum it up?

[hurleyfor3]

So, it sounds to me like your advice would be to keep an eye on things, but wait a few more weeks to buy, as we can expect all of the fares to come down somewhat in Jan/Feb. But if I catch a good deal (say, nearing $2000/ticket) on that business class option, I should probably grab it. Otherwise, don't go much past the ACC Tournament before buying something. And I should seriously consider the premium economy options as a good idea.

Pretty much. I would choose to transfer in Europe over the US. As far as airports to transfer in... AMS, CPH and MUC are the best; FRA is decent, and CDG and LHR suck. MAD is probably ok too; never xfrd there though. You probably know this, but "business class" on intra-European flights is usually just coach with an unoccupied middle seat, so I wouldn't prioritize that.

I was 1K for nine years straight and became a UA million milier when they merged with CO. Nowadays I only fly to interview for jobs I end up not getting.

If it were me, I'd be watching Z fares on UA via FRA and MUC and secondarily LHR. This is the discount business fare bucket; nonrefundable and in theory nonupgradeable to F, but I believe they earn 150% redeemable miles and 150% status miles.

[weezie]

- My wife and I are taking the kids on a cruise out of Barcelona early this June....any advice at this point would be welcome...

Yes. Adopt me and take me along, too.

[-jk]

I think you need two coach tickets and two business class tickets. Your kids fly coach as "unaccompanied minors". One of you drops them off; the other retrieves them; the two of you relax and let someone else deal with them for six hours.

-jk

[JBDuke]

Thought I'd follow up on this, in case anyone else is in the same boat.

So, it turns out that there really haven't been any great deals yet getting to Barcelona this summer. Coach fares briefly dipped down close to $1000, but never lower than that. The premium economy have stayed at around $1800-$2000. Business class fares have been $2000-$2700 minimum (some much higher). And that cheap first class fare on American, which is really more of a business-class level of service - got bought up as well. No more $2700 fares in First Class.

However, just this morning, Air France's business class fares dropped to $2200 a seat. Premium Economy is still at $1950 or so, and Economy at $1350 on the same flight, so it's only in Business Class. Still, I decided not to wait any further, as we're inside of 3 months from departure, and I don't think Business is going to get a lot cheaper than $2200, especially on a premier airline and with such convenient connections for us. So, I pulled the trigger. (And the credit card goes "ouch!")

[hurleyfor3]

However, just this morning, Air France's business class fares dropped to $2200 a seat. Premium Economy is still at $1950 or so, and Economy at $1350 on the same flight, so it's only in Business Class. Still, I decided not to wait any further, as we're inside of 3 months from departure, and I don't think Business is going to get a lot cheaper than $2200, especially on a premier airline and with such convenient connections for us. So, I pulled the trigger. (And the credit card goes "ouch!")

Good call. You get lounge access with that too, and gobs of miles.

[Reisen]

IIRC, Air France's business class is pretty decent. And they are in the same alliance with Delta, so the miles can be in a program you're likely to use (unlike miles on some foreign airlines I never fly again).