Pam

Has anyone flown Spanair? I have the choice of flying either Spanair or Iberia from Paris to Barcelona. The Spanair flight is $156. It connects in Madrid and the total flight time is four hours. The Iberia flight is $220. However, its direct and the flight time is only one and one half hours. Also, the Spanair flight leaves from de Gaulle while the Iberia flight leaves from Orly. I am staying in an apartment in the Oberkampf district. Can anyone tell me which airport is closer? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

Brent

Can't help with the closest airport info but I would take the direct flight with these airlines track records. It's worth the extra 40 bucks.

Brent

I mean it's worth the extra 70 bucks. Depends on how strapped for cash you are.

Ron

I flew SpanAir last year Dulles to Malaga and back. The flights were pleasant the food good and I was treated nicely. My last flight on Iberia Chicago to Malaga, They delayed the flight from Malaga to Madrid, and insisted the flight would not leave Madrid without us. I was one of fifteen left in Madrid. We argued For over an hour and a half to get flights home. They expected us to stay in madrid until the next day at our own expense. After they gave in I was sent as far as JFK via LHR. They insisted, there were no connecting flights to BWI, my final destination. When I checked in at American Airlines in London I was able to book a flight at my expense. They refused to compensate me for this added expense. I would NEVER fly with them regardless of price.

JP

hi there, <BR> <BR>we about to book with Iberia for our trip to Malaga this year and then the agent told us not to. she had heard that they are cancelling a lot of flights without telling passengers. we figured it better to pay a little more to actually get a flight. <BR> <BR>sounds like others have had some unpleasant experiences as well. <BR> <BR>JP

Mónica

I think that Iberia and Spanair belong to the same group... so the possible problems are similar. They can even "swap lines" that is, you can use an Spanair plane for an Iberia flight or vice- versa. <BR>On the other hand, the cause of Iberia's cancelled flights has been a savage pilots' strike which has already finished. So, there should be no more problems <BR>

ilisa

We flew Spanair a few years ago and were very pleased with the service. Good food, friendly service and on-time. I definitely recommend them.

gail

Pam, we had tickets on Iberia in March and when we arrived in Madrid, they refused to seat us, saying the seats were only standby (purchased months in advance). The next 2 flights were booked as well. When we determined that there was a Spanair flight available, Iberia refused to stamp our tickets so that Spanair would honor them (something to do with the Iberia tix being business class). The Iberia personnel were, with one exception, completely indifferent to our plight. Desperate to get onto a flight to Malaga, we purchased Spanair tix at the counter. It took us almost 4 months to get a refund for the unused tix. I will never fly Iberia again, no matter what. You should do a search on this forum for Iberia -- there aren't very many positive comments.

David

We flew Spanair for the first (and last) time last summer from Dulles-Madrid non-stop and from Madrid to Tenerife. The flight over was okay, but cramped. The air conditioning wasn't working well, so it was also hot the entire trip. Once in Madrid, we wasted an entire day at the Madrid airport waiting for the Spanair flight to Tenerife to board. From 10AM to 6PM they would not board passengers and would not give the reason why. The crowd (mostly local Spaniards) became extremely agitated. Spanair never apologized for the delay. We filled out a complaint card like everyone else and never received the courtesy of a response. With two kids in tow, the day was a nightmare and a black spot on what should have been an enjoyable vacation.

cova

Hi, <BR>Spanair was created years ago by SAS (the scandinavian airline) as a charter company to fly to the spanish isles. Since then, they decided to increase their operations in Spain to that of a regular airline. They are part of the Star Alliance, with SAS, Lufthansa and a few more. <BR>I have only flown with them in internal flights in Spain, and I have been more pleased with them than with Iberia. <BR>Abot your question, Pam, I would take the direct flight to Paris. I tend to avoid connection flights via Madrid (something also recommended by friends working in Iberia), because it is a huge airport and they are more prone to delays. <BR>Iberia, when they want, can be really nice. If not, it doesn´t matter if you are foreigner or spanish. <BR> <BR>Hope it helps, Cova

Sooooz

Any advice for the Madrid-Mallorca hop? Both Iberia and SpanAir have flights, but the Iberia are more convenient times and nonstop. <BR> <BR>Thanks in advance for any assistance. <BR> <BR>Sooooz

Judi

I am not defending these air lines but must say that I have flown both within Spain and they were okay, Spanair probably being a little better. We flew Chicago to Madrid on Iberia once, and once was enough....pretty grim. <BR>Gail, I'm glad you finally got a refund from that terrible incident. Not a way to start a vacation.

Maribel

Pam, <BR>Like Cova, I've only flown Spanair on internal flights, the most recent being from Madrid to Bilbao, and I much prefer Spanair to Iberia (the latter I try to avoid at all costs-a long, long story...). Our Madrid-Bilbao flight departed and arrived on time, and the crew managed both to distribute newspapers, candies and serve a light breakfast (coffee, juice and a roll) on our very short flight. I find them superior and decididly better organized than Iberia and Air Europa for travel within Spain. I have no experience with their intra-European flights. Even though Iberia will fly you non-stop to Barcelona, there have been so many problems with Iberia this summer such as strikes and a total shutdown one day mid July-they seem to be in a perpetual state of chaos. I will do most anything to avoid them now.

Karen

I flew on Iberia this June from the U.S. and also flew Iberia within Spain. The domestic flights were fine. They weren't very late and flight attendents were pleasant. However, I will never take them again on the transatlantic portion. They left Miami about 2 1/2 hours late and we missed our connection to Sevilla. While they did get us there eventually, it was a hassle. The plane was dirty and the attendants were surly. On our flight home we had a connection through San Juan and the flight attendants barely spoke any English and they were not very pleasant or helpful. It was impossible to watch the movie or listen to the music because the headphones were cutting out and we kept losing the sound. Some friends who travel alot took Iberia over from NYC on business class and they were disappointed also. My husband made me promise that I'd never make him travel on Iberia again.