Vueling from London to Barcelona - Experience?
 

Hi there:

I have an option to take either easyJet or Vueling, the latter being slightly cheaper. I have taken easyJet several times and find them OK as long as I book the premium seats and pay for priority boarding.

Vueling always appears to be at the lower end of the satisfaction scale. I can also book both a premium seat and priority boarding on Vueling. By way of comparison, I would rather swim to Barcelona rather than take Ryanair.

Looking forward to your input.

Regards ... Ger

All three of them are similar.

If you follow the rules you'll get to Barcelona.

Ryanair tends to have newer planes than Vueling. I guess so does Easyjet.

Vueling's baggage rules are the older Ryanair ones. One 55x40x20 bag plus the smaller 35x20x20 bag

Easyjet starts with just one slightly larger bag but I think the premium seats add a second bag..

Easyjet seems to overbook at times. Not sure how a low cost carrier thinks they'll get away with that but they do. Make sure to check in early.

Personally I'd rank Easyjet first. They don't have a weight limit on the carry on which can make life easier.

Than Ryanair which you don't like.

Finally Vueling. The older planes and in general very cramped.

But the differences are so small I'd book which ever one had the better schedule. You're asking about London so I'd add which ever one flies from your favorite airport.

Thanks Traveller Nick - just what I needed!

Both are from Gatwick and both have convenient time, but if you put V lower than R, then my choice is simple :)

One of the things I love about easyJet is that I can buy bags of different weights - 15/23/26 and even bigger, so I can do a 23 on the way out and a 26 on the way back. I am also now very used to their website, which I find very straight forwarded

Excellent advice in a very short time. Gold star service there Nick :)

Best regards … Ger

My only worry with Easyjet is the overbooking issue. But it seems they usually only bump people traveling carry on only.

Gosh Ive used all three airlines ( Easyjet, Ryanair and Vueling) , multiple times each.. I think they are all fine.. I am most cautious with Ryanair only because sometimes they use inconvenient airports.. but other than that the flights in Europe are all so short I dont worry about comfort so much as price. I just choose cheapest one that works for our schedule.

We flew Vueling from Mallorca to Marseille. I was very impressed but that was just one flight. If I had to decide between your options I’d go with Vueling because of my positive experience but I tend to agree that there probably isn’t much difference especially with a relatively short flight. Ryan’s baggage rules always seem to be a bit dire but read and folllow the rules and you’ll be okay.

>> I would rather swim to Barcelona rather than take Ryanair.<<

Me too -- I've never spent one $/£/€ with RyanAir and never intend to.

Just to note, my opinion about budget airlines or at least most of them is that if you are flying with a small duffle bag, have great flexibility and don’ care about customer service you’ll likely be okay. Personally I’ll pay more to fly non-budget. When flying 8 family members from London to Mallorca, I studied all the rules at Ryan along with a 100 or so reviews. I ended up choosing BA. Sure it cost more but with my peace of mind at stake and always trying to avoid any problems, the extra fare was worth it. I do realize some have a stricter travel budget that limits their choices, but sometimes paying a bit more is worth it.

My ranking:
Veuling - top choice
Easy Jet - if no Vueling service available
RyanAir - if it is the only airline providing transport within 1,000 miles of where I need to go for lifesaving treatment.

Twice I/we have been left high and dry by EasyJet last minute cancellations. In both cases was able to secure transport with Veuling, which was just fine.

If you haven't flown with them how do you know you don't like them?

Depending on the route buying a BA or Iberia ticket might get you on a Vueling flight. Also BA also has started cutting back on baggage.

Vueling's baggage rules are the old Ryanair rules. If you buy priority boarding the Ryanair rules are actually the most liberal of the three airlines at the moment. Not by much but there second bag is bigger than Vuelings. Easyjet can be very strict on baggage.

>>If you haven't flown with them how do you know you don't like them?<<

Actually I have flown them . . . once. But I didn't pay for the ticket (was treated on a flight from London to Cork). But me personally - none of my $/£/€ will go into O'Leary's pocket

I’m savvy enough to be able to determine which carriers BA uses. You always need to do a bit of research when flying. BA luggage rules have changed but are still better than others. BA also offers economy plus which does cost more but allows a checked bag as well as carry on.

BA charges extra for seat reservations (if you want to select them at time of booking, FOC 24hrs before departure), meals, drinks, luggage and bag drop is self service in many locations. It is a nightmare, with people dithering not understanding how to use the bag drop machines with no staff to assist & long long lines. They are not the legacy airline with standard of service they once offered, they are following the low cost model. Paying more does not mean less problems, all airlines suffer from the same operational issues from time to time. I've had plenty of issues on BA & Easyjet, I cannot tell the difference in travelling on BA vs travelling on Easyjet, both are a pretty shabby experience, speedy boarding is a joke as everyone buys it. I certainly would not pay extra just to avoid travelling on an LCC but if it gives someone peace of mind and they think they are getting a better product, go for it. I pay extra for convenience, better schedules etc. The best thing about BA are their route network and that they fly from LHR.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Airlin...ritish-Airways

I booked easyJet. They have been OK in the past, but twice were abysmally late and they don't have the best 'on-time'. however, I find their staff the be really pleasant. I did two IT projects there and they really are a very charming bunch of people. I like that I can pre-book a seat in the first row, with priority boarding and a bag of my choice.

I'll definitely consider Vueling for future as they fly to some interesting places. They are a BA partner, but BA make that clear on their website.

Never Ryanair for loads of reasons, including the way they treat their staff, revelations about the risks the pilots are expected to take and on and on. bottom line, I would not give that BA$7ard one penny of my money!!!

Always good to have a moan about an airline that doesn't fly the route you are considering, LGW-BCN.

Recently flew both V from BCN to TLS and R from TLS to LIS..probably would put V ahead of R, but only barely. AT BCN Vueling flights were often not allocated gate space and you are bussed out on the tarmac. If you go Vueling be sure to download their ap to get updated flight information..their CSR in the terminal was particularly nasty to the customer ahead of me.
O yes, the Vueling flight was late and information was hard to come by since the boards aren't updated (and there was only the one nasty CSR near the gates). It was shuffled all over the BCN airport..which is huge! Love playing "chase the gate".

My brother thinks EasyJet is okay for a European budget airline but I can't comment on an airline I've never flown...

>>why the attitude? We have choices, and make choices based on our own criteria. no need for snarky and useless comments Odin, although it is your right.<<

That's OK Ger . . . i'm in your camp ;)