70 min. too tight to change flights in Barcelona?
 

arriving from overseas at 7:35 A.M.
Vueling to Madrid leaves at 8 :45.
no checked luggage. I assume I can print boarding pass for Vueling flight.
Both flights at Terminal 1.
I will have to pass passport and security control.
I have changed flights many times in Amsterdam ( easy), Frankfurt ( complicated)
and so on, but never in Barcelona..
The next flight to Madrid is at 10:45. Would you book the later flight? Thanks.

If it's on time, your 7:35 should allow you to physically leave the aircraft by 7:50ish. Will you have to do security etc or can you travel through the transit lounge and pass security in Madrid?

If not, with only hand baggage, I'd still go for it and pray you land on time.

thanks. I see no reason not to be able to go through transit, but I am not sure if i have to pass passport control anyway and go through security check.
The procedure is different at different airports.

coming from non Schengen country, I will probably have to do both in Barcelona.
75 min. has worked in Amsterdam, but as you said - it all hinges on arriving on time.
Decisions....

Since I only have experience going thru security landside->Schengen (had been a matter of 1-5 minutes so far), I can only say that I find the general layout and signage of T1 is very convenient, pleasant and "fool proof". Easier than AMS, and we won't talk about FRA or CDG.

The information on which gate the Schengen flights will depart from won't be given on the displays until so or so many minutes prior to departure time anyway (to keep people in the departures plaza with the many shops and cafes as long as possible).

If I was traveling on "one ticket" from overseas to Madrid via BCN and got free rebooking on the later flight in case of missed connection, I'd be happy and relaxed with 75mins in T1.
If I had booked the Vueling flight seperately, I'd be less relaxed but would do it anyway.

Passport control will be done in BCN as you will connect to a Schengen flight. Also security control as only transfers within the Schengen pier are considered "clean".

thanks Cowboy,
I like T1 in Barcelona, but as I said, I had never changed flights there ( did in Madrid : T1 to T4, and many wretched places like FRA, CDG, LHR..)
Vueling would be a separate flight.
I flew it before, but I don't remember if we printed boarding passes. I assume one is able to 24 hours prior?

From what I read on their website, you should be able to check-in 7 days in advance.
As missing the connection is somewhat of a possible worst case scenario, I would check their fineprint how much it will cost. I think they say that it costs €39 rebooking fee, plus (and this might be the more relevant item) the difference between the costs of next flight and yours.
In this worst case scenario, you should proceed to Vueling's customer service desk in T1 Schengen departures AIRside.
Happy travels!

If you don't have your boarding pass in hand for your Vueling flight when you land in Barcelona, chances are slim you can make the connection.

Once you clear passport control and customs, you'll have to check in with Vueling, pick up your boarding pass and then go back through security.

I'd go with the later flight.

Robert you are right, without Vueling boarding pass (in hand ) it is no go.
I see no reason why one would not be able to print it ahead of time.
Most of us face the same choice sooner or later: tight connection or 3 hours at the airport.
I'll try to find out about the rebooking fee ( the later flight is actually cheaper).

Thank you all for the helpful input.

Hi!

Last year I had my connecting flight in Madrid (it was Caracas-Madrid-Barcelona-Toulouse) and had only 30 mins at Barajas (Madrid) and I managed to do it. I had to go through customs and security, and considering the size of Barajas... :) El Prat in Barcelona is nice, not too complicated although my stop there was longer about an hour and a half.

Good luck tho :)

thanks geral.

Hi danon,

I can't comment on El Prat; like you, I've never done a connection there.

I'm just looking on Vueling's website. According to this:
http://www.vueling.com/EN/serviciosVueling/checkin.php
You can check-in & print your bp as soon as you purchase your ticket! So it sounds like that should not be an issue.

OTOH, Vueling says you can change to an earlier flight on the same day for no extra charge, as long as seats are available on the earlier flight. So that is an incentive for booking the later flight and try to switch to the earlier flight if you have time.
http://www.vueling.com/EN/serviciosV...anta_vuelo.php

Let us know what happens when you try to check in and print your boarding pass for the Vueling flight. If you're not a EU passport holder, you may find you're out of luck.

I have no experience in Barcelona but I never take a 70 min connection coming in to Europe from overseas (but then I am a worrier and try to not stress myself when I don't have to).

I am not traveling until Oct. but have to make all arrangements this week( including booking RENFE for return to Barcelona)
I don't have EU passport. Why would that be an issue with Vueling?
Thanks everyone.

<i>I don't have EU passport. Why would that be an issue with Vueling?</i>

danon, I found this post by lincasanova from last year:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6749518

"<i>P.S. I f you hold a non EU passport you may not be able to check in online no matter what. That has happened to me before but I don't remember with whom.</i>"

Hopefully lin or someone else familiar with this issue can address this.

thanks yk.
I may just give a call to Vueling .

My personal experience is that is you do not have a EU passport, you cannot check in online. They need to verify your ID, and in some cases your credit card information, before you can collect your boarding pass and clear security. We encounter this all the time when flying Iberia or Vueling.

thanks Robert.
I suspect many travelers are not aware of this practice.

It's a minor problem, but it makes it difficult to make tight connections.