Berlin to Barcelona
 

here are 2 of us and our goal is to get from Berlin to Barcelona on the 17th of October. Found a flight on Eurowings that has a 1 hour layover in Cologne. I've read the good, the bad, and the ugly on Eurowings. I'm not anticipating much and it is merely a means of getting from one place to the other. However, I'm concerned about the 1 hour layover and with checked luggage. Safe to book or pay the extra $50 usd for a direct flight? Cologne airport doesn't seem that large, but...

Thank you ~

Doesn't Easyjet fly that route non stop?

Apologies if they don't. And what about Vueling? BCN is that airline's base I believe.

Look at www.skyscanner.com to see five different airlines with non-stops on that route.

I wouldn't worry, mishaps occur with the most reputable airlines - as long as you have good luggage tags with your itinerary and phone numbers and everything else needed to be found if the bags need to be sent after you, and you stuff a printout of that information into the pockets on your bags, then just go for it. Keep your toothbrush and any medicines on your person in case you arrive without bags. It happens, but not often.

Ryanair and easyJet and Norwegian and Vueling - as well as Germanwings/Eurowings - all fly direct meaning nonstop, but they all cost at least some 40 Euros more than the ones with a stop, whether it is the one you already saw, or some that stop in Brussels.

So you have choices.

BERLIN /SCHONEFELD to BARCELONA with Ryaniar, EasyJet or Norwegian Air.
http://www.aena.es/es/aeropuerto-bar...eropuerto.html
BERLIN /TEGEL Vueling or German Air.
http://www.aena.es/es/aeropuerto-bar...eropuerto.html

Unfortunately, the terms "direct" and "non-stop" are not the same.

Dukey is right; airline jargon is not the same as what their customers speak. So: Five non-stops on the route in question, according to www.skyscanner.com

I've taken all those low cost companies, and they are doing their job correctly.
Pay attention to the rules - luggage limits are the biggest trap for unsespecting travelers.
And be on time, they will/may not accomodate any latecomer.

Eurowings is a division of Lufthansa. In 95 per cent of the cases, one hour will be sufficient for the connection. However, there is a slight chance that your flight from Berlin will be delayed and you (or your baggage) miss the connecting flight to BCN.

In this case, the carrier will book you on the next available flight to BCN. There are other connections via Frankfurt, München and Zürich. This is the great advantage of carriers like Eurowings/Lufthansa/Swiss compared to low-cost carriers which often have only one connection per day.

The worst thing that could happen is that you have to fly next morning, so causing some hassle (of course, the carrier will pay the hotel and everything). But if you book a direct flight with a low-cost carrier, you also have the risk that the flight is cancelled because of a technical defect or a strike or a sick pilot or whatever. And fewer alternatives.

If there were no alternatives, I'd have no problem to take the connection via Cologne.
CGN is Germanwings' hub, so you have many connections that work the same way as OP's. And it's a very small airport, easy to navigate.

But if the "surcharge" was just $50, I'd be leaning towards nonstop flights.

Keep in mind that it takes much more time with public transport to reach Schönefeld airport (SXF) than Tegel (TXL). The total travel time door-to-door is roughly the same for a nonstop from SXF vs. the option with a 1hr connection in CGN. TXL is close to the city center, so also a taxi would not break the bank and add affordable convinience to the trip.

So my first preference would be a nonstop flight from TXL.

And if I had to choose from the low-cost carriers starting from SXF, I'd fly with Norwegian. IMO, the best low-cost carrier we have in Europe (free WiFi on board, less cattle-drive attitude than the other discount carriers).

A taxi to Tegel airport costs about 20 Euros. There are also special airport buses to TXL which are 2.80 Euros and almost as fast as taxis (the question is, is your hotel near a bus stop?). To Schönefeld, the trip takes almost one hour, whether by taxi or by S-Bahn. A taxi would cost about 50 to 60 Euros.