Delta Has Officially Started Flying Between Boston and Barcelona

Thanks to Delta, Bostonians have a new option for nonstop flights to Spain.

The Atlanta-based carrier just started its new seasonal service from Boston (BOS) to Barcelona (BCN) — the seaside capital of Catalonia.

Here are the details and a brief rundown of the best ways to book a trip from Boston to Barcelona for yourself this summer.

Delta’s New Service From Boston to Barcelona

Delta’s new nonstop flight operates 3 times weekly on a seasonal basis until October. From Boston, flights depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Return flights from Barcelona depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The schedule is as follows:

• Depart Boston (BOS) 6 p.m. — Arrive Barcelona (BCN) 7:15 a.m. (+1)
• Depart Barcelona (BCN) 9:30 a.m. — Arrive Boston (BOS) 11:50 a.m.

Passengers flying the new route will get to experience Delta’s state-of-the-art, 281-seat Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, which are equipped with Delta’s complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and feature the best Delta One product available.

Speaking of Delta One, let’s look at how you can book this new route.

Booking Delta’s Flight From Boston to Barcelona With Points

Delta only competes against Iberia on this particular route. That, plus the fact that it’s primarily a leisure route, would usually mean a good chance of higher fares.

However, I was surprised to find the cheapest economy fares starting at a very reasonable $577, even in the peak summer travel month of August. Premium economy, coming in at around $1,500, was similarly palatable. As for Delta One (business class), you’re looking at around $3,097 — objectively not a horrible price for a round-trip business class ticket.

The other option is to use points and miles to book your ticket to Spain. Taking a look at some examples of booking via Delta’s SkyMiles program, redemption rates are relatively high. Of the dozen dates we checked, we found the following minimum rates:

• Delta Main: 37,000 SkyMiles
• Delta Comfort: 70,000 SkyMiles
• Delta Premium Select: 185,000 SkyMiles
• Delta One: 375,000 SkyMiles

We value Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece, meaning you’d redeem $444 worth of SkyMiles for an economy ticket, $840 worth for Delta Comfort+, $2,220 worth for premium economy, and a staggering $4,500 worth for a business class ticket — and remember that these are just one-way prices!

Thankfully, there are other ways to book Delta flights with points and miles, including Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program.

Flying Blue didn’t return any availability in business class across the route’s operating season, but we were able to find some availability in economy at much more favorable rates — as few as 24,000 miles for a one-way ticket from Boston to Barcelona.

Unfortunately, Flying Club didn’t return any results for flights on this route — that may change in the future, though.

Fortunately, both programs have partnerships with several major programs, including American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, meaning it’s very easy to acquire the points necessary to book flights through either of these programs.

Final Thoughts

Delta’s new route to Barcelona is a great new option for Bostonians hoping to visit one of Europe’s most captivating cities. Thanks to reasonable cash rates, it could be easier than ever to jet off to Spain for a memorable summer holiday!