Star Alliance carrier United Airlines surprises with a great offer for non-stop tickets to its hub in Newark, located just outside Manhattan. For as little as €268, you can fly nonstop from Barcelona or Madrid. Flights to Washington are just slightly more expensive.
The quoted fares are economy light prices, that come without checked bags or seat selection. The cheapest tickets including both cost €100 more on United’s website.
Most of our links will forward you to United Airlines. To get this redirect to work, you need to visit united.com at least once before.
Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to United with your selected flight dates. You can also check what OTAs have to offer, as they sell these tickets up to €10 cheaper.
United operates all flights in question with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. While the frames may be older, they feature a refurbished interior with personal in-flight-entertainment and a passenger-friendly 2-3-2 seating pattern.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, tickets for this price are on sale until November 30, 2023 for travel between November 2023 and April 2024. You have to stay at least one night from Saturday to Sunday to get the lowest fare. A maximum stay of three months applies.
Google Flights makes it easy to find additional flight dates. Especially if you want to travel with checked bags, you should purchase your tickets directly from the airline.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
This is a Star Alliance fare that does not include check-in luggage. Additionally, some other disadvantages may apply, especially when flying with United:
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian
Lufthansa Group airlines call this fare Economy Light. You can select your seats during the check-in process. While these airlines still allow Star-Alliance-Gold customers to bring one 23kg bag, it is said that this benefit will soon be eliminated without much warning – like on European flights.
United Airlines
The long-haul United Basic Economy allows Star-Alliance-Gold customers to fly with 2 x 23 kg luggage, or even 3 x 32 kg if you’re a MileagePlus frequent flyer. Nevertheless, there are other restrictions:
- You cannot reserve your seats. Even at the time of check-in, you’ll be automatically assigned a seat, which you cannot change.
- You’ll be the last one to board the plane (except if you’re a frequent flyer).
- Additionally, if you’re a MileagePlus-customer:
- No free Economy-Plus upgrades
- Only 50% PQM instead of 100%, and only 0.5 PQS per flight
- No modifications (e.g. Same Day-Changes) possible
- Upgrades are not permitted
Air Canada
On flights with Air Canada, there is also a Basic Economy, but it is not quite as restrictive as United’s. If you have a Star-Alliance-Gold-Status, you can give up a 23 kg luggage, and Air-Canada-Altitude status holders can even be allowed up to 3 x 32 kg.
Other restrictions include:
- You can reserve seats, but at a higher price than usual for Economy.
- For Air Canada Altitude customers:
- 25% miles for transatlantic flights, none for domestic.
- Upgrades are not permitted.
- From Prestige 25K onwards you can select your seats.
If you feel that these restrictions are unbearable, you should book over Lufthansa.com or United.com and select the rate that includes luggage for roughly €100 more.
Mileage
United Airlines issues these tickets in booking class K. Star Alliance frequent flyers can earn the following miles and points for the cheapest ticket from Barcelona to Newark:
- 3,838 Miles on Asiana Club
- 3,838 Miles on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 3,838 Award Miles + 768 Tier Miles on Azul TodoAzul
- 3,838 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 3,838 Miles on Ethiopian ShebaMiles
- 3,838 Miles on EVA Infinity MileageLands
- 3,838 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 3,838 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 3,838 Miles on Avianca LifeMiles
- 3,838 Miles on Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 3,838 Miles on Egyptair Plus
- 2,302 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 1,920 Award Miles + 120 Points on Miles&More
- 1,920 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 1,920 Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 1,920 CV Points on Vistara Club Vistara
- 1,920 Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,920 Avios on Aer Lingus AerClub
- 1,920 Award Miles on Emirates Skywards
- 970 Award Miles + 194 PQP on United MileagePlus