Barcelona with Velocity

Hi all – I have a work trip to Barcelona in August, and my work travel policy is Economy (Not good!)  I am platinum with Velocity, so I want to try and stick to Etihad or SQ (via SIN and Milan).  Looking at the Etihad bookings, I have a choice of either Air Berlin or Alitalia.  Alitalia has better timings, but just want to know if anyone can give me an idea of who is the better carrier to connect to within Europe.

Cheers

Go Air Berlin, Alitalia is too uncertain atm- they are in huge financial problems and the media is reporting that there are possibilities of a complete bust. 

I'm looking at flying to BCN in Oct, there are no Points Redemption with Velocity online so it'll be a cash flight...

Thanks all..Booked into BCN via Eithad / KLM (The Air Berlin Layover was horrible), but will chance it with Alitalia on the way out (love to live life on the edge!)