This isn’t really anything new, though I think this is worth a reminder, as the value proposition of this is better than ever before. That’s because TAP has A330-900neos with a great new business class product, and they’re also significantly expanding their US destinations this summer, as they add service to Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington.
TAP Air Portugal’s amazing business class fare
TAP Air Portugal has among the most attractive transatlantic fares of any airline, and I’ve written many times about the great deals available on them. There are two things that make them different than other airlines:
- They publish great one-way transatlantic fares, which is rare since most airlines charge a significant premium for just booking one-way
- They allow free stopovers in Portugal for up to three days if you’re connecting to a medium or long haul flight, which is a great way to visit two locations for the price of one
The airline pretty consistently has these fares, so if you’re planning summer travel and are looking for a way to return from Europe to the US, these fares are well worth considering.
Generally speaking you’ll find the best fares out of Dublin, though you’ll also find good fares out of Copenhagen.
Just to give a few examples, you could fly from Dublin to Lisbon to San Francisco for ~$710 one-way, which is a spectacular value.
There are even lower fares to some other US gateways, like Chicago, where fares start at ~$676.
Out of Copenhagen you could fly to Newark for just ~$788 one-way.
Roundtrip fares are about double the cost of a one-way, though you do have to originate in Europe.
How to book these fares
Your best bet for searching these fares is Google Flights or ITA Matrix, and then you can use the multi-city feature if you want to add a stopover. Google Flights will direct you to an online travel agency, such as Priceline or Orbitz, or to TAP’s own website to book.
Where you can credit TAP Air Portugal miles
These TAP fares book into the “J” fare class, so see this page on wheretocredit.com to see how many miles you’d earn for this ticket with various programs (some programs credit as much as 200% miles).
Which routes does TAP’s new A330-900neo fly?
TAP Air Portugal has 20 Airbus A330-900neos on order, which are exciting not only because the planes are new, but also because they have a new business class product with direct aisle access from every seat.
While this is subject to change, the following routes are scheduled to feature the A330-900neo:
- 5x weekly between Lisbon to Miami (currently)
- 5x weekly between Lisbon and San Francisco as of June 10, 2019
- 3x weekly between Lisbon and Toronto as of March 31, 2019
- 2x weekly between Lisbon and New York JFK as of April 13, 2019
- 3x weekly between Lisbon and Newark as of April 30, 2019
- 6x weekly between Lisbon and Boston as of July 7, 2019
As far as service goes, certainly don’t get too excited. For example, last year I reviewed TAP Air Portugal’s new A330-200 business class, and I’d describe the experience as… fine. It’s an excellent value if you’re booking a cheap ticket, but the service and food aren’t industry leading.
Maximizing points for your airfare purchase
If you do book one of these tickets and have access to US credit cards, make sure you maximize the points you earn on your airfare purchase.
Here are some popular credit cards that earn bonus points for airfare purchases:
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
Bottom line
Obviously this isn’t ideal in all markets, but if you’re looking to cross the Atlantic this summer in comfort (and especially if you want a stopover in Portugal), it’s always worth checking the cost of a TAP Air Portugal business class ticket. $675+ one-way business class fares are excellent.
These fares have largely been around for a while, though this is even more exciting than in the past, given that TAP has new planes, they have more destinations, and summer is right around the corner, so a lot of people are planning travel now.
Going the opposite direction at the end of June, SFO-LIS-VLC. Paid 8K for 2 J seats when the flights became bookable. Now, they are up over 10K for 2 seats.
Vet&Banker, thanks.
Standard business class pricing is 2500-3000, so yes this is cheap.
@Chris...ouch. I really dunno since you said that's one way fare money if I'm willing to pay that much $ gUaP $. I know for close to or a little over $1,100 today, I can get a round trip with hotel and rental vehicle all for 1 week to and from Santa Barbara, California. Honestly, I'd rather go there and not spend $675 in one way $ gUaP $ to some place that might get me for more $ gUaP $ after I get off of the plane.
La Compagnie is showing multiple days in J this summer @$670 ow ORY>EWR. Better deal since its nonstop.
When I looked at this it involved an overnight stay in LIS because the LIS-SFO flight leaves quite early in the morning.
So you need to add the cost of a night at an airport hotel to the cost, plus the extra 12-15 hours as well
@rj123456: yes, LH = Lufthansa.
@Boco: I would very seriously look at Aegean as an alternative to United. But your personal circumstances will define your choice.
I may book CPH - SFO later this year depending on business needs. Thanks for the review of the product. If I can get it at $1500 r/t that's a very tempting product.
I'd booked DUB-LIS-SFO for $1,100 per person oneway a few weeks ago, but I just cancelled for very minimal fee ($75 each) and booked the $713 fare. So I saved $400 each for three people, so $1,200 total. Thanks Lucky!
Usual misrepresentation.
DUB to NYC layover seems too long to really make it worth it
Thank for the info. Just booked Dublin to Chicago for $677 in October.
Will this credit to Lufthansa Miles and More at 200%? The link you provided is useful but has several rows, including this one:
Miles & More (EW, 4U, DE, EN, JP, OU, SN, LG, LH, LO, LX, OS)
200%
Nice fares you found out!
I never look for oneway tickets because they usually cost 70% of 50% of The return tickets. Doesn't worth it usually but you have been Luck. I Can imagine How many nights you stayed in front of a computer.
Oh, and the tv screen is wayyyyy too close to your face, very strange.....
Just did a one-way to MIA on their new A339 Neo, paid $1,000 out of Germany, with 18 hours in Lisbon. Liked the seat very much, super quiet aircraft, food was meh at best....
But all in all a good option, would do it again.
@DNN - it's a one way fare! You might get a Y return for that though.
I flew TAP in February after you listed their offer then - 50% of the TAP fare element plus the usual taxes and airport fees etc - LHR-LIS-BOS-LIS-LGW for £750 (of which £150 was UK APD so the fare was very cheap).
Had no problems with the seat - think it was a normal A330 seat. Service was slow...
@DNN - it's a one way fare! You might get a Y return for that though.
I flew TAP in February after you listed their offer then - 50% of the TAP fare element plus the usual taxes and airport fees etc - LHR-LIS-BOS-LIS-LGW for £750 (of which £150 was UK APD so the fare was very cheap).
Had no problems with the seat - think it was a normal A330 seat. Service was slow - an hour after takeoff before even the first drink and the trolley did a U shape down the A side, through the galley and up the K side rather than having trolleys on both sides. Food was good though and the IFE selection was reasonable.
Staff professional but detached rather than unfriendly.
One issue is that at LHR they asked to see my ESTA and despite pointing out it's electronic I had to log in to the ESTA site to show them so have a screen shot ready!
Lounge at LIS was good but a faff to get to as had to enter Portugal, then do security to get to the lounge.
Will fly with them again if the price is right for when I want to fly.
$675 sounds fairly reasonable for round trip business airfare.
This pricing has been around for a while. comes and goes it seems. Recently I booked DUB-LIS-SFO for $656 pp adult couple months ago when this was first reported. Looks like I got a deal considering it's over $710 now for that route.
@Aniron... I think if Icelandair was to compete with this they would have done so by now considering this fare has been out there for past couple months.
Given United's new award chart changes and Lifemiles' new website glitches, all other things being equal, would it be best to credit to Aegian?
It's 5 nights for a long time now. I've been saying that on every TAP post to see it fixed but no luck so far :)
Their website states that the stopover can be up to five nights, not three.
I wonder how the likes of Icelandair compete with this far better yet lower price business class product.