I grew up in Tampa, and I remember as a kid always getting really excited when I saw the British Airways 777 that flew to London Gatwick at the airport. It was Tampa’s only transatlantic flight at the time, and there was just something so exciting about thinking I could actually fly nonstop across the ocean from my home airport.
Tampa has one of the best, easiest to use airports in the country, though obviously it’s not quite as big as JFK, LAX, SFO, etc. Nonetheless the airport has been experiencing very positive growth.
As of now the airport has four transatlantic flights:
- British Airways has been flying between London Gatwick and Tampa for years
- Edelweiss has been flying between Zurich and Tampa for several years
- Lufthansa has been flying between Frankfurt and Tampa since 2015
- Icelandair has been flying between Keflavik and Tampa since 2017
The airport has been trying to attract new international service, and their top six route priorities were Amsterdam, Bogota, Dublin, Lima, Manchester, and Mexico City. One of those destinations is finally getting a link to Tampa, and it will mark the airport’s fifth transatlantic flight.
Delta will operate daily nonstop flights between Tampa and Amsterdam as of May 23, 2019. I’m especially impressed that this route will be year-round and daily, given that it seems like seasonal flights are all the rage lately.
The new flight will be operated with the following schedule:
DL76 Tampa to Amsterdam departing 9:25PM arriving 12:45PM (+1 day)
DL77 Amsterdam to Tampa departing 2:47PM arriving 7:13PM
The flight will cover a distance of ~4,600 miles and is blocked at 9hr20min eastbound and 10hr26min westbound.
Delta intends to use a Boeing 767-300 for the route, featuring 26 business class seats and 200 economy seats.
Delta business class on the 767-300
Delta is one of the biggest airlines at Tampa Airport, and they even have a flight attendant base and SkyClub there, so if there’s any of the “big three” US airlines that would launch flights from there, it would be Delta.
Delta also generally seems to be the most receptive airline to launching transatlantic flights out of non-hubs. For example, this summer they launched flights between Indianapolis and Paris.
Delta has a transatlantic joint venture with Air France and KLM, so the logic is that they can connect passengers to those mega-hubs, allowing people in some secondary US cities to easily travel in one stop to just about anywhere.
As you might expect, Delta is getting significant subsidies for this new route, including waived airport fees for two years, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing funds to help promote the flight. The tourism board is also participating in the incentives package.
What do you make of Delta’s new flight between Tampa and Amsterdam?
(Tip of the hat to @freetravelguys)
Thanks for this article Lucky. I grew up in Tampa as well and it’s great to see how far our little airport has come. My dad used to take me to the top of the parking garage to watch the BA DC-10 take off for Bermuda enroute to LGW in the 80s. Occasionaly we would get a NW 747, but when Concorde flew in my love of aviation went haywire.
I landed a job...
Thanks for this article Lucky. I grew up in Tampa as well and it’s great to see how far our little airport has come. My dad used to take me to the top of the parking garage to watch the BA DC-10 take off for Bermuda enroute to LGW in the 80s. Occasionaly we would get a NW 747, but when Concorde flew in my love of aviation went haywire.
I landed a job with Delta in 1997 and I’m still at it all these years later.
West Coast beaches are a wonderful, and less expensive alternative to south Florida. The water in the Gulf is warmer, it’s less choppy, and the sand is lightyears better than the east coast. The British have known this for years hence the decades old BA flight. The rest of Europe has caught on.
I understand that MCO has been a great success for Delta, and I’m guessing many of these tourists are doing parks/beach holidays - flying into one airport out of the other.
I can’t wait to try nonreving on this flight!
It's sublime
JamesW - It has nothing to do with them helping Tampa residents leave easier, it's about attracting more foreign tourism and business.
Don't know where to put the 767-300ER so might as well fly it somewhere.
Thanks Tiffany!
Happy about the plane and schedule on this new route but so far the mileage redemption for early next summer is 460,000 skypesos r/t for Delta One. :-o
Hello Lucky and anyone else who can help,
What do you use to create your maps with the red lines and points?
Thanks!
@ Sam -- https://onemileatatime.com/how-to-make-flight-maps/
I'm really pleased over this, as we can fly man/ams, and then onto Tampa, using miles, to purchase seats/flights, i did it earlier this year, getting a ticket MAN/AMS return , p5 pounds each return, then used my points for fly to USA and back to Ams. so there may be a fare , which is good man/tpa, via Ams, and more chance of upgrade(as Diamond) ams to Tpa, than M AN/ATL, or MAN/JFK with...
I'm really pleased over this, as we can fly man/ams, and then onto Tampa, using miles, to purchase seats/flights, i did it earlier this year, getting a ticket MAN/AMS return , p5 pounds each return, then used my points for fly to USA and back to Ams. so there may be a fare , which is good man/tpa, via Ams, and more chance of upgrade(as Diamond) ams to Tpa, than M AN/ATL, or MAN/JFK with virgin.not sure about the flight times, but should be good, thanks for info, great web site.
Lucky, I also grew up in Tampa and remember sitting at the top of the Marriott (CK’s!) watching Air Canada’s 747 land. Those were the days!
I love the flight time. I will be on it! Tampa is a far better airport than MIA or MCO although I tend to drive to those airports from Sarasota for my transatlantic trips. I think this route will be a great success. There are many people right now on the gulf coast who drive to MCO or MIA for transatlantic flights. I am excited to be able to connect in AMS for business trips...
I love the flight time. I will be on it! Tampa is a far better airport than MIA or MCO although I tend to drive to those airports from Sarasota for my transatlantic trips. I think this route will be a great success. There are many people right now on the gulf coast who drive to MCO or MIA for transatlantic flights. I am excited to be able to connect in AMS for business trips instead of flying through ATL. The LH flight from TPA is usually quite expensive and the London flight on BA is at Gatwick so is not useful for trips to Europe aside from London.
Seems like DL missed an opportunity for the portmanteau-hashtag of #Tampsterdam
@John - DL’s AMS flights are consistently full year round. AMS is by far a better connecting facility than CDG. And KLM employees rarely strike therefore the connections will generally operate. With AF it’s a crap shoot. They spend almost as much time on strike than they do working. AF, sadly, has become a very unreliable air carrier.
Subsidy, and DL has the gumption to criticize the ME3. Big difference in degree, but not in kind. DL just seems upset that it’s handouts aren’t larger.
James W says: "Is it really worth this much wasted taxpayer money to create a direct flight, all so Tampa residents don’t have to change planes at ATL or JFK on their way to Europe?"
There's more demand for connections from Tampa to all of Europe you might think - Lufthansa does very well on the TPA-FRA route, and quite a bit of that is connecting traffic, both business and leisure. This lets Skyteam offer...
James W says: "Is it really worth this much wasted taxpayer money to create a direct flight, all so Tampa residents don’t have to change planes at ATL or JFK on their way to Europe?"
There's more demand for connections from Tampa to all of Europe you might think - Lufthansa does very well on the TPA-FRA route, and quite a bit of that is connecting traffic, both business and leisure. This lets Skyteam offer a one-connection to a lot of European cities to compete with LH.
And in terms of leisure travel, it's all about bringing the Europeans here. Taking locals there is a small part of the equation, and by offering more connection opportunities DL can attract locals who were driving to MCO.
Would have preferred to see Dublin on EI myself, but this is probably better for the area as a whole and the best choice of the six. Wouldn't be surprised to see JetBlue add TPA-MEX, I'd love to see them offer TPA-FLL for easy connections to Latin America. As for Manchester, if it happens it'll be one of the UK charter carriers, and probably not anytime soon.
Fort Lauderdale is in desperate need for Delta to offer direct InterNations service. Delta has been here longer than any other airline that now call FLL their hub. A transatlantic flight from Delta is long overdue.
@Asarious: I would say that's based on most peoples experiences in economy. Certainly from this side of the Atlantic US carriers have a very poor reputation which isn't unwarranted.
I agree though Emirates is overrated and reliant on past glories especially in economy - I also find some of their crew as some of the worst in the industry...
Ben,
Could you give us your take on the AMS hub....I get DL’s partnership with KLM and but I’m still astonished by the routes this cooperation sustains for an airport/destination that is hardly LHR or CDG.....
In summer months there are FOUR daily flights to AMS from Minneapolis, Detroit and Atlanta and five from JFK. Even Salt Lake has two.
I’m surprised that Delta seems to be using KLM collaboration even more than it is using Air France...?
this is great news only if it drives fares down. TPA doesn't get much love, mostly because LX (or edelweiss) and LH are not daily. it certainly is good to have an extra option, but again, if fares stay at current levels, I'll still drive to MCO or MIA for family trips, savings are substantial. VCE-FL for October (just checked for family) to TPA, 750euro and up, MCO 600/650euro, miami 450euro. Family of 4 is...
this is great news only if it drives fares down. TPA doesn't get much love, mostly because LX (or edelweiss) and LH are not daily. it certainly is good to have an extra option, but again, if fares stay at current levels, I'll still drive to MCO or MIA for family trips, savings are substantial. VCE-FL for October (just checked for family) to TPA, 750euro and up, MCO 600/650euro, miami 450euro. Family of 4 is over around $1500 savings for a cheap car rental and 3h drive. (I live in Sarasota).
@lucky Will you write about Primera Air announcing TATL flights from BRU?
Is it generally accepted that European carriers are better? Or is this an Emirates-style halo effect where amazing F products will alter our perception of angled-flat seats in J?
Although perhaps with more consistent service standards, I've generally found my "European-related" flying to have all the charm of an efficient socialist operation.
By 2020 when all of these two year sweetheart deals run out, the carrier cuts and runs. Most glaring example will be Reykevik/US service will evaporate from all these Midwestern cities overrun with WOW and Icelandair.
@BobNL - Also, with US domestic travel, we're a captive audience. Although... one time I booked separate tickets via YVR just to fly to JFK on CX.
@Lucky - What part in Tampa did you live in? I grew up near Cross Creek in New Tampa
A bit perplexed by that dig at KLM - they're probably my favourite full-service European airline. Granted I have only used them short-haul, but always found their staff to be fantastic and their products one of the best with complimentary food provided for economy passengers still on short-haul.
On the otherhand I am frankly dreading my TATL trip to Portland on Delta...
I suspect it will be reduced after the summer to say 3 x weekly as the end of May is the start of the holiday season
There is a huge amount of transfer traffic and Schiphol appeals to the Scandinavian and UK markets as there are so many options.
@ ralfinho that’s odd as the crew are always walking up and down the aisles with a tray of juice and water. On my last flight it was almost every hour And if you miss it the crew are always present
@BobNL - sometimes people go for convenience. And in many cases, US carriers offer great convenience. The service notion, even if it is true (and in my experience, service standards on many European airlines can be as wildly inconsistent as on US airlines), isnt always the most important thing people look for. Price, schedule, etc, are all important too.
@BobNL you see, Ben Holz prefers AA J over LH J. I am a Delta flyer and service on Delta is far superior to service on KLM for example. Flying KLM over the Atlantic? You risk dehydration. My experience on Air France was better than on KLM, but not as good as on Delta.
So I don't think, service on European airlines is generally infinitely superior. My experience is ... it is inferior.
Tlv frequencies increased to twice daily by dl
They just launched service a few months ago between Orlando and Amsterdam too. Interesting to see a second direct flight so close by.
Is it really worth this much wasted taxpayer money to create a direct flight, all so Tampa residents don't have to change planes at ATL or JFK on their way to Europe?
Lol @BobNL that's not always the case. Would rather fly AA J TATL rather than LH J, which not only has crappy seats, but also bad service. And let's not mention BA... only handful of European airlines are good.
I agree with ORD As much as I hate to admit I would rather fly this route on BA over DL
Delta is also ending PIT-CDG; saying that it won’t come back next summer.
Just a question for the ones flying the big 3. How can you guys keep on travelling with them after you experienced the infinitely superior services provided by European and Asian Airlines??
What a waste! The O/D traffic for TPA just won’t support this frequency, especially year round.
Delta is laughing all the way to the bank.
“The airline has been trying to attract new international service, and their top six route priorities were Amsterdam, Bogota, Dublin, Lima, Manchester, and Mexico City.” Well what airline? Delta? I assume you mean the airport!