TAP Air Portugal is introducing a flight between Lisbon and Miami that has a schedule that’s so unusual that I think it’s worth highlighting (thanks to Willem for flagging this)…
In this post:
TAP Air Portugal’s 3:25AM flight from Miami
There are parts of the world where airports experience “rush hour” in the middle of the night, like in the Middle East and India. However, the United States isn’t generally one of those places.
If you look at flights between the United States and Europe, you’ll rarely find flights with truly unusual timing. I’d say the absolute extremes that we typically see come in one of two forms.
On one end of the spectrum, you have very early morning flights in both directions (with early eastbound flights being among the only daytime transatlantic flights). For example, take JetBlue’s service between London and New York, which leaves London at 7:25AM, and leaves New York at 8:35AM.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have very late night flights in both directions, clearly intended to maximize aircraft utilization. For example, take Norse Atlantic’s service between London and New York, which leaves London at 8:40PM, and leaves New York at 1:30AM.
Well, as it turns out, there is a more extreme flight. TAP Air Portugal is updating its Miami schedule, in a way that puts the above flight timing to shame. TAP Air Portugal has its daily flight between Lisbon and Miami, which follows a pretty standard schedule, departing Lisbon at 10:30AM, and departing Miami at 4:30PM.
The airline then has an additional 3x weekly flight between Lisbon and Miami, and as of May 23, 2024, this flight has a new schedule. Specifically, the Lisbon to Miami flight departs at 8:20PM and arrives at 12:20AM. Then the Miami to Lisbon flight departs at 3:25AM and arrives at 4:45PM.
Between the United States and Europe, I’ve never seen a commercial flight that’s scheduled to depart between 2AM and 6AM, so to me this is pretty remarkable.
What an unusual flight schedule!
Clearly the updated Lisbon to Miami timing is designed specifically to maximize aircraft utilization. As we go into the peak summer travel season, airlines want to operate as many flights as possible, and in the case of TAP Air Portugal, the airline is willing to schedule flights however it needs to in order to accomplish that.
Looking at the schedule for Miami Airport, currently there’s a nearly five hour period at night with no passenger flights (though the airport has huge cargo operations around the clock). The latest flight before this gap departs Miami at 12:20AM (a LATAM Boeing 767 to Lima), while the earliest flight after this gap departs Miami at 5:18AM (an American Airbus A321neo to Dallas).
So I guess TSA will have to keep the checkpoint open overnight (or at least increase staffing, in the event it is open 24/7), in order to accommodate this? 
Next, I can’t help but wonder if 3:25AM is the worst possible departure time for a transatlantic flight, or if some people might actually like it? For example, take TAP Air Portugal’s other flight from Miami, which departs at 4:30PM. Some people hate transatlantic flights that depart so early, since they aren’t yet tired.
Personally I’m an early to bed and early to rise person, so a 4:30PM flight is great for me, and isn’t that far off from when I’d usually go to sleep (factoring in that inflight service can take around two hours after takeoff). Are there some night owls who might actually like a 3:25AM departure, since they’d be tired?
The funny thing is, I’m not actually sure I’d hate this schedule either. If I got up at 1AM to take this flight, I’d still get five hours of sleep before waking up early, and I kind of like arriving in Europe in the afternoon, since there’s less struggle with jetlag, there’s no issue with checking into hotels, etc.
Bottom line
Flights between the United States and Europe rarely have timings that will catch you off guard. TAP Air Portugal’s Miami to Lisbon flight that operates on some days is getting a schedule change, and will depart Miami at 3:25AM.
I don’t recall ever seeing a passenger flight between the United States and Europe that departs between 2AM and 6AM, so I found that to be pretty interesting. Clearly TAP Air Portugal’s focus is on maximizing aircraft utilization, even if that means operating flights with some unconventional timing.
I can’t decide whether this is the worst flight timing ever, or maybe not so bad…
What do you make of a transatlantic flight departing at 3:25AM?
TAP just announced a great new route, LIS-FLN (Florianopolis) in Brazil, non-stop from Lisbon, 3x week operated by the A330-200. Their 12th destination between Portugal and Brazil.
I love flights that leave after midnight.
Living in UAE for 10 years acclimatizes you to a full day at work or play, a leisurely trip to the airport, a few hours in a calming lounge, hopefully a quick bite after takeoff and at least 6 hours sleep. What could be better?
Downside is if airport facilities (lounge, food) closed and then your 2 AM flight is delayed until 7 AM but this only happens occasionally.
Ad a nightowl, this almost seems to good to be true. I also love the idea of getting in. Having the room ready at hotel and freshening up for dinner. I think this is great timing!
I could see it. It's basically a morning Lisbon time flight. So if you are like me and really like daytime flights because you can't sleep comfortably on planes, you wake up at 3am the day before the flight, sleep from 6pm-midnight Miami time, and get to the airport around 1:30am.
It's a nice time to depart from Miami for locals, particularly for those who have a longer drive to get to the airport. Traffic won't be bad, which is a rare thing in SoFla.
MIA itself will also be pretty desolate, instead of crazy, which will also be nice.
The timing of that JetBlue flight is great if you are doing business on the other side because it is a morning arrival. I think it is interesting your use of the word "late" in this article. I am not sure many would consider around 9PM late. Also keep in mind most Europe flights depart from the east coast around 5-7pm.
TSA at MIA is 24 hours regardless. Also, Miami has the only redeye from Europe to the States with Turkish second IST-MIA being a redeye.
TAP
Delayed or cancelled flight...check
Lost luggage ....check
Unwilling to compensate for the inconvenience of getting stranded with our without your luggage...check
Add the above to oddball flight hours and you get:
TAP: Take Another Plane
Is there ANY airline anywhere in the world that's never done any/all of the above to any one of their millions of passengers? Please let us know.
Best time to visit an airport lounge ,not sure what lounge TAP uses at MIA but hopefully they will be open to cater to this flight time
Turkish and Avianca lounges are open 24 hours a day.
Turkish Airlines Club (Star Alliance)
This flight time is a huge PITA for those who have to maintain the baggage handling system in MIA. Systems across the US are typically shut down from 11pm-4am so techs can work on the system and perform PM. Such a flight doesn’t allow for any PM.
If it's just one flight, why does baggage need to be handled? Can't they just collect it at TAP checkin and send it to that one flight?
I just wish this was the other direction, and rather into NYC.
Have never understood why no airline see an opportunity in operating a floght departing Europe around 2 AM landing in New York around 4 or even 5 AM, allowing especially business travelers a good night sleep while benefiting from a full days work in both Europe and the US.
I know there are curfews at quite a lot of airports, but...
I just wish this was the other direction, and rather into NYC.
Have never understood why no airline see an opportunity in operating a floght departing Europe around 2 AM landing in New York around 4 or even 5 AM, allowing especially business travelers a good night sleep while benefiting from a full days work in both Europe and the US.
I know there are curfews at quite a lot of airports, but my local airport Copenhagen CPH for one does not.
Maybe an idea for the new SAS, after the shift from Star Alliance to Sky Team.
Thank you for your continued great work, Happy!
Turkish has a "reverse redeye" to Miami. Departs IST around 1:45am and arrives at MIA at 7:10am. Not only is getting full days in both destinations nice, but it helps a bit with reversing the jetlag for US based travelers.
There is only one Europe to U.S. redeye and it’s also to Miami, on Turkish.
What are the connection possibilities on that flight?
Most major European cities served by TAP have an evening departure from LIS, and most African departures are also at night. So this flight results in a significant improvement for those traveling to Africa.
For years I've dreamt of a daytime departure from BOS. I hope this flight does well and they try it from other cities.
Nowhere sux more than an airport terminal at 2am. In US and Europe they are ghost towns where you can even buy a coffee. In the Middle East they’re pandemonium where you can’t get a seat. No thanks.
I would take the 325am flight anyday! I’d be tired and go right to sleep. I can get up, disembark and check into my hotel without hassle.
I can chose to work the day of departure without fear of missing flight. I usually try to book the latest available flights out of MIA, when I travel abroad.
I disagree that this is about aircraft utilization- the trans-Atlantic circuit pretty much requires a dedicated aircraft regardless of when it flies. I think this is more about network and airport utilization annd unlocking a new set of connections and convenient flight times. This now allows TAP to create connecting itineraries on afternoon and evening flights to/from LIS. Could even argue they’ll build a competitive advantage by offering the latest departure from most European cities...
I disagree that this is about aircraft utilization- the trans-Atlantic circuit pretty much requires a dedicated aircraft regardless of when it flies. I think this is more about network and airport utilization annd unlocking a new set of connections and convenient flight times. This now allows TAP to create connecting itineraries on afternoon and evening flights to/from LIS. Could even argue they’ll build a competitive advantage by offering the latest departure from most European cities to Miami (4-5pm departures from most cities in Western Europe to LIS could connect to this flight) allowing business and leisure travelers to basically pick up an extra day on the day they travel to the US—this is hugely valuable both for travelers and for TAP to fill more seats on those afternoon intra-Europe flights. Same going the opposite direction.
As a business traveler I could see routes like this being incredibly helpful to make the most use of every hour. Putting TAP’s two flights together mean a business traveler could take a “day trip” arriving Lisbon at 6AM and departing at 8PM the same day. I don’t think Miami-Lisbon is a dense business route but I’d love to see this time slot expanded to other routes.
You can hit the club one last night before coming to the airport!
Let's be honest, there are a lot of people in Miami who stay up so late that a 3:25am departure from MIA is perfect in terms of going to bed for the short overnight flight.
TAP operated these flight times in past years as well. Though, only 1 of the 3x weekly frequencies departs MIA at 3:25am (on Thursday mornings). The...
You can hit the club one last night before coming to the airport!
Let's be honest, there are a lot of people in Miami who stay up so late that a 3:25am departure from MIA is perfect in terms of going to bed for the short overnight flight.
TAP operated these flight times in past years as well. Though, only 1 of the 3x weekly frequencies departs MIA at 3:25am (on Thursday mornings). The other days, that flight would leave earlier with a different schedule every day (11:25pm or 12:25am). The flight departure from Lisbon also varies, so this flight was definetly added with the thought of aircraft utilization. TAP typically prices that later flight much cheaper. I always avoided it because it was operated by one of TAPs few remaining standard A330s. Thankfully, it's now operated by an A330neo. I might just book it for the fun of it :)
What I find interesting is that Port-au-Prince gets a 747. Luck Port-au-Prince.
If KLM has a cargo 747 leaving for Amsterdam at 2am, that suggests to me that there's a lot of stuff headed for Lisbon from Miami also, and passenger convenience may be an afterthought. But if you want to fly from Los Angeles or Dallas to Lisbon, what are your choices? Connect in San Francisco or Chicago, where weather is a year-round problem? Or connect in Miami, at least in months with an R?
TAP Air Portugal’s 3:25am flight from MIA illustrates the advantage of designing your flight search query to focus on arrival date instead of departure date in some situations. Since this is not a daily flight, a typical search query for a flight from the US on a specified date to Europe might not find this flight. For example, if you want to arrive in Lisbon on June 6, you would likely search for flights leaving...
TAP Air Portugal’s 3:25am flight from MIA illustrates the advantage of designing your flight search query to focus on arrival date instead of departure date in some situations. Since this is not a daily flight, a typical search query for a flight from the US on a specified date to Europe might not find this flight. For example, if you want to arrive in Lisbon on June 6, you would likely search for flights leaving Miami on June 5. That search would not find this flight since it does not operate on June 5. However, the flight does operate, and arrive in Lisbon, on June 6. So, this flight could meet your needs.
Love the new schedule!
Avoid traffic, ease airport congestion, and in my experience, especially for kids, leaving at unusual times adds a thrill to the whole experience!
You remind me of how they could actually forget Kevin at home or in NYC.
Just 2 hours earlier on those times would at least be a bit more palatable. Also let's look at this from a tourist point of view coming from Europe. Who wants to land in MIA at midnight and get to their hotel at 2am (by the time you clear immigration, gets bags and get a cab). What about if you have to collect a car and drive through parts of MIA at that time, not...
Just 2 hours earlier on those times would at least be a bit more palatable. Also let's look at this from a tourist point of view coming from Europe. Who wants to land in MIA at midnight and get to their hotel at 2am (by the time you clear immigration, gets bags and get a cab). What about if you have to collect a car and drive through parts of MIA at that time, not exactly ideal. Then coming back... It's sometimes bad enough when you depart at 10/11pm that you have to check out your hotel by noon (or if lucky 4pm with status) and be hanging around half the day. Now imagine having to hang around until midnight. I guess you'd bite the bullet and buy an extra night and check out in the middle of the night but that's hardly ideal either! Plus same thing returning a car at midnight or 1am. As a tourist I certainly wouldn't want to take this. Going from the US maybe if it was a couple of hours earlier because it's not great arriving in Europe after a redeye and not being able to check in for a few hours.
It is a lot better than arriving at 1 pm to your hotel and not being allowed to check in because it only opens at 4 pm...and you have to make time when in fact you just feel like going to bed. You will adapt way easier to the jet leg too
There are many to Asia from New York City that depart between 12mid and 2am, and they do well.
Fares, onward connections, and as you noted, an ability to check in at hotels in the afternoon upon arrival without the inconvenience of waiting for a room or check-in time to open could be enough of a draw to make the odd departure time work, especially during the peak northern hemisphere summer season, when trans-Atlantic demand is at its highest.
Correction for the above:
There are many flights to Asia from New York City that depart between 12mid and 2am, and they do well.
Apologies for the error.
There’s a lot of cargo from South America that transits Miami to various parts of the world. This could be primarily a cargo flight on the return since the nonstop routings from South America to LIS may not allow for a lot of cargo on a 330 vs a larger plane that TAP doesn’t have. I certain types of seafood are a driver for some other airlines.
Arrival time isn't much different than Virgin Atlantic's flight 24 departing LAX around 11:00 pm PDT and arriving LHR after 5:00 pm BST
It's great timing, transatlantic flights leaving GRU/EZE at 15:00 or whatever effectively make you write off the day of departure and you can't make yourself go to sleep until a good 5-6 hours into the flight, by which time it's too late to get a full night's sleep, then you land around noon and if you have a connection you lose another full day on the arrival end.
Well atleast the Turkish lounge is already open 24/7 and those passengers should have no issue finding a seat at 1 am.
Anything that leaves Miami after 9pm is ideal. I would rather travel at 3am instead of 4pm
Thanks for the shoutout!
It’s possibly for all the Europeans who want to return home straight from The Clubs, perhaps?
Ha thats a good one!
As a night owl myself, it's a perfect timing for me, a dream come true.
Problem with the 4:30pm departure is reaching Lisbon at such a time where it's way too early to get any hotel check in, that us if LIS is actual final destination. I actually like the 3:25am departure in that if can actually force self to stay awake through the flight can arrive at a comfortable time close to the evening and ready for good night sleep with virtually no jet lag!
Why are you showing a screen shot of cargo flights?
European airports are slot restricted and I don’t see why the flight times are so bizarre
@ Icarus -- I'm showing a screenshot of the flights around those hours, which are all cargo flights. The flight times are unusual because, as I explained, I don't know of any other US to Europe transatlantic passenger flight that departs between 2AM and 6AM. Like I said, it's totally normal in other parts of the world, but not in the US.