Finally made my choice

[skings]

I have been searching for cheap one-way from France back home to Florida. Was looking at Norwegian and

Tap Portugal. Tap Portugal was the winner. Flies from Orly to Miami,  not familiar with this airport.😓 Liked the 2-4-2 set-up. Because of my age and handicap could not sit Exit row. Chose window

14A for additional $25 and 3" leg room. Have not flown the A330-900 reviews say seats are not comfortable. am well padded hope I fit 😁 Any hints on travelling this route?

[fbgd]

TAP fly from Orly to Miami? I assume you're aware of the stop in Lisbon.

 

From what I can gather looking at random days the only airline doing ORY-MIA non-stop is Corsair so if you're seeing non-stop it won't be TAP operated.

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by fbgd

[skings]

Yes I am aware of 3 hour layover in Lisbon. Dont mind getting a meal and restroom stop before 9 + flight. Norwegian was

non-stop CDG to FLL but it was cheaper to upgrade for more comfort on Tap. 

[wowzz]

Are you sure the $25 you paid was for the TA sector, and not just the short Orly to Lisbon flight, which  I assume is not a 330 ?

[skings]

I paid $25 for seat 14A ( Extra leg room) on the TA portion in addition to  "Classic" rate which includes baggage. Total for both flights $335.21 which I booked as Orly to Miami. 

Norwegian was $317 on the day i booked Tap. Tap flight#0443 and #0225 - 5/5/2020

[waterbug123]

16 hours ago, skings said:

 Orly to Miami.... Any hints on travelling this route?

 

It's a little unclear what you're looking for here as far as hints for the route.  I've never flown in and out of Orly, only CDG, so can't tell you anything about the airport.  You know there's a stop in Lisbon, though it's unclear to me if you change planes.  My guess would be yes, as I doubt TAP is flying a widebody aircraft on a short haul domestic route but stranger things have happened.  You won't clear customs until MIA, as LIS would be considered a "domestic" stop.  It is almost certainly a daytime flight coming back to the US, but you booked it so you know that.  Usually I don't attempt to sleep on those flights, and just watch movies instead.

[hallasm]

Flight 225 is Airbus A330-900neo (339) with additional legroom at row 27 (exit)

Flight 443 is Airbus A319 (319) - exit row 9

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, hallasm said:

Flight 225 is Airbus A330-900neo (339) with additional legroom at row 27 (exit)

Flight 443 is Airbus A319 (319) - exit row 9

I'm not convinced that 14A is extra leg room.

[Host Hattie]

It's an economy extra seat, 3 inches more legroom than economy.

[scottbee]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm not convinced that 14A is extra leg room.

 

According to seatguru, for the TAP A330-900neo, 14A is 'Economy Exta', 34" seat pitch (same width)

 

[wowzz]

45 minutes ago, scottbee said:

 

According to seatguru, for the TAP A330-900neo, 14A is 'Economy Exta', 34" seat pitch (same width)

 

Sorry, I stand corrected.  $25 extra seemed very cheap for the upgrade to Economy Extra, hence my concern. I wonder if I misread the post, and the $25 actually refers to the cost of selecting the window seat?

[skings]

Hi sorry for confusion, I first upgraded and paid extra ?  to "classic" from "economy" than paid $25 extra to be seated near the front of the aircraft.

I was very pleased with the price.

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, skings said:

Hi sorry for confusion, I first upgraded and paid extra ?  to "classic" from "economy" than paid $25 extra to be seated near the front of the aircraft.

I was very pleased with the price.

I recently flew with TAP from Lisbon to Miami and back on the new aircraft, which I can tell you is a million miles better than the old ones they used for this route until some time last year. Neither I nor DH found the seats to be uncomfortable and I especially liked the articulated head rests that move up and down and fold in from each side to support your head.

 

Be aware that when they say "economy extra", they are actually only referring to that bit of extra leg room. Everything else is just plain economy, no special meals, no special service, no special anything. However, I think you did the right think to pay the small upcharge because the normal (non-extra) economy seats are very tightly packed. We are lucky enough to meet the conditions for flying in the exit row, which we paid 70 euros per person each way for and it made a huge difference.

 

 

 

The in-flight entertainment is very good. There are loads of films and TV series to choose from.

Our screens folded out from the armrests but yours will be in the seat back like the ones you can just see a bit of in the photo above.

 

There is also free text messaging (i.e. messenger, whatsapp) starting from about 15 minutes after take-off. You have to keep signing in every hour for that. Full instructions are provided on a card in your seat pocket. I found it worked very well with whatsapp but my fb account threw a hissy fit because it didn't recognise the server and it blocked my access.

 

 

 

There are also internet packages available. (Sorry the pic is sideways.)

 

In terms of food, you should get a snack on the Orly-Lisbon flight. I haven't flown that route so I don't know exactly what they're offering but it's likely to be minimal, a sandwich, maybe. However, on the Miami flight you will get two meals appropriate to the time of day.

 

The vast majority of TAP's flights servicing this route leave Lisbon at about 10.30 am and that was our case so we had lunch and a pre-landing snack. I see you're going on one of their few afternoon flights and since I haven't flown on those I'm not sure what the food "configuration" will be but they'll definitely have two meal services. The food is usually fairly acceptable but on our flight this time it was not of the quality I have come to expect. The main course was some sort of bland chicken and pasta dish. The pre-landing snack was quite good, though.

 

Lunch:

 

And snack:

 

As far as your connection in Lisbon is concerned, Lisbon is a very easy airport to connect in because all the non-low-cost flights come into and go out of the same terminal and it's quite a small airport for a capital city. The ground handling staff at Lisbon are absolutely the best at getting people from one flight to another, especially for those with tight connections. There is almost always someone waiting in the exit area of each flight to steer connecting passengers in the right direction.

 

Assuming your first flight is on time (the bad news is that TAP have a less than stellar punctuality record, hence the skill of their ground staff at ensuring people catch their connecting flights!), your 3-hour layover will give you time for a bathroom break and a bite to eat. A very traditional sweet snack here in Portugal is a pastel de nata, which is a custard tart with flaky pastry. Some people like to sprinkle cinnamon on top and you will always find a cinnamon shaker on the counter of anywhere that sells them. If you prefer something more familiar, there is also a Starbucks. 

 

You might also have time to browse in some of the many shops but keep an eye on the clock because while you will not have to clear customs or immigration on arrival in Lisbon or collect your bags (make sure in Orly that they check them right through to Miami), you do have to go through passport control on your way to the boarding gate for your onward flight to Miami. The lines here, especially for non-EU citizens, can sometimes be very long, so don't wait until the last minute before heading to the gate. Also, as required by US regulations, there is an additional security check at the gate too.

 

The gate areas themselves are very small and never have enough seating for such big aircraft. In addition, there is always a mad scramble to line up when boarding is called and this is exacerbated by the lack of physical space. I mention this because you said you couldn't have an exit row seat because of your age and handicap, so you might want to approach the gate personnel before they start boarding and see if anything can be done to help you avoid getting caught up in the stampede.

 

I hope this helps. I can't think of anything else to add for now but if you do have any more questions, feel free to ask. I'll be glad to answer if I can.

 

 

 

 

 

[skings]

Fiona, thank you very much. The information is just what I was asking for. Thanks again. 😁