Star Alliance member TAP Portugal is having a huge sale for premium tickets to prime Brazilian destinations Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Both cities are available from a multitude of European origins at €1,300, basically the same price of the nonstop flights from Lisbon. So you basically get two European business class flights for free.
These tickets are not subject to any goodwill policy. Brazil currently requires you to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country.
For less than €1,400, you can find flights to Rio de Janeiro from the following European cities:
- Paris at €1,298
- Madrid at €1,298
- Barcelona at €1,298
- Faro at €1,298
- Milan at €1,298
- Rome at €1,298
- Porto at €1,310
- Lyon at €1,398
- Nice at €1,398
- Toulouse at €1,398
And these are the prices for travel to São Paulo (also below €1,400):
If you’re willing to spend to close €1,500 for a roundtrip, you can fly from even more European cities like Amsterdam, Brussels and London. These fare are available for departures between October 2022 and March 2023. December flight dates at the lowest fare are almost impossible to find.
All itineraries feature a change of planes in Lisbon each way. TAP uses Airbus A330-900neo aircraft between Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. These are brand new, state of the aircraft with the oldest one being delivered as recently as November 2018. Their business class cabin feature a 1-2-1 seating pattern.
Not too long ago, TAP’s Executive Class was infamously subpar. By now, however, all planes have been equipped with new seats that can be converted into fully flat beds and offer quite a high comfort. The service is also said to be very friendly.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, these tickets are on sale until May 16, 2022. You have to complete your outbound flight before March 31, 2023 – your return may happen up to a month later. A minimum stay of five days applies to get the cheapest ticket, you may not stay longer than a month. The fare shows fairly good availability in late 2022 and early 2023, but it’s already dwindling down.
Google Flights will guide your way to all possible flight dates at the lowest fare. We recommend buying your tickets directly on TAP’s website.
Mileage
TAP Portugal issues tickets for all flight segments in booking class J. From a mileage-for-money perspective, this is quite an attractive offer for members of most Star Alliance frequent flyer programs. This example covers the Paris to Rio de Janeiro roundtrip above:
- 26,886 Miles on Hainan Fortune Wings Club
- 23,176 Award Miles + 480 Points on Miles&More
- 22,752 Miles on Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 22,752 Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 22,752 Award Miles + 11,376 Tier Miles on Avianca LifeMiles
- 22,752 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 22,752 Miles on Ethiopian ShebaMiles
- 22,752 Miles on Egyptair Plus
- 22,752 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 19,340 Miles on Azul TodoAzul
- 17,064 Award Miles on Emirates Skywards
- 17,064 Miles on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 17,064 Miles on TAP Miles&Go
- 14,788 Miles on GOL Aéreos Smiles
- 14,222 Miles on EVA Infinity MileageLands
- 14,222 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
- 14,222 Miles on Asiana Club
- 14,222 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 14,222 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 14,222 Award Miles + 2,370 PQP on United MileagePlus
Since there are two possible destinations and quite a lot of origins, our mileage calculator can be of even more help:
Cover Picture: © TAP Portugal