Originally Posted by
ArnoldB
Maybe concern is the wrong word, I just want to be informed on realistic scenarios. I was aware of the MCT when I booked this and also had the potential 600€ compensation in the back of my mind. With an average arrival delay of 51 Minutes so far (TP1271) in April, but only an average departure delay of 35 Minutes (TP83) so far in April, that leaves the average "real" connecting time at 45 Minutes. And that is already assuming that the departure delay happens before doors are closed and not afterwards. So given that missing the connection seems to be a realistic possibility, I'm now thinking about the technicalities (whether you're automatically rebooked and what the delay threshold for that is) and comfort questions (whether is even makes sense to reserve Economy Xtra seats when rebooking is not unlikely; whether to buy Lounge access for the 6-7 hours until the next flight; looking for a hotel in Sao Paulo for the first night with VERY flexible cancellation, etc).
Maybe I misunderstood your reference to EUR600, but attempting to game the system and profit from compensation payments is unlikely to have a happy outcome unless there is a significant erosion of the connection time. TP hasn't earned fame around its readiness to cough up cash, so if you are landed within the MCT parameters you'll be expected to make the connection, even if you have to break into a sweat. if you don't there'll be months of wrangling over compo and a disappointing outcome.
Worth noting that the airline may have enough flexibility in its long-haul departures to allow slippage in the departure time if a number of incoming connecting passengers are delayed, and such delays are a feature of TP operations. I was chuffed to find they'd held a Sao Paulo departure for me, only to be deflated when we continued to wait for another few dozen passengers on connecting flights.
1:50 is plenty time for a connection. Potential arrival delays, remote stands, queues for transfer formalities might erode the time, but even so you should be fine. If you don't make it, you'll be looked after.
Maybe one consequence would be losing a pre-paid hotel night, but
tant pis as our French friends might say: you'll have slept on board or in a Lisbon hotel at no additional cost, so no material loss. If you are intent on over-thinking the trip, maybe do a risk-based cost-benefit analysis of booking a fully-flex hotel rate vs pre-payment, though note that even "fully flex" these days often includes a cut off time for cancellation. But really, life's too short!