FTstudent

I’m torn between two routing options for TPA-MAD. To me, it’s pretty much a toss-up on which route to choose. If you are interested in over-analyzing this with me, this is the thread for you
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Option 1: TPA-IAD-MUC-MAD. (LH)Option 2: TPA-IAD-MAD. (UA)Any other Pro/Cons I’m leaving out are helpful. I know the conventional wisdom is less connections, but it’s coming at the cost of sleep and comfort. I’m also asking as someone who really enjoys maximizing the travel, not just getting to the destination.
I was also thinking with the 2nd option, I could head to the hotel, catch up on a little sleep, and still come out ahead. Heavily dependent on a room being ready tho. This is a leisure trip.

sbm12

I'd be on the UA flight without a doubt. That 10 hours is a big difference and I'd skip the meal and be right asleep, assisted with booze or pharmaceuticals if needed, leaving IAD.

transportprof

For me, it depends on what you have planned in MAD, and when.
Arriving Madrid at 8 am can be a terrible shock to the body - especially if you can't get into your hotel room and have to spend the morning walking around Madrid like a zombie.

Arriving in a European city in the evening is my preferred timing, especially if I could get a long enough layover in MUC or FRA for a shower in the Senator lounge. I did this in MAD in May, and it worked out splendidly, got seats on the Metro into the city center (not likely with an 8 am arrival), and had just enough time for a late dinner (which isn't late by Spanish standards) and then off to bed - slept wonderfully and was raring to go the following day.

findark

I would bias toward the option with fewer stops, but if you already know you'll get better sleep on the LH flight I would definitely go with it. Personally I'm usually happy sleeping in UA seats (I guess I'd admit I'm the "target Polaris customer" as I value sleep quality above all else in long-haul J.)

DA201

Less stops = less opportunities for something to go wrong. Also, 10 hours is a really long time.

lhrsfo

Are you MAD? Option 2 all the way.

TomMM

Or Option 3:

Do the drive to MCO and fly LH: MCO-FRA-MAD. The beauty of this is that the MCO-FRA flight leaves around 9PM so you could leave the evening before your original day of departure.

Living in JAX, this has been my game plan and it works out nicely.

QBK

What are the departure times on the two IAD-xxx options? I have a heavy preference for a later departure, especially when I'm in J. I loathe flights that leave at 5pm and arrive early in the morning are horrible, because I can't get much sleep. I'd much rather depart IAD/EWR at 9pm, go straight to sleep, and land in Europe at noon.

(Actually, the best TATLs for sleeping, IMO, are the ones that leave SFO at 7pm and land at 3pm Europe time, but that's clearly out of scope here).

sbm12

The nonstop leaves IAD at ~6p; the MUC is a 10:30p departure. I agree that the 10:30p is far more conducive to sleeping, but I'd still take skipping the extra connection and not getting to MAD at 4p. And I've managed to convince my body to sleep on those early flights well enough often enough to make up for the other challenges.

If the arrival day is going to be a complete write-off anyways then the later flight with the extra connection could be fine. But I rarely have that luxury in my travel schedule.

FTstudent

I didn’t want to overload the first post with a lot of extra detail, but I’m currently booked on Option #1 for Wednesday on a Business Saver Award. Original booking was 7PM TPA-IAD, 10:30PM IAD-MUC, then onward to MAD. So I built my site seeing list accordingly.

I watched the routing misconnection 3 times this week; once while sitting on the TPA-IAD flight. I called UA and asked if they would move me to the earlier flight. They did and without any extra miles, which was super nice of them since the flight was I0, XN0, X0!

chitownflyer

To the OP, what about TPA-FRA-MAD on LH? You would arrive late afternoon in MAD.

LordHamster

That would be much better IMO. Arriving late afternoon means you can check into your hotel right away at arrival as well.

FTstudent

Flight is sold out.

On second thought, that will turn into a logistical problem. Flying a separate ticket back to TPA.

fivevsone

It looks to me that the UA flights IAD-MAD are 757 through November. If a near term flight not sure if you'd favor narrow body TATL vs another option.

UAL250

This is just me, but personally I am not a fan of LH's J seat. I've never gotten good sleep on it. The cubbies for your feet are pathetically close together. UA's J seat is better for me. YMMV.

I'd go TPA-IAD-MAD.