MCO or TPA?

Hey all,
I’m considering a trip back to Orlando next year since we’ve done quite a few LA & vegas the last couple years.
Getting back into the planning for Florida and didn’t realise how much it’s all changed since I last went.

Anyways looking at flight with VA and considering flying into Tampa opposed to MCO due to the neo flying the tampa route.
We flew to LA on their airbus last year and I wasn’t a huge fan with the seats being angled and the feeling of it being tight but was glad to experience a new plane! I do like the neo layout with forward facing seats and a door the goes more than half way so would you recommend flying to tampa and driving to Orlando or sticking with MCO to save the hassle?

So far the price difference I’ve seen it £200-£300 through virgin with a car

Never been into Tampa for years, but wouldn't think about booking a flight for next year based on aircraft type.

It could and probably will change multiple times but remember they also use the A350-1000 on some MCO flights which give you the forward facing seats in Upper.

David

I flew to Tampa shortly after the route commenced. Found it better than MCO in terms of immigration and I was on the Neo in the retreat suites.

Tampa does use Neo, but can change due to operational reasons.

A350-1000 is good but since it’s the leisure config, in arrival you are not the first off as due to smaller UC cabin, premium guests get off first.

I flew to Tampa shortly after the route commenced. Found it better than MCO in terms of immigration and I was on the Neo in the retreat suites.

Tampa does use Neo, but can change due to operational reasons.

A350-1000 is good but since it’s the leisure config, in arrival you are not the first off as due to smaller UC cabin, premium guests get off first.

Do you know if they change often at all? Would be upsetting knowing my luck it changes nearer the time haha.
I just saw that seat map of the plane you mentioned and I’ve never been on that layout, just the one with
Loft and bar on board. I can see why they let off the premium first which is annoying

We have flown into Tampa since the service started and for 20 years into MCO prior to that. TPA is lovely airport, slick immigration but car hire less convenient than MCO as it involves train ride, but not too onerous. If in UC the lounge on the return flight (International) is not as good as MCO, in fact quite poor. Also need to look at flight times as they arriver quite late. We like the return flight times which leaves late evening and arrives Heathrow around midday but we travel up from SW FL so the full day to travel is helpful, and we live 40 mins from Heathrow, so midday arrival works well for us. The Neo is a nice aircraft and we have never had a switch, but we only travel twice a year. The door on the suite fully closes unlike the 350 out of MCO. Watch out for the fact that the suites are alternate configurations in that some are adjacent to the window and some are set back adjacent to the gangway but still fine. In my experience the 350 at MCO carries a premium in terms of cash and/or rewards required to book and is not always available to book early in the process ie two flights a day, a 330 and a 350. I have found in the past that switches are more frequent on the MCO route but maybe will be less frequent as the 330's are phased out.

We have flown into Tampa since the service started and for 20 years into MCO prior to that. TPA is lovely airport, slick immigration but car hire less convenient than MCO as it involves train ride, but not too onerous. If in UC the lounge on the return flight (International) is not as good as MCO, in fact quite poor. Also need to look at flight times as they arriver quite late. We like the return flight times which leaves late evening and arrives Heathrow around midday but we travel up from SW FL so the full day to travel is helpful, and we live 40 mins from Heathrow, so midday arrival works well for us. The Neo is a nice aircraft and we have never had a switch, but we only travel twice a year. The door on the suite fully closes unlike the 350 out of MCO. Watch out for the fact that the suites are alternate configurations in that some are adjacent to the window and some are set back adjacent to the gangway but still fine. In my experience the 350 at MCO carries a premium in terms of cash and/or rewards required to book and is not always available to book early in the process ie two flights a day, a 330 and a 350. I have found in the past that switches are more frequent on the MCO route but maybe will be less frequent as the 330's are phased out.

My friend flew into Tampa in December and said it was quite good getting through immigration but he said the car hire wasn’t terrible getting to.
It would be the drive into Orlando which I wouldn’t enjoy after landing compared to landing in MCO. But the price different isn’t massive between the 2 so do I go Tampa for the plane and put up with the drive.

You must not be too far from me as I’m around 20mins from Heathrow which makes coming home so much easier now than when it used to go to Gatwick.

The seat layout wouldn’t bother me too much as it would be comparable to the aer lingus flight we did last year which alternated being close to the window and over a bit
I was never a huge fan of the Orlando lounge but it was large enough to get a seat to chill before coming home. Is Tampa really small? Have you ever been to the lounge in Las Vegas? That’s tiny and poor lol always hated that one!
I guess it depends on if I want to do the 1.30 hour drive after a long flight or land at MCO and save on petrol and driving time

The lounge at TPA is small - wherever you sit you can see everybody else in the lounge, not like MCO where, as you say, you can always find a quiet corner, and the choice of fare in the Tampa lounge is not great. No coffee!! I had to go out to get a coffee. If there is not a great price differential - in summary I think if I could get the 350 I would go for MCO, the lounge and journey swinging it. You could of course fly into Tampa and leave via MCO.

The lounge at TPA is small - wherever you sit you can see everybody else in the lounge, not like MCO where, as you say, you can always find a quiet corner, and the choice of fare in the Tampa lounge is not great. No coffee!! I had to go out to get a coffee. If there is not a great price differential - in summary I think if I could get the 350 I would go for MCO, the lounge and journey swinging it. You could of course fly into Tampa and leave via MCO.

I will have to google the lounge but it does sound similar to the vegas lounge which has no privacy!
I’ve checked a few flights on flight radar and they’ve been doing the 330(old seating) early morning but the afternoon flight looks to be the 350 with the odd one being the 330 maybe due to a plane change.
I am thinking to save the hour drive from Tampa and cost in fuel we would just land in MCO, although not the neo just for location purposes. Or we could look to land in Tampa and leave from MCO, just working out what’s easiest to do…
I doubt they’d use the neo for the Orlando route being a more popular route and needing the extra seating like the 350 has.

[mitchja]

The lounge VS use at TPA is utterly abysmal...without a doubt one of THE WORST lounges on the entire VS network, certainly in the US. Another windowless lounge. I've been in better doctor's surgery waiting rooms!

Why VS cannot share the SkyClub lounge with DL is beyond me? I'm flying to/from TPA in a few weeks again though thankfully coming home I'm connecting via ATL so I will get to use the DL SkyClub for that

TPA is a nice airport for arrivals and departures though apart from that lounge. Very easy in both directions with direct monorail links to the rental car centre. The drive between Orlando and Tampa is very straightforward as well.

My VS129 outbound flight is showing as an A339 and so far hasn't changed...noticed the fluctuating Retreat Suite prices though....ranging from £281 - £331 so far. It varies on a daily basis. I've only paid £300 for the Retreat suite upgrade coming back from SEA in October!!

My last 6 trips have been via Tampa. I've not been to MCO since they started construction on the new terminal!
I love it. Car hire was a bit of a pain before they built the train system, now it's really easy. I wouldn't say it was any worse than MCO in that respect apart from you can't pick the car from a line it's pre-allocated.
It's a bit further away than MCO but we usually stay south-west of Disney so doesn't make too much difference to us. We also build a few things into the journey such as annual trip to Chick-Fil-A at Plant City!

I can't comment on the lounge as I have to pay for 5 tickets so always fly economy (until I get rid of my hangers-on).

So in summary, pick whatever. I wouldn't let the plane type sway your judgement. I'm more price sensitive than most.

I also wouldn’t let a lounge sway your opinion as the MCO one is pretty dire too. It certainly used to be second worst on the network after Vegas, but nice to hear we have a new contender.

I’m now very intrigued to see the Tampa one… It’s giving me AA PHL vibes.

I've used TPA a few times and prefer it to MCO.

PRO's
Quick immigration and baggage upon arrival as due to the flight time no-one else was arriving
Security lines for departure were only a few minutes so way quicker than MCO, and they have electronic gates to access the gate areas.
Departure queues at check in were non existent.

CONS
Later departure/arrival times
Hire car needs a train ride although with quicker immigration times overall no issue.
As others have said the lounge is terrible
Due to the VS departure times 90% of the airpot shops/restaurants close after the BA flight so you have potentially 90-120 mins in a ghost town. Only the duty free and newsagents were open.
You need to drive after landing for about 60-90 minsif your destination is MCO area, although it's an easy drive.

Personally TPA gets my vote