Which flight/layover Denver to Lisbon

The nice thing about eastbound flights is they can take advantage of prevailing winds, which are wet to east; allowing flights to make up at least some lost time on long haul flights. A connection at LHR has a possibility of catching a later flight that day. How many later flights to Lisbon does United have from EWR. I dont think there are any. If I ended up having to overnight, I'd much rather do it at LHR, which should have many more flight options of much shorter duration.

As for having enough time for a connection, BC passengers at LHR have access to priority (fast track) security lanes just by presenting their boarding pass.

When I flew from Denver to Lisbon I connected through Dulles. I was nervous about the weather and connection time in DC so I just chose an earlier flight from Denver to Washington. You probably do the same with Newark if you are willing to potentially hang out there for a longer layover.

If I am looking correctly, the flight via LHR gets to Lisbon at 435PM; the flight via Newark arrives at 820AM..

Between those choice I think I would do the LHR flight; arrive in Lisbon in time to do hotel check in and have relaxed dinner and then to head bed and be ready to go the next day.

My $0.02

I try to avoid Heathrow, if I can. And, less than two hours would be a deal breaker for me. After 11 years of at least once a year travel to the U.S. from Portugal, the one time I missed my flight was at Heathrow. You really need a minimum of two hours, IMO.

And, I feel exactly the opposite of the previous poster. I much prefer to arrive here in the morning. Spending the entire day, after an overnight flight from the U.S. in airports or on a plane is awful for me. You can always drop your luggage at your accommodation and spend some time walking around to get some sunshine and stay awake. The best way for me to avoid jet lag (at least a bit).
I’ve not flown United, but other airlines Business Class is pretty great.

Is there a reason why your options are only Newark or London? I can see that there are flights from Denver to IAD airport in Washington and I know that you can fly direct from Washington to Lisbon. That would seem to me a better schedule than going through Newark.

HI!

Just saw your post this morning.... I put in my ideas on the FB pages you posted on. Hopefully between the various forums you are able to decide on what is best for you! Good luck!

Thank you for all the replies with opinions and advice.

I usually wouldn’t accept a layover anywhere fewer than 3 hours. Only reason I was thinking of risking it in London was there were other flights after my scheduled connection. I have yet to check that aspect from Newark.

When I researched flights (and I researched a lot) no IAD connections came up. If they did, I MAY have dismissed them for long layovers or price (?) Don’t remember so will check again. I saw that Delta goes through Dulles but their fare was $3,000 MORE than United! $9,000+ instead of $6,000+

Yes, dropping luggage and wandering if I arrive morning is a possibility AND a good way to keep awake for the jet-lag trick. Morning arrival might also be better if I decide to go immediately on to Sintra for a couple of nights, BEFORE my tour group meets in Lisbon.

Thank you again.

We are taking a 158pm flight DEN IAD - then connecting to the IAD LIS flight that leaves at 1025pm.... we will have a 4 hour layover in IAD - which is good for us - in case weather here in Denver is messed up (what else is new?) and we will be able to go into the Polaris Club. It is a later departure for Lisbon - it gets in at 1030am in the morning - so not all that bad.

Thank you again everyone. I’ve found a flight connecting through LHR with a 4-hr layover and think I will book that. There were a few deciding factors for me, but the biggest was that I decided I would not want to arrive at 8:20 AM to Lisbon via the Newark route because I think I would feel tired (and a little lost) wandering by myself until hotel check in time. I think the 16:30 arrival from London will suit me better.

I also considered that if I missed my Newark connection, I would definitely be stuck there that night; no more flights that evening. Should I miss my London connection (I shouldn’t with a 4-hr layover haha), there are other flights going later so I’ll have a CHANCE of getting out that same day.

With 4 hours, I’ll have plenty of time for extra security checks, etc. at Heathrow and won’t be stressed. Besides, it will be nice to have more flight time in the “fancy” seats for which I’m paying a premium LOL.

Thank you all again for your great opinions/advice/tips!