TAP Air Portugal A321neo Seat Selection Guide (2026)

First, the thing nobody tells you: there is no business cabin

Every TAP A321neo has a single economy cabin running from row 1 to row 37 in a 3-3 layout. What TAP sells as Business is the front section of that cabin with the middle seat left empty and a curtain drawn behind it — standard practice across Europe, and the curtain moves forward or back with demand on the day.

This matters when you read a seat map. Any “business” seat count you see for these aircraft is the maximum the curtain can reach, not a fixed cabin. The seat itself is the same one you get in row 30 — you are buying the empty middle beside you, the row position and the service.

The rows behind the curtain, up to the same cap, are sold as EconomyXtra. Which is where the trap lives.

The three layouts

216 seats — the common one

Rows 1–37. The curtain caps at row 15, and EconomyXtra runs to the same row. Rows 9, 10, 23 and 24 are short rows around the exits: row 9 has no F seat, rows 10 and 24 have neither A nor F, and row 23 has no A. This is a six-aircraft sub-fleet.

• Best: 25A and 25F — extra legroom and a good window, an unusual pairing on this jet (see below).
• Avoid: 16A and 16F — no window. Also 9A, which has no window either.

218 seats — the roomier front end

Rows 1–37 again, but the curtain caps two rows further back at row 17, and EconomyXtra extends to row 17 with it. Only row 10 and row 24 are short here. No seat on this version is flagged as windowless, which makes it the best of the three for a window seat.

• Best: 25A and 25F again, or 12A/12F if you are buying into the front zone.
• Avoid: nothing structural — just the rear rows common to all three.

221 seats — a different aircraft (CS-TJM and CS-TJN)

Two airframes with a genuinely different cabin. The front section is short — rows 1–4 — and economy proper begins at row 5. The exits sit further forward, so the extra-legroom rows are 16 and 17 rather than 24 and 25, and the whole rear of the cabin shifts.

• Best: row 17 — all six seats have extra legroom and full recline. The best row on any TAP A321.
• Avoid: 27A and 27F — extra legroom against a blank wall (see below).

Extra legroom: where it is, and what it costs you

On the 216 and 218-seat jets: the exit row has no window seats

Row 24 is the extra-legroom exit row, and it holds only 24B, 24C, 24D and 24E — there is no 24A and no 24F. If you want extra legroom and a window on these aircraft, the seats are 25A and 25F, in the row behind, which carry extra legroom and a well-aligned window each.

That pairing is easy to miss: on a booking map 25A looks like an ordinary row-25 window seat sitting behind a premium row. It is the best economy seat on the aircraft.

The recline penalty on the 221-seat jet

Rows 15, 16 and 17 sit around the overwing exits, and they are not equal:

• Row 15 (A, B, E, F) — restricted recline, no extra legroom. The worst trade in the cabin.
• Row 16 (A, B, E, F) — extra legroom, but still restricted recline. 16C and 16D get the legroom without the penalty.
• Row 17 (all six) — extra legroom and full recline. This is the row to book.

Seats to avoid on every version

• Rows 36 and 37 — the rear lavatory bank. Every seat rates red; 37C and 37D add the galley.
• Row 35 — lavatory queuing traffic all flight.
• Row 1 — no underseat storage, tray table in the armrest so the seat is effectively narrower, and the forward lavatory and galley alongside. 1C and 1D catch the galley light during meal prep.
• 27A and 27F on the 216-seat jet — a poorly aligned window rather than none, but still a compromised view. On the A321ceo the same two seats have the window set behind the seat.
• 30A and 30F on the 216 and 218-seat jets — poor window alignment.

Best windows

On the 216 and 218-seat jets: 22A/22F (218: 23A/23F), 25A/25F, 28A/28F, 31A/31F and 34A/34F. On the 221-seat jet: 22A/22F, 25A/25F, 30A/30F and 33A/33F.

And the A321ceo, which is the same aircraft with the WiFi removed

TAP also flies 24 A321ceos at 216 seats — the same total as the most common neo. This is not a coincidence: the cabins are the same, row for row. Same 37 rows, same short rows at 9, 10, 23 and 24, same windowless 16A and 16F, same extra legroom at 24B–E and 25A/25F, same curtain cap at row 15.

The one difference that matters: the A321ceo has no WiFi at all, where the neos carry Panasonic Ku-band with free messaging and paid browsing. If connectivity is the reason you are choosing a flight, the seat count will not tell you — both read 216.

How to tell which version you are on

We are not quoting a fleet split across the three neo layouts, because no count is published for any of them — only that the 216-seat version covers six aircraft, and the registrations CS-TJM and CS-TJN for the 221-seat pair. The checks above are more reliable than any estimate.

TAP's A321LR is a separate aircraft again — 171 seats with 16 lie-flat business seats for long-haul routes. Nothing in this guide applies to it.

Cabin comparison

Quick-pick summary

Frequently asked questions

Does TAP's A321neo have a real business class?

Not on these three short and mid-haul layouts. The front section is standard 3-3 economy seating with the middle seat blocked and a curtain behind it, sized on the day according to demand. TAP's genuine lie-flat business seat is on the A321LR and the A330-900neo.

Which TAP A321neo seats have no window?

On the 216-seat layout (and the identical A321ceo): 16A, 16F and 9A. On the 221-seat layout: 27A and 27F, which are extra-legroom seats. The 218-seat layout has none.

Is EconomyXtra worth it on TAP?

It buys you a forward row and, if the curtain lands ahead of you, a quieter cabin — but the seat is the same. On the 216-seat jet, EconomyXtra stops at row 15, so check you are not paying for row 16 expecting it. For pure legroom, 24B–E and 25A/25F give you more for less.

Why does row 24 have no A or F seat?

Row 24 sits at the overwing exit on the 216 and 218-seat layouts, and the door takes the space where those two seats would go. The extra-legroom window seats are 25A and 25F instead.

Which TAP A321neo has the most legroom?

The 218-seat layout has the largest premium zone, extending EconomyXtra two rows further back to row 17. For a single best seat, though, row 17 on the 221-seat aircraft is the strongest — six extra-legroom seats with full recline and no windowless positions.

Does the TAP A321neo have WiFi?

The neos carry Panasonic Ku-band WiFi with free messaging and paid browsing, though the rollout is not yet complete across the fleet. The A321ceo — which has an identical 216-seat cabin — has no WiFi fitted. There are no seatback screens on any of them.