There's no nonstop path for business class from San Diego to Faro, which means the routing decision itself becomes the most important choice you'll make on this itinerary — and after flying this corridor repeatedly, I can say the connection you pick matters more than the fare class you book. The simple fact: San Diego to Faro requires at least one transatlantic connection, typically through Atlanta with Delta, London Heathrow with British Airways, or Lisbon with TAP Air Portugal, before a short regional hop into Faro's compact single-runway airport. My preferred build is Delta out of SAN to Atlanta, then onward to Lisbon or Madrid on a Delta One configured aircraft with fully lie-flat suites and sliding privacy doors on their A330-900 or A350 fleet, followed by a TAP connection into Faro. British Airways routes work well too if you're comfortable connecting through Heathrow's Terminal 5, where their Club Suite — with direct aisle access on the 787 and A350 fleet — makes the long first leg genuinely restful before a short intra-European hop that's typically operated in a recliner business cabin rather than a flat-bed product.
TAP Air Portugal deserves special mention because routing through Lisbon lets you experience their growing A321LR and A330neo business cabins while positioning you perfectly for the short 45-minute final segment into Faro — and TAP's Lisbon hub avoids the congestion and immigration lines you'll fight through at Heathrow or Atlanta. My insider tip: book the Lisbon-Faro segment as a separate short-haul ticket only if your main itinerary allows a long enough layover to clear customs comfortably, because TAP's own connections sometimes leave uncomfortably tight windows during peak Algarve season.
Seasonality here is pronounced — the Algarve's shoulder seasons of April, May, September, and October reward patient travelers with softer business class demand, better weather than peak summer, and noticeably calmer connecting airports. Because award space and premium fares on this multi-carrier route fluctuate more than most transatlantic itineraries, setting up automated fare alerts across Delta, British Airways, and TAP is the smartest way to catch a favorable opening before it disappears.
