Airline Profile: TAP Air Portugal

Photo: Adrian Pingstone/Wikimedia Commons

The Facts:

Analysis:

7 Things You Need To Know About TAP Portugal:

• – One of the most special things about TAP Portugal is its amazing long-haul premium cabin fares. Consistently, one can get sub-$1000 (sometimes even as low as $700) fares one-way on transatlantic flights! For example, you can get flights from London to Washington or New York on TAP via Lisbon for under $800, which is a great deal given the competition of the routes. For example, TAP is one of the only airlines that have such good business class fares for transatlantic flights. Add to the outstanding fares that they have flat-bed seats on most transatlantic aircraft, and TAP gives you the best performance for the price of any airline on transatlantic flights!
• – On short-haul flights, TAP’s cabin actually has two types of economy class seats. The first half of their A320 series aircraft has seats with generous legroom, power outlets, and headrests while the rear half has slimline seats with tight legroom and no power outlets or head-rests. This is because the number of business class seats that TAP uses varies from flight to flight. Because they use the same seats as economy class, they can move business back a row or five depending on demand. To squeeze more seats onto their planes, they use slimline seats similar to those on Easyjet for their economy class, but since they don’t want their business class passengers to be in those awful seats, they put all of their nicer seats in the rows which could potentially be used for the business class cabin.
• – TAP has large expansion plans in the United States with three long-haul flights planned this year as of now (listed in the “future routes” section) and aims to have the lowest fares on long-haul routes without sacrificing in-flight service.
• – TAP already flies to 10 destinations in Brazil (due to obvious reasons relating to Portugal’s relationship with Brazil) and flies to both Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo from Porto as well.
• – TAP Portugal will start taking delivery of their first Airbus A321LRs (it will be one of the first customers of the aircraft) and will origionally fly them from Lisbon to Tel Aviv and from Porto to Newark. They will be configured with personal on-demand entertainment and flat-bed seats in business class.
• – TAP Portugal recently was the launch customer of the Airbus A330-900neo. The A330neo is the direct replacement to the A330, and the sales haven’t been doing very well. The aircraft are configured with personal on-demand entertainment and flat-bed seats in business class with all aisle access.
• – TAP Express is Tap’s regional brand and operates Embraer E195s, E190s, and ATR 72s on short-haul and regional flights out of Porto and Lisbon.

Travel Classes:

Economy: Economy Class on TAP Portugal is in a 3-3 configuration on all Airbus A320 Series aircraft and is in a 2-4-2 configuration on all Airbus A330 and A340 Series aircraft. Personal on-demand entertainment is available on all long-haul aircraft, and WiFi and power outlets are also available on all long-haul aircraft excluding the A340. On short-haul flights, free sandwiches and snacks are available for free to all passengers while on longer flights in Europe, longer flights to Africa, and on long-haul flights, free warm meals are available free of charge. Additionally, passengers are allowed to check one 23kg/50lbs bag for each flight and can bring one 8kg/17lbs handbag onboard every flight. Finally, please note that TAP Air Portugal does not offer any premium economy or dedicated extra legroom section of economy class onboard any aircraft.

Executive Class (Busienss Class): On all flights in business class, passengers should receive full meals, and passengers can pre-order meals before online on long-haul flights and on flights to Abidjan, Accra, Moscow, and Lome. Passengers also have access to TAP Portugal lounges (located in Lisbon, Porto, and Funchal/Maderia). Power outlets are also available on most short-haul flights and on all long-haul flights. On both short-haul and long-haul flights, bedding and pillows are provided (TAP is one of the only European airlines that offer bedding on intra-European flights). Additionally, passengers can check one 32kg/70lbs bag and take two 8kg/17lbs carry on bag on-board. TAP Air Portugal has multiple different types of business class seats, which are listed below:

• – Economy With Middle Seat Blocked (Short-Haul): On all Airbus A319s, A320s, and A321s, TAP Air Portugal features economy class seats (with slightly more legroom, power outlets, and headrests) in business class. The main difference between economy class is that the middle seat is blocked for extra room. It is unacceptable to only have economy class seats in business class, even on short haul flights, but it is the norm in Europe. If you are just flying within Europe, I would not recommend upgrading to business class as the experience regarding comfort really wouldn’t be any better than in economy class.
• – Angle-Flat: All Airbus A340-300s, Airbus A330-300s, and older Airbus A330-200s have angle flat seats in business class. The A330s and A340s feature extremely dated seats with tiny entertainment screens while their four A330-300s used to fly for Singapore Airlines and are a bit more modern. However, both of them have incredibly steep angles which aren’t great for sleeping. Fortunately, TAP Air Portugal plans to retire their A340s, A330-300s and some A330-200s this year, and the rest of their non-retrofitted A330-200s should be refitted this year.
• – Thompson Vantage: TAP’s refitted Airbus A330-200s has a decent business class product. It featuers flat-bed seats in an alternating 1-2-2 and 1-2-1 configuration, meaning that the cabin doesn’t feature all aisle access. The seats are relatively comfortable but also are reported to be on the tight side for flat-bed seats. Overall, they represent a massive improvement over the angle-flat seats on some of their other long-haul aircraft, although they are also not cutting edge. Please note that TAP’s A321LRs will be fitted with this seat model, which will be in an alternating 2-2 and 1-1 configuration. The seats are similar to those on JetBlue’s Mint product, SWISS International Airlines, SAS, and on Malaysia Airlines.

• – Recaro CL6710 (A330neo): TAP’s Airbus A330-900neos all feature Recaro’s new CL6710 seat. The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration and feature all aisle access. The seats are extremely modern and feature a large amount of privacy compared to TAP’s other seats. Overall, the seats are worth going out of your way for as they are far superior to TAP’s other seats. Unfortunately, they are only available on their A330neos which currently only fly to Sao Paulo, although will also fly to several destinations in the US over the coming months. The seats use the same model as El Al’s 787 business class and are similar to United’s Polaris seat.

Future Routes:

• Lisbon to Basel – Begins March 31, 2019 – Airbus A320 Series
• Lisbon to Chicago O’Hare – Begins June 1, 2019 – Airbus A330-200/900neo
• Lisbon to Dublin – Begins March 31, 2019 – Airbus A320 Series
• Lisbon to Naples – Begins June 15, 2019 – Airbus A320 Series
• Lisbon to San Francisco – Begins June 10, 2019 –  Airbus A330-900neo
• Lisbon to Tel Aviv – Begins March 31, 2019 – Airbus A321LR
• Lisbon to Tenerife-South – Begins June 15, 2019 – Airbus A320 Series
• Lisbon to Washington Dulles – Begins June 16, 2019 – Airbus A330-200

Have you ever flown on TAP Portugal? Share about your experience below!