TAP - Air Portugal Airlines

  About TAP Air Portugal

TAP Air Portugal, headquartered at its hu, Lisbon Airport, is the flag carrier airline of Portugal. The airline operates at least 2500 flights a week to 90 destinations in 34 different countries. The airline began its operation in 1946, and the inaugural flight was from Lisbon to Madrid. Since its inception, the airline has been dangling between getting privatised and then getting nationalised again. In 2015, the airline became semi-privatised and finally became a flag carrier for Portugal. TAP Air Portugal has won several awards for being the best engine, best airline and much more. TAP Air Portugal also has subsidiaries under it to save the airlines from diving into any further loss. TAPExpress, Groundforce Portugal, TAP Services, TAP Maintenance and Engineering, now you know why I ask mouthful? The airline is gaining quite the popularity in Europe. The airline has managed to survive and get through the most difficult days with the whole uncertainty of whether or not it will shut down. The airline has also gone through rebranding several times. The airline also has many codeshare agreements with a few other airlines. These include Aegean Airlines, All Nippon Airways, EgyptAir, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, LAM Mozambique Airlines.

TAP Air Portugal has been the recipient of several accolades for its contribution to the aviation industry as well as for providing the industry and its customers with excellent facilities and services. In 2007, the airline was honoured by NATO for Best Engine/Aircraft Source of Repair for its AWACS Maintenance Programme. The airline also won several such awards for conducting and managing the best repair centre for big aircraft and maintaining its fleet. British Condé Nast Traveller even called TAP Air Portugal the World's Best Airline Award.

Fleet size of TAP – Air Portugal

As of 2020, TAP Air Portugal's fleet size stands at 87 aircraft with 25 in order and yet to be delivered. The aircraft that are currently being used by the airline include 18 Airbus A319-100, 19 Airbus A3290200, seven Airbus A320neo, four Airbus A321-200s, six Airbus A321LR, seven Airbus A321neo, seven Airbus A330-200 and 19 Airbus A330-900neo. Out of these, the airline has ordered for eight more of Airbus A320neo, six Airbus A321LR, five Airbus A321neo and six Airbus A330-900neo. TAP Air Portugal turned up as the launch customer of Airbus' latest aircraft model, A330-900 when it was revealed back in 2018. The airline instantly opted to invest in the said aircraft and make it part of Tap Air Portugal's fleet. TAP Air Portugal has made the order for the said type of aircraft, ten of which will be directly delivered by the manufacturing company, Airbus, meaning the others will be leased. They have also estimated that they will be controlling a fleet that will accommodate 133 aircraft, by 2025.

Baggage Allowance

TAP Air Portugal has certain baggage allowance policies for passengers to follow, and these are mandatory. According to TAP Air Portugal's baggage allowance rules, Your hand luggage cannot weigh more than 8 kg, whether you are in the economy class or the business class. Your check-in baggage cannot exceed 32 kg. However, the maximum limit may vary depending on the cabin class and ticket type. It also depends on whether it is a long haul or a short-haul. However, if your baggage is going to exceed the limit, make it a point to inform the airline before your flight so necessary arrangements can be made. You will have to pay extra depending on what the weight of the added luggage is. The dimension of the baggage cannot exceed 158 cm as it comes as an aircraft

Inflight Services

You can easily do a web check-in before reaching the airport unless you want to pick your seats carefully. TAP Air Portugal's in-flight services might be limited to a few, but it is worth every penny spent. The airline has WiFi for all passengers up in the air, you can choose the best seats depending on your type of ticket, the in-flight meals are simply delicious, and you choose from whatever you wish to eat. TAP Air Portugal's in-flight entertainment services, however, are only accessible entirely to the Business Class passengers and not everyone. They have a variety of sources of entertainment like music, television, movies and so on. Now, everything is not available everywhere. Only certain aircraft, like the A330 and A340 or A330, A330neo and A321LRneo.

One of the best TAP Air Portugal in-flight services is that they help you lose your fear of a takeoff. Make sure you head to their website and give it a read before you leave for the trip. If you are travelling by the economy class, make sure you bring your blanket and earplugs with you. However, if you are travelling by the business class, an entire kit will be provided to you. The airline also has its frequent flyer program. You can either use your miles to get a free air ticket, or you can use the points for any other ongoing offers. Make sure you use it for an expensive upgrade.

Popular routes and top cities for TAP Air Portugal

TAP Air Portugal was founded in 1946 as a means to play the nation's flag carrier. The airline initially only had operations on the Lisbon - Madrid route and used the Douglas DC-3 for the same. Soon, a new route was introduced by TAP Air Portugal between Angola and Mozambique. The same aircraft was used for the same. The Angola - Mozambique route turned out to take in a lot of praise for being the world's longest route that a DC - 3 has been used for. By 1957, TAP Air Portugal started dropping Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations for their Lisbon - London route as well as Lisbon - Paris. The same year, the airline started to add more destination to it's kitty and fleet to the company. They started flying the TAP Air Portugal to a specific route that connected Portugal with Portuguese Mozambique and Portuguese Angola. In 1957, the airline further added a new route to connect Lisbon to a long haul route be taken for this. It operated from Lisbon to Kano - Leopoldville - Luanda, Lourenço Marques routes and also accommodated medium-haul routes in the same line. Further, the airline also started a new route to connect Lisbon to London.

As of 2012, Portugal was named and recognised as the only European airline that has the most connectivity in Brazil. In the same year, TAP Air Portugal was also recognised as the third-largest airline to serve Latin America, with respect to passenger traffic. In recent years, TAP Air Portugal has made a few domestic routes and international route expansions. A majority of their expansions took place in eastern Europe along with a few other. These are Gothenburg, Panama City, Belgrade, Saint Petersburg, Bogota, Nantes, Hanover, Oviedo and Tallinn. As of 2020, TAP Air Portugal has expanded its horizons to accommodate about 84 destinations, in 35 varied countries. The airline also launched a TAP Express.

Some of the big cities include Algiers, Luanda, Vienna, Brussels, Maceió, Belém, Brasilia, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Boa Vista, Sal, Praia, Prague, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Bordeaux, Nice, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Accra, Hamburg, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Abidjan, Venice, Luxembourg City, Maputo, Oslo, Warsaw, Funchal, Lisbon, Porto, Santa Maria Island, Cape Town, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Zurich, London, Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC.

Why travel by TAP Air Portugal?

TAP Air Portugal has managed to maintain a good reputation in the aviation industry across Europe. The European continent is blessed with some of the finest airlines in the world. Right from the illustrious legacy of Netherlands' KLM - Royal Dutch Airways to the innovative and visionary Austrian Airlines, the airline's sector in Europe has many stalwarts who have ensured to bring the best experience to the passengers as well as develop the aviation industry for the better. TAP Air Portugal also finds itself in the hall of fame as one of the most sought-after airlines in the European continent. The airline has grown tremendously in all its years since inception. From bringing forth some of the world-class in-flight services to adding more comfort to a passenger's journey, TAP Air Portugal has managed to stay ahead of the game. Unlike how a majority of European airlines have their international route connectivity predominantly within the European Union, TAP Air Portugal has extended its wings to go transatlantic to attract more international routes and presence in a diverse market.

The airline has also enhanced its services to the customers and loyal flyers. With the world turning digital, TAP Air Portugal also took its market to the internet and has been doing quite well for itself. They have made web check-in facilities possible for customers. Not to mention how updates on the flight status as well as TAP Air Portugal's flight schedule can also be found on their site. Passengers can book TAP Air Portugal tickets on their website and avail some great benefits too.