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.jpg) TAP Air PortugalAirbus A321LR approachingBerlin Brandenburg Airport | |||||||
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| Founded | 14 March 1945; 80 years ago (1945-03-14) (asTransportes Aéreos Portugueses) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 19 September 1946; 79 years ago (1946-09-19) | ||||||
| Hubs | Lisbon Airport[1] | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Porto Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Madeira Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | TAP Miles&Go | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | TAP Express | ||||||
| Fleet size | 94 | ||||||
| Destinations | 87[2] (incl. TAP Express) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Lisbon, Portugal | ||||||
| Key people | Luís Rodrigues[3] | ||||||
| Revenue |  € 4.2 billion (2023) | ||||||
| Operating income | € 871 million (2023) | ||||||
| Net income | € 177 million (2023) | ||||||
| Total equity | € -468million (2021)[4] | ||||||
| Employees | 6,626[4] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
TAP Air Portugal is theflag carrier ofPortugal,[1] headquartered atLisbon Airport which also serves as itshub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of theStar Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2,500 flights a week to 90 destinations[5] in 34 countries worldwide. As of May 2019 the company has a fleet of 100 aircraft,[6] all of which are manufactured byAirbus with the exception of 19 aircraft manufactured byEmbraer, operating on behalf of the regional airlineTAP Express.
The airline was established on 14 March 1945 and began commercial services on 19 September 1946. Having been founded as a national institution, the airline wasprivatised for the first time in its history during 1953. Throughout its existence, TAP has alternated between public and private ownership.
In 1965, it bought its firstBoeing-built jetliner, the707. In 1967, the airline became the first in Europe to exclusively operate jets. In 1979, the airline underwent a modernisation programme, changing its name to TAP Air Portugal. By the end of the decade, the airline operated a fleet of 32 modern airliners that served in excess of 40 destinations on four continents. During the 1980s, the fleet ofBoeing 707s and 747s was replaced withLockheed L-1011 TriStars andAirbus A310s on long-haul routes. In 1983, TAP started operating its firstBoeing 737-200s on short-haul routes. By the late 1990s, TAP had sold its Boeing 727s and 737s, replacing them withAirbusA319,A320 andA321 aircraft. ItsLockheed L-1011 TriStars were also replaced byAirbus A340s. These changes led to TAP becoming an Airbus-only operator and exclusive customer of the European aircraft manufacturer ever since.
In 2022, the Portuguese government has unveiled plans to reprivatise the airline.[7] ThePortuguese Court of Audits has been highly critical of the public intervention on behalf of TAP.[8] In 2022, theU.S. Department of Transportation announced 'historic' enforcement actions against six airlines, including TAP: $126.5 million in required refunds paid and a $1.1 million penalty, 'for extreme delays in providing refunds'.[9]
On 14 March 1945, the airline was founded asstate-owned company with the nameTransportes Aéreos Portugueses (Portuguese Air Transportation) and operated under the jurisdiction of thePortuguese Civil Aviation Office.[10] Later that same year, it took delivery of its first aircraft, a pair ofDouglas DC-3s. The airline began commercial services on 19 September 1946, performing an inaugural flight fromLisbon toMadrid, carrying a total of 11 passengers on one of its DC-3s.[10] On 31 December 1946, TAP began itsLinha Aérea Imperial, a twelve-stop colonial service includingLuanda, Angola andLourenço Marques (nowMaputo),Mozambique.[10] It covered 24.450 kilometres (15.193 mi; 13.202 nmi) within 15 days (both ways), making it the longest air service operated with twin-engine airliners at that time. To suit the tropical conditions at most of these destinations, a special uniform was adopted, comprisingkhaki shirts with either skirts or shorts.[10]
In 1947, the airline launched its first domestic services, commencing a route between Lisbon andPorto, as well as another international route betweenSão Tomé andLondon.[10] That same year, a total of fourDouglas DC-4 Skymasters were purchased; these reportedly remained in the airline's service as late as 1960.[11] These were used on the routes to Africa and to major European destinations, including London.[10] During 1948, new services toSeville andParis were launched.[10]
During 1953, the airline wasprivatised for the first time in its history, reorganising from a public service to apublic limited company (plc); that same year, it commenced new services toTangier andCasablanca.[10] During late 1955, severalLockheed Super Constellation four-engined pressurised airliners were acquired; these were immediately introduced on the TAP African scheduled services to Luanda and Lourenço Marques.[12] The Super Constellation was credited with noticeably reducing flight times over prior airliners on its routes.[10]
During 1955, the airline broke new ground with a successful long-distance experimentaltransatlantic trip toRio de Janeiro, Brazil.[10] On this flight, as a passenger, was the Portuguese aviator and cartographerCarlos Viegas Gago Coutinho. By the end of the decade, the firm had attained several milestones, including the carriage of 64,000 passengers, its fleet performing 10,000 hours of flight, a route network spanning 14,000 km, while also employing over 1,000 members of staff.[10]
Beginning in 1960, TAP launched Rio de Janeiro as its first destination in Brazil, in a jointly-operated air service named "Voo da Amizade" ("Friendship Flight") withPanair do Brasil (1960–1965) andVarig (1965–1967).[10] A route from Lisbon toGoa, a 19-hour flight with five stopovers, was added to the network during 1961.[13]
During July 1962, TAP entered thejet era, having procured an initial batch of threeFrench-builtSud Aviation Caravelle, an early twin-jet airliner.[10] These were first operated upon the airline's most competitive European routes.[14] That same year, new services were launched between Lisbon andLas Palmas, as well asSanta Maria in theAzores. During 1963, additional European routes, servingGeneva,Munich, andFrankfurt, commenced.[10]
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On 19 June 1964, the one-millionth passenger was carried by the airline, broadly 18 years following the commencement of operations.[10] During the following year, TAP procured its firstBoeing-built jetliner, the707. Two years later, it would be followed by the short-haulBoeing 727.[10] On 17 June 1966, TAP operated its first sole flight to Brazil, one of its 707s landed at Galeão Airport in Rio de Janeiro at precisely at the same time and on the same day as when the hydroplaneSanta Cruz moored in Guanabara Bay in 1922, whenSacadura Cabral andGago Coutinho made their historic South Atlantic crossing. The route to Brazil was inaugurated.[citation needed]
In 1967, the airline achieved a milestone: it became the first European airline to fly exclusively with jets.[15] In 1969, service toNew York City viaSanta Maria Island began; two years later,Boston was added to the New York service.[10] During 1971, the airline opted to relocate its headquarters to Lisbon Airport.[10] In the following year, TAP received the first of an initial batch of fourBoeing 747-200s. In 1974, it became the first European airline to perform complete overhauls of thePratt & Whitney JT9Dturbofan engine, which powered early versions of the Boeing 747 amongst other aircraft.[10] By the end of the decade, the airline operated a fleet of 32 modern airliners that served in excess of 40 destinations on four continents.[10]
In 1974, TAP introduced a new computerised system handling reservations, load control, and check-in, known asTapmatic.[10] By the end of 1974, TAP had carried more than 1.5 million passengers, flown 68,210 hours over a network of almost 103,000 kilometres and had a staff of over 9,000.
Following the25 April 1974 revolution, Portugal was caught up in the wave ofnationalisations during the following year and TAP was no exception, thus becoming a state-owned corporation during 1975.[13][10]
Following the independence of bothAngola andMozambique, the importance of the African market decreased tremendously; due to decreasing passenger demand, two of the 747s were sold on during 1976. During 1979, the airline launched a modernisation programme; amongst other brand changes, its name changed toTAP Air Portugal, which was deemed to be easier for international customers to recognise.[10]
In 1980, TAP launched a new service between Lisbon andBarcelona; operations were also expanded betweenMilan andRome.[10] During the following year, Teresa Carvalho became the airline's first female pilot; that same year, its first in-flight magazine,Atlantis, was launched. During 1985, the airline reportedly carried two million passengers within a single year for the first time; a museum dedicated to the airline was also opened on 14 March 1985 to mark the company's fortieth anniversary.[10]
During the 1980s, the fleet ofBoeing 707s and747s was replaced withLockheed L-1011 TriStars andAirbus A310s on long-haul routes. During 1983, TAP started operating its firstBoeing 737-200s on short-haul routes.[10] In 1988, it launched a new fare-calculation and ticketing system. That same year, it also became the first airline to harness land-to-air datalinks via asatellite connection.[10]
During 1985, TAP established its charter subsidiaryAir Atlantis, providing leisure flights to most European cities, which operated Boeing 707, Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 jetliners.[citation needed]
During 1991, the airline reportedly carried three million passengers that year for the first time.[10] In 1993, TAP began flying toTel Aviv. In 1994, TAP signed for acode sharing arrangement withDelta Air Lines for North Atlantic service; this agreement came to an end during 2005.[citation needed] 1996 saw the introduction of service to Boston viaTerceira Island, the inauguration of service toMacau and the launch of TAP'swebsite.[10] In 1997, service began toPunta Cana andBangkok; however, flights to Bangkok and Macau were discontinued during the following year.[citation needed]
By the late 1990s, TAP had expanded its fleet by selling its olderBoeing 727s andBoeing 737s and replacing them withAirbusA319,A320 andA321 aircraft.[10] Its TriStars were sold toAir Luxor and were replaced withAirbus A340s beginning in 1995. These changes led to TAP becoming an Airbus-only operator, which it claimed to have also made its fleet more economical and versatile.[10] Furthermore, the airline had initiated a program of continuous cabin modernisation and renewal with the aim of implementing ever greater levels of service. In 1999, TAP introduced its firstBlue Flights, upon whichsmoking was banned.[10]
In 1997, a strategic alliance was formed between TAP andSwissair. Within the scope of this agreement, a team of professional managers arrived at TAP, led by the BrazilianFernando Pinto. Part of the agreement would lead to Swissair buying a 34% stake of TAP. Also, TAP became a member ofQualiflyer, the frequent-flyer program led by the Swiss flag carrier. Due to financial difficulties, the Swiss company ended up not buying the agreed shares of TAP Air Portugal, unilaterally revoking the partnership agreement which led to unexpected costs for the Portuguese airline in 2000. This revocation culminated in legal action being taken by TAP against Swissair.[16][13]
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During February 2005, TAP Air Portugal was re-branded asTAP Portugal.[10] On 14 March 2005, TAP became a member of the multinationalStar Alliance, which was also the same day on which the company celebrated its 60th anniversary. TAP also ended its code-sharing agreement withDelta Air Lines and began a new agreement withUnited, as part of its membership in theStar Alliance. Under this agreement, United's code (UA) is placed on TAP Air Portugal's transatlantic flights and some African flights, and TAP Air Portugal's code (TP) is placed on United flights.[citation needed]
In 2006, TAP Air Portugal signed a deal withEspírito Santo International for the acquisition of 99.81% of the Portuguese regional airlinePortugália. Furthermore, it started a code-sharing agreement withUS Airways on all routes between Portugal and the United States with connecting services out ofNewark andPhiladelphia.[citation needed]
In 2007, TAP Air Portugal was awarded byNATO as the Best Engine/Aircraft Source of Repair for the NATO AWACS Maintenance Program. TAP Air Portugal has complete maintenance and overhaul bases in Portugal (Lisbon) and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre) and has specialised line maintenance stations in three continents: 4 in Portugal, 8 in Brazil, and 1 in Angola.[17] It started scheduled flights to Moscow,Warsaw andHelsinki, in June 2009.[18]
After deciding to outsource itsPassenger Service System in 2008, TAP migrated its reservation and inventory systems to the Altéa system managed byAmadeus. Before the migration to Altéa, TAP was using a system derived from Delta Air Lines called Tapmatic, in use since 1972.[citation needed]
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During 2010, TAP introduced two new routes to Africa:Marrakesh andAlgiers, the latter was discontinued in 2017. The launch of these new routes highlighted the carrier airline reinforcement of its growth strategy for Africa, which is an important segment in the network where the airline has continually expanded since 2001, going from 236,000 to 541,000 passengers, an increase of more than 129%.[citation needed] In 2011, new long range routes to bothMiami andPorto Alegre were introduced.[19][20]
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In order to obtainits three-year national bailout, Portugal was forced to sell its interests in several companies, including the state-run airline.[21] Several international operators were drawn by the airline's strategic position, but on 18 October 2012, thePortuguese government announced a sole potential bidder for the privatised national carrier: South American consortiumSynergy Aerospace, owner of Colombian airlineAvianca.[21] Portuguese financial dailyDinheiro Vivo indicated that the government would suspend privatisation negotiations if German Efromovich's Synergy Aerospace bid was not approved.[21][22]
On 21 March 2014, the airline announced it would purchase twoATR 42-600s for subsidiaryPortugália, replacing the smallerBeechcraft 1900D previously operated byPGA Express.[23][24]
The Portuguese government planned to sell its controlling stake in the flag carrier to one or more large investors in a relaunch of the privatisation in 2014.[25] It intended to sell a 66% stake in the airline, with 5% of that set aside for its 7,500 staff.[26] Among known bidders were South American businessmanGerman Efromovich, whose 2012 bid for TAP failed to meet the initial conditions;[27] a consortium formed by American businessmanFrank Lorenzo and Portuguese entrepreneurMiguel Pais do Amaral; the American Brazilian businessmanDavid Neeleman, founder ofJetBlue in the United States andAzul in Brazil; and finally Globalia, the parent company ofAir Europa.[28]
In May 2015, a pilotstrike lasting over a week led to the cancellation of around 3,000 TAP Air Portugal flights.[29]
In June 2015, the Portuguese government decided to sell the TAP Air Portugal Group, owner of TAP Air Portugal, to the Atlantic Gateway consortium formed by partnersDavid Neeleman and Humberto Pedrosa, who took control of 61% of the capital of the flag carrier. On the memorandum signed by the new owner, TAP Air Portugal had to keep Portugal as the airline's main hub for a minimum of 30 years.[30] The consortium that secured the company's privatisation in June 2015 promised to buy 53 new Airbus aircraft for the airline; new orders included 14 wide-body A330s and 39narrow-body A320-family aircraft.[31]
In October 2015, a new left-wing government sought to return majority control of the airline to the state throughrenationalisation, and in February 2016 signed a deal with the private consortium stating that the company was 50% owned by the Portuguese state, 45% by the Atlantic Gateway Consortium and 5% of available shares to TAP collaborators and employees.[32]
On 14 January 2016, TAP Air Portugal announced that subsidiaryPortugália Airlines would be rebrandedTAP Express by 27 March 2016, as part of further restructuring measures within the group.[33] That same day, it announced that the entire Portugália fleet would be replaced with new aircraft by July 2016, receiving a livery similar to TAP Air Portugal's.[33] A downsizing of the carrier network also took place that month, with TAP announcing the end of long-haul flights toPanama City,Manaus andBogotá as well as European connections toHanover andZagreb.[34]
TAP Air Portugal planned to promote Portugal as a tourism destination in the United States, and Lisbon as a gateway into Europe for North American travellers, and in February 2016 announced the return ofNew York's John F. Kennedy International andBoston's Logan International as daily non-stop destinations from Lisbon. The Boston service started on 11 June and the new JFK daily flights on 1 July, both operated with newAirbus A330-200s received in June of the same year fromAzul Brazilian Airlines. These two new routes reinforced the airline's presence in the American market, along with service toMiami from Lisbon andNewark from Lisbon and Porto. Taken together, the amount of TAP Air Portugal flights to the US grew to 30 per week.[35]
TAP expanded its network in 2017, adding 10 routes, some of which were previously operated by the airline:Abidjan, Ivory Coast;Alicante andLas Palmas, Spain;Bucharest, Romania;Budapest, Hungary;Cologne andStuttgart, Germany;Fez, Morocco;Lomé, Togo;London City Airport, United Kingdom andToronto, Canada.
In March 2017,Miguel Antunes Frasquilho, president and CEO ofAICEP Portugal Global, was selected to be TAP Air Portugal's new chairman of the board.[36][37]
On 14 September 2017, TAP Portugal was renamedTAP Air Portugal, going back to the name used between 1979 and 2005.[38]
In 2020, amidst theCOVID-19 Crisis, theEuropean Commission approved thePortuguese government's plan to bail out the flag carrier, paving the way for the firsttranche of €1.2 billion ($1.36 billion) government loan to help it through the crisis and a restructuring plan including employee downsizing and sale of aircraft.[39]
On 14 November 2022, theU.S. Department of Transportation announced historic enforcement actions against six airlines, including TAP, $126.5 million in required refunds paid and a $1.1 million penalty, 'for extreme delays in providing refunds.' The Department expects to issue additional orders assessing civil penalties for consumer protection violations this calendar year.[9]
The Portuguese governing majority in Parliament has since announced, in September 2022, it wants to reprivatise the company once again and is awaiting the right market moment to proceed with the plan.[40] According to it, the Portuguese government wants to conclude the sale within the first semester of 2023.[citation needed] The immediate previous renationalisation which currently remains was a prominent political promise from the first mandate of the current executive, within the argument that TAP was a strategic company for the country's economy and as such must be public. The renationalisation received strong criticism from thePortuguese Court of Audits which affirmed it would not be efficient and would burden taxpayers in various millions of euros. The injection of Portuguese taxpayer's money was €337.500.000,00 directly and €615,000,000.00 indirectly on debts' guarantees for the company.[41][42]
In October 2022 the Portuguese Court of Audits again highly criticised the taxpayers' injection of money into TAP stating in its Assessment on the General State Account for 2021 that it should have been accounted as an effective expense and not as a financial asset: 'the classification of financial assets, with no expression in actual expenditure but with a significant impact on debt, which essentially seek to pursue social and public policy objectives and are not intended to produce a financial return'. Thus considering it an unprofitable public investment, with sovereign debt risk association for the State and consequently menacing taxpayers' legitimate interests.[43][8]
Former Portuguese Infrastructure MinisterPedro Nuno Santos resigned on 29 December 2022 after a backlash over news of a half million euros severance payment to former TAP executive Alexandra Reis, then Treasury Secretary of State, who resigned a day before from government.[44] On 6 March 2023, the Portuguese government fired the airline's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman after a damaging report from the Portuguese General Inspectorate of Finances.[45]
On 28 February 2025, during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Portugal, Air France-KLM announced that it will join Lufthansa and IAG in bidding for TAP's 49% stake.[46][47] Lufthansa confirmed its participation on 20 November.[48]
The key trends for TAP Air Portugal incl. TAP Express are (as of the financial year ending December 31, 2023):[49]
| Revenue (€m) | Net profit (€m) | Number of employees | Number of passengers (m)[50] | Passenger load factor (%) | Number of destinations[51] | Operating fleet | Notes/ references | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,598 | −152 | 11,023 | 11.3 | 80.3 | 84 | 61 | [52][53] |
| 2016 | 2,338 | −23 | 11,019 | 11.6 | 79.8 | 75 | 63 | [54] |
| 2017 | 2,978 | 23 | 10,881 | 14.2 | 82.9 | 85 | 88 | [55] |
| 2018 | 3,177 | −58 | 8,145 | 15.7 | 81.0 | 91 | 96 | [56] |
| 2019 | 3,299 | −96 | 9,006 | 17.0 | 80.1 | 95 | 105 | [57] |
| 2020 | 1,060 | −1,230 | 8,106 | 4.6 | 64.6 | 88[58] | 96 | [59] |
| 2021 | 1,389 | −1,599 | 6,626 | 5.8 | 63.0 | 88[58] | 94 | [4] |
| 2022 | 3,485 | 65 | 6,988 | 13.7 | 80.0 | 90[58] | 93 | [60] |
| 2023 | 4,214 | 177 | 7,558 | 15.9 | 80.8 | 88[61] | 98 | [62] |
| 2024 | 4,242 | 53.7 | 7,900 | 16.1 | 82.3 | 86 | 99 | [63] |
TAP has its head office in Building 25 on the grounds ofHumberto Delgado Airport inSanta Maria dos Olivais,Lisbon.[64][65]
TAP Air Portugal's subsidiaries are:
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Up until the end of 2016, TAP Air Portugal had a 51% stake in Lojas Francas de Portugal (LFP), a retail joint-venture created in 1995 between the flag carrier and Dufry. LFP is present in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira and Azores, with over 30 stores, and is also present on board of TAP Air Portugal with its "On Air" shopping magazine. Its stake in the company was sold toVinci, the owner ofANA Aeroportos de Portugal.
TAP Cargo is the freight branch of TAP Air Portugal. It does not operate its own cargo aircraft, but sells freight capacity aboard TAP's passenger flights and also maintains five scheduled all-cargo routes utilising other airlines:
TAP Cargo also operates Lisbon-Luanda all-cargo non-regular flights, in anAvient Aviation DC-10F, aGirjet 747-200F, and other leased aircraft.
Beginning on 28 February 2011 TAP began airing its "TAP With Arms Wide Open" (TAP de Braços Abertos) campaign, featuring its new slogan. Three singers, the Brazilian singerRoberta de Sá, the Portuguese singerMariza, and the Angolan singerPaulo Flores starred in a music video with the song "Arms Wide Open".[66][67] The music video featured TAP employees.[66][68] The inclusion of the three singers was intended to highlight the proximity between peoples in theLusophone countries.[66][67]
In 2005, TAP unveiled its current logo and livery, to coincide with its Star Alliance membership, during the airline's 60th anniversary.[69] It also saw the name change from TAP Air Portugal, introduced in the 1970s, to TAP Portugal. On 14 September 2017, TAP returned to its previous name. The first logo dates back to 1945 when the airline was founded. It consisted of a blue wing with the acronym TAP written to its left.[10]
The TAP museum unit was created in 1978, but it only opened officially on 14 March 1985 as part of the company's 40th-anniversary celebrations. Its venue was at the company's head office on the grounds of Lisbon airport. Due to space limitations, on 29 January 2010, the new premises of theMuseu do Ar (Air Museum), in the municipality ofSintra, opened to the public. This extensive museum is the result of a three-way partnership between airport operator Ana-Aeroportos, the Portuguese Air Force and TAP.[70] The collection on display recounts the history of military and civil aviation in Portugal. Visitors can see 40 aircraft, including a TAP Douglas DC-3, simulators, engines, and other exhibits. A panel of photographs in the main hangar tells the story of 100 years of aviation in Portugal.
In 2007, TAP Air Portugal was awarded byNATO as the Best Engine/Aircraft Source of Repair for the NATO AWACS Maintenance Program and has been distinguished with the highest maintenance and overhaul practice awards from Airbus Industries in 1996, 2000, 2003, and 2005, being certified for full aircraft, engine and component maintenance and overhaul by theFAA,EASA, and several other important certification entities and aircraft manufacturers (Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer).[71]
In 2010, TAP Air Portugal was awarded the "World's Best Airline Award" by BritishCondé Nast Traveler magazine, after being rated for its excellence in previous years,[72] and was rated as the "Best Airline to South America" by the World Travel Awards in 2009 and 2010, with nominations for "Europe's Leading Airline" and "Europe's Leading Business Class" in 2007, 2009 and 2010.[73] TAP Air Portugal has also consistently achieved high ranks and various awards from specializ]sed air travel publications such as Skytrax and Publituris due to the company's excellence in service and performance.[74] In recent years, TAP Air Portugal has been consecutively elected World's Leading Airline to Africa and South America by theWorld Travel Awards (WTA), considered the "Oscars" of the world travel industry.[75]
In the December 2017/January 2018 edition of the magazineMonocle's Travel Top 50, an annual list, selected by the magazine's editors, awarded Portugal's TAP airline the accolade of "most handsome crew".[76]
As of June 2017,[77] TAP Air Portugal serves 87[77] destinations in 34 countries across Europe,Africa, North America andSouth America, with some domestic, European and African destinations being operated byTAP Express.[78]
TAP Air Portugal is the leading European airline flying to Brazil, offering more destinations from its hub in Lisbon than any other European airline. Many Europeans transit through Portugal to fly to Brazil due to a large number ofairport slots TAP holds in the South American country.[31]
In March 2016, TAP Air Portugal began an air shuttle service, designated "Ponte Aérea", to connect Lisbon and Porto's airports with flights every hour adding up to 18 round-trip flights. It is operated byWhite Airways on behalf of the regional brandPortugália.As of 2019, TAP Air Portugal will launch 15 new routes as well as receive 15 new aircraft.[79]
TAP Air Portugal hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines:[80]
As of August 2025[update], TAP Air Portugal operates an all-Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft:[90]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | W | Y | Total | Refs | ||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 3 | — | — | — | 144 | 144 | [91] | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 15 | — | — | — | 174 | 174 | [92] | |
| Airbus A320neo | 14 | 14 | — | — | 174 | 174 | [93][94] | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 3 | — | — | — | 216 | 216 | [95] | |
| Airbus A321LR | 13 | — | 16 | 42 | 113 | 171 | [96][93][97] | |
| Airbus A321neo | 24 | 8 | 16 | — | 182 | 198 | [98][93] | |
| — | 216 | 216 | [98][93] | |||||
| 221 | 221 | [98][93] | ||||||
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | — | 25 | — | 244 | 269 | [93] | |
| Airbus A330-900 | 19 | 2 | 34 | 96 | 168 | 298 | [93] | Launch customer.[99] |
| Total | 94 | 24 | ||||||
TAP Air Portugal became the launch customer of theAirbus A330neo in November 2018 when the airframer delivered to the airline the first aircraft of the type, on lease fromAvolon.[100] TAP ordered 21 of these aircraft, of which 10 are directly ordered from Airbus and the rest will be leased.[101] As of September 2018 they estimate to have 133 aircraft in the fleet by 2025 including TAP Express.[102]
Before its current fleet, TAP Air Portugal had operated the following aircraft types:
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-300 | 1988 | 2008 | [103] |
| Airbus A330-300 | 2017 | 2019 | [104][105] |
| Airbus A340-300 | 1995 | 2019 | [106][107] |
| Beechcraft E90 King Air | 1979 | 1984 | [108] |
| Beechcraft Baron 58 | 1975 | 1979 | [108] |
| Boeing 707-382B | 1965 | 1989 | [103] |
| Boeing 727-100 | 1967 | 1989 | [103] |
| Boeing 727-200 | 1975 | 1991 | [103] |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1983 | 1999 | [103] |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1988 | 2001 | [103] |
| Boeing 747-282B | 1972 | 1984 | [103] |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 1979 | 1987 | [108] |
| Douglas DC-3 | 1945 | 1959 | [103] |
| Douglas DC-4 | 1947 | 1960 | [103] |
| Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | 1983 | 1997 | [103] |
| Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation | 1953 | 1967 | [103] |
| Sud Aviation Caravelle | 1962 | 1969 | [103] |
TAP Air Portugal offers two differentlounges atLisbon Airport, theTAP Premium Lounge, available for Victoria Gold Winners, Star Alliance Gold members and passengers flying onbusiness class onStar Alliance flights, while Victoria Silver Winners only have access to theBlue Lounge, contracted with thehandling subsidiaryGroundforce.[citation needed]
The aircraft are divided into a two-class cabin:business class (branded as tap|executive) andeconomy classes (tap|plus, tap|classic, tap|basic and tap|discount). TAP Air Portugal does not offer first-class services. On the medium-haul fleet ofAirbus A319,Airbus A320 andAirbus A321 aircraft, both cabins have been retrofitted with new leather seats.[109] The executive class offers better privacy than economy class, and more meal options. On thelong-haul fleet ofAirbus A330,A330neo andA321LR aircraft, the cabin is divided into a two-class layout. The economy class of the new Airbus A330s, A330neos and A321LRs are equipped with modern individualLCDs with a touchscreen and a completeIFE. The entire fleet ofAirbus A340 economy class was refurbished during 2013, adding a new seat design and a new in-flight entertainment system.[110] In business class, seats are capable of turning into lie-flat beds. New Airbus A330 aircraft are also fitted with extra functions.
TAP's in-flight magazine is namedUP and is available on board, as a fully responsive website (compatible with desktops, smart phones and tablets), and as a freely downloadable application for Apple's iPad.[111]
The Portuguese airline will also be the first to take a new cabin layout called "Airspace". The design allows airlines to add more seats.[112]
TAP Air Portugal currentloyalty program isMiles & Go which replaced an earlier program calledVictoria.[113] These are programs which awards members miles based on the distance travelled, ticket fare and class of service.As part of Star Alliance, miles can be earned fromStar Alliance and other eligible partners. Membership in the frequent-flier programme is free. The Miles&Go Programme is divided into three tiers:[114]
The programme does have a feature whereby some of the miles can be converted from regular award miles.
According to the JACDEC Airliner Safety Report released in January 2021 TAP ranks 22nd on the list of 100 largest airlines measured by their revenue passenger performance in RPK's.[115]
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