Category Archives: TAP Portugal

airBaltic and TAP Air Portugal to start codeshare flights

airBaltic and the national airline of Portugal TAP Air Portugal has concluded a cooperation agreement, known as codeshare agreement. This partnership will enable airBaltic passengers more and diversified options to travel within the vast network of TAP Air Portugal including Brazil, Portugal and Africa. In turn this agreement will offer TAP Air Portugal passengers better connectivity to the Baltics, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

TAP Air Portugal will place its flight code TP on direct flights between Riga and Lisbon operated by airBaltic as well as via common gateways between TAP Air Portugal network and Riga.

TAP Air Portugal serves 83 destinations in 35 countries worldwide. TAP hub in Lisbon is a key European gateway at the crossroads of Africa, North, Central and South America, where TAP stands out as the international leading carrier in operation to Brazil.

airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these locations, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.

Photo: TAP and airBaltic.

The first TAP Airbus A330neo completes its first flight

Airbus made this announcement:

The first A330neo for launch operator TAP Air Portugal – MSN1819 – completed its 4:32 hours maiden flight on May 15, 2018.

The aircraft now joins the fleet of two A330-900 test aircraft already performing flight tests since October 19, 2017.

MSN 1819 is the first aircraft fitted with the Airspace cabin by Airbus. It is equipped with light Flight Test Instrumentation during its test phase to check cabin systems such as air conditioning, crew rest etc.

With over 1,700 orders, the A330 is the most popular wide-body aircraft ever, performing nearly 1,000,000 flights every year. Today, more than 1,400 aircraft have been delivered to almost 120 customers worldwide on a wide range of routes, from domestic and regional flights to long range intercontinental services.

Offering the lowest operating costs in its category, and thanks to continuous investments in latest innovations, the new generation A330neo is the most profitable and best performing aircraft in its size category. The A330neo first delivery is planned in summer 2018.

The A330neos will usher the brand-new Airspace by Airbus cabin concept, a consumer-centric cabin developed with passengers at heart and airlines in mind around the four pillars: Comfort, Ambience, Service and Design. These cabin options will ensure that the A330neos will set the benchmark in passenger experience and airline value, alongside its widebody partner, the A350 XWB.

Photo: Airbus. The pictured Airbus A330-941N F-WWKM (msn 1819) will become CS-TUA on delivery.

TAP now offers new daily flights from Porto to Barcelona, Milan, London City and Ponta Delgada

TAP on March 25 launched its new routes from Porto. Barcelona, Milan, London (London City Airport) and Ponta Delgada represent the airline’s commitment to continue bringing passengers from around the world to Porto, and to bring Porto to the world.

TAP aircraft slide show:

A double roll-out for the first Airbus A330neo operator, TAP Air Portugal

The initial two Airbus A330neo jetliners destined for an airline operator have rolled out of the paint shop bearing the red and green livery of TAP Air Portugal, which will become the launch operator of this new member in Airbus’ A330 family – the most popular widebody family ever.

Both aircraft received the Portuguese airline’s branding at paint facilities in the Toulouse region of southern France – location of the A330 final assembly line and home to Airbus headquarters. These jetliners include the “A330neo / first to fly” wording on the fuselage, underscoring their upcoming role as the first to enter commercial airline service.

When in operation, the aircraft will join TAP Air Portugal’s already large fleet of Airbus-built jetliners, composed of A330s, A340s and A320 Family versions. TAP Air Portugal has ordered 10 A330neo aircraft and will operate a similar number on lease.

The A330neo: new generation, new efficiency

The A330neo brings together unbeatable economics and the proven values of Airbus’ popular A330 product line. Equipped with extended-span wings incorporating upturned Sharklets wingtips, it is powered by new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines.

Airlines will benefit from the 25 percent less fuel burn per seat compared to previous-generation competitors, along with reduced maintenance costs and the A330’s market-leading 99.5 percent operational reliability.

TAP Air Portugal’s A330neo jetliners will incorporate the new Airspace by Airbus cabin concept – a consumer-centric interior based on four values: comfort, ambience, service and design. Airspace features include overhead bins with an updated design that improves carry-on stowage capacity by approximately 66 percent; illumination using light-emitting diode (LED) technology offering up to 16.7 million possible colour variations and lighting scenarios to reflect an airline’s branding; along with upgrades to such cabin items as magazine racks, ventilation grilles and window bezels.

Photo: Airbus.

Video: Painting of TAP Air Portugal’s first Airbus A330neo

From Airbus: Look at the first Airbus A330neo# being painted in launch operator livery of TAP Air Portugal.

Airline safety can be fun – according to these 6 videos

Let’s face it: Airline safety videos are a tricky matter. It’s a challenge for carriers to present content that’s been heard a million times before in a way that makes it seem like it’s the latest thing. Furthermore, this prerecorded material should be creative enough to make passengers – from all backgrounds and attention spans – watch it from start to finish.

Fortunately, over the years, airlines have produced inventive safety videos, proving that with the right amount of imagination, it’s possible to make something as routine as reminding people to fasten their seatbelts fun and rather memorable. So, are these six short clips entertaining or just distracting? You be the judge.

1. Singapore Airlines

The Singapore Girl is a prominent element of the Singaporean national carrier’s marketing. Here, dressed in her signature sarong kebaya – made of traditional Asian batik and designed by Parisian couturier Pierre Balmain in 1968 – she takes passengers on a tour of the island city-state. Along the way, important instructions to ensure one’s safety on board are shown.

2. British Airways

This six-minute short features some of the the UK’s best-known actors, comedians and celebrities, such as Rowan Atkinson, Ian McKellen, Gordon Ramsay and Thandie Newton. Done in collaboration with the UK charity Comic Relief, these personalities are seen auditioning in sketches in front of comedian Asim Chaudhry – as his alter ego Chabuddy G –for a role in British Airways’ new safety video.

3. Philippine Airlines

According to the Philippine flag carrier, inflight safety is their top priority. In this nationwide crowd-sourced video, various individuals share safety procedures while enjoying some of the Southeast Asian archipelago’s attractions. It’s a safety video and tourism presentation cleverly rolled into one.

4. TAP Portugal

The Portuguese national airline recruited actual passengers to perform safety instructions in a set located in a hangar at its primary hub, Lisbon Airport. One thousand travellers from different nationalities tried out for a spot in the video, and only 25 were picked to take part in the production which took eight days to complete. All that effort paid off, since the video won the APEX Passenger Choice Award for Best In-Flight Video in 2013.

5. Air France

Living up to its reputation as the country that invented chic, this video from the French flag carrier features the actress Dorcas Coppins in a flight attendant’s uniform, delivering the safety message in both French and English. Simultaneously, five women in Breton tops and flowy skirts act out the instructions or hold props as a song by American electronic duo Glass Candy plays in the background.

6. Air New Zealand

To celebrate the third and final film in The Hobbit Trilogy – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – in 2014, the official airline of Middle-earth unveiled what it dubbed “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made.” Directed by Taika Waititi, the four-minute-long clip stars Elijah Wood, Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman, John Rhys-Davies (as Gimli) and New Zealand’s own Sir Peter Jackson.

TAP to offer flights from Porto to Barcelona, London City and Ponta Delgada and boost its services to Brazil and Canada

TAP Postugal (Lisbon) has announced it will add new routes:

TAP will again fly from Porto to Milan and Barcelona, after the suspension of the route in 2016, offering a greater number of flights
The airline also announces new routes from Porto to London City and Ponta Delgada
TAP’s operations out of Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport grow by an additional 41 flights every week
The airline also announces 10 flights per week between Lisbon and Florence
And a further four flights per week to São Paulo and one additional flight to Brasilia and to Belo Horizonte in Brazil, and one to Toronto, Canada

TAP Air Portugal will grow its operations from Porto Airport over the coming year. The airline has started two flights a day to Barcelona and to Milan, reinstating and intensifying two routes that were suspended in 2016 as part of the operation redesign carried out at that time.

In addition to reinstating these routes, TAP has also announced the launch of new routes from Porto, with six flights per week to London City airport and a new daily service to Ponta Delgada.

With these new flights, which start on March 25, 2018, TAP is introducing a total of 41 new services per week between Porto and four different cities. These flights will be available to book as soon as the operational details have been finalised. The two daily flights to Barcelona will depart Porto at 6.30am (TP1030) and 7.35pm (TP1031). The flights to Milan will depart Porto at 6.30am (TP818) and 5.55pm (TP816). The six flights a week between Porto and London City will leave Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport at 12.05pm (TP354), arriving in London at 2.20pm, with the return flight leaving London at 2.50pm (TP353), arriving in Porto at 5.10pm.

Another new flight on TAP’s summer timetable from Porto is the creation of a daily flight to Ponta Delgada. TP1861 will depart Porto at 1.20pm, arriving in Ponta Delgada at 2.45pm. The return flight (TP1866) will take off at 3.35pm, landing in Porto at 6.50pm, both local times.

From Lisbon to Florence

TAP also announces the launch of a direct service between Lisbon and Florence, with 10 flights per week, beginning on June 10, 2018. Florence joins Rome, Bologna, Milan and Venice to become the company’s fifth destination in Italy. This demonstrates TAP’s commitment to the Italian market, which is important not just for point-to-point traffic, but also as a way of generating traffic to other TAP destinations through its Lisbon hub.

The service between Lisbon and Florence will have two different timetables. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays the flight will leave Lisbon at 7.05am, arriving in Florence at 10.50am. Flights will depart Florence at 11.35am, arriving in Lisbon at 1.35pm. On Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays there will also be flights leaving Lisbon at 3.50pm, arriving in Florence at 7.35pm. Flights will then depart Florence at 8.20pm, arriving in Lisbon at 10.20pm.

More flights to Brazil and Canada

From June 1, 2018, TAP is also boosting its long-haul operation with four more flights each week to São Paulo and one more to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte in Brazil and to Toronto in Canada.

Next year the company intends to offer flights between Lisbon and Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, a service that is currently awaiting government authorization.

Copyright Photo: The pictured TAP Airbus A321-212 is wearing the revised “Air Portugal” titles instead of “TAP Portugal” on the tail. In addition, the web address has been changed from www.flytap.com to flytap.com with some additional touch of color. TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A321-211 CS-TJH (msn 2270) MUC (Arnd Wolf). Image: 940450.

TAP Portugal aircraft slide show:

TAP to offer flights from Porto to Barcelona, London City and Ponta Delgada and boost its services to Brazil and Canada

TAP Air Portugal has made this announcement:

TAP will again fly from Porto to Milan and Barcelona, after the suspension of the route in 2016, offering a greater number of flights
The airline also announces new routes from Porto to London City and Ponta Delgada
TAP’s operations out of Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport grow by an additional 41 flights every week
The airline also announces 10 flights per week between Lisbon and Florence
And a further four flights per week to São Paulo and one additional flight to Brasilia and to Belo Horizonte in Brazil, and one to Toronto, Canada

TAP Air Portugal will grow its operations from Porto airport over the coming year. The airline has started two flights a day to Barcelona and to Milan, reinstating and intensifying two routes that were suspended in 2016 as part of the operation redesign carried out at that time.

In addition to reinstating these routes, TAP has also announced the launch of new routes from Porto, with six flights per week to London City airport and a new daily service to Ponta Delgada.

With these new flights, which start on March 25, 2018, TAP is introducing a total of 41 new services per week between Porto and four different cities. These flights will be available to book as soon as the operational details have been finalized. The two daily flights to Barcelona will depart Porto at 6.30 am (TP1030) and 7.35 pm (TP1031). The flights to Milan will depart Porto at 6.30 am (TP818) and 5.55 pm (TP816). The six flights a week between Porto and London City will leave Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport at 12.05 pm (TP354), arriving in London at 2.20 pm, with the return flight leaving London at 2.50 pm (TP353), arriving in Porto at 5.10 pm.

Another new flight on TAP’s summer timetable from Porto is the creation of a daily flight to Ponta Delgada. TP1861 will depart Porto at 1.20 pm, arriving in Ponta Delgada at 2.45 pm. The return flight (TP1866) will take off at 3.35 pm, landing in Porto at 6.50pm, both local times.

From Lisbon to Florence

TAP also announced the launch of a nonstop service between Lisbon and Florence, with 10 flights per week, beginning on 10 June 2018. Florence joins Rome, Bologna, Milan and Venice to become the company’s fifth destination in Italy. This demonstrates TAP’s commitment to the Italian market, which is important not just for point-to-point traffic, but also as a way of generating traffic to other TAP destinations through its Lisbon hub.

More flights to Brazil and Canada

From June 1, 2018, TAP is also boosting its long-haul operation with four more flights each week to São Paulo and one more to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte in Brazil and to Toronto in Canada.

Next year the company intends to offer flights between Lisbon and Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, a service that is currently awaiting government authorization.

Copyright Photo (all others by TAP Air Portugal): TAP Portugal is going back to TAP Air Portugal for its titles. TAP Portugal Airbus A319-112 CS-TTQ (msn 629) LHR (SPA). Image: 937481.

TAP Air Portugal Aircraft Slide Show:

Videos:

TAP Portugal’s first retrofitted Airbus A330 is now flying US-Lisbon routes

TAP Portugal is investing more than $73 million in a new onboard cabin for the airline’s Airbus A330 fleet. Seven A330s will be retrofitted by the end of the year. The first A330 to be completed, named João Gonçalves Zarco (CS-TOL) (below), has commenced flying between the U.S. and Lisbon this week.

This A330 upgrade program represents TAP’s commitment to improving comfort and improving its onboard product for passengers in all classes, bringing the cabins into line with that of the A330neo, which will soon be joining the fleet.

TAP’s proud Portuguese identity is recognizable through the aircraft interior, thanks to partnerships with Portuguese companies such as Almadesign, which selected the materials and developed the finishing, and with Couro Azul, which supplied the leather used in the Executive class seats.

New Comfort in Economy Class

The economy cabin now comprises two categories: Economy and Economy Plus. The configuration and design provide a fresh atmosphere, with more legroom, deeper seat recline, and new seat covers in shades of green and grey in Economy, and green and red in Economy Plus.

More Modern and Comfortable Executive Class

In Executive Class, the changes are even more pronounced, with 25 new fully-flat reclining chairs that are more than six feet long when fully reclined.

Also, TAP has powered up its new business class chairs to include USB slots and individual electrical sockets, connections for headphones, individual reading lights, tables with storage space, and supports for bottles.

TAP Express puts its first Embraer 190 into revenue service

TAP Portugal’s first Embraer 190 is already flying across the European skies, operating on the company’s regional network in TAP Express livery. The new E190, CS-TPW (msn 19000550), made its maiden flight for TAP on Monday, May 23, with flight TP488, from Lisbon to Nice (France), departing Lisbon at 08:55 am.

The entry into service of the E190 aircraft is part of TAP’s regional fleet renewal strategy – the fleet will soon include nine E190 and eight ATR 72 aircraft – operating for TAP Express, the new branded product recently launched by TAP. TAP Express now replaces former PGA for regional operations, thus reinforcing TAP’s corporate identity and granting a more consistent brand and product.

The E190 aircraft operated by TAP Express will replace the Fokker 100s, which have been in operation for some years. With this new fleet – more modern and efficient – TAP will be able to significantly upgrade services provided to customers, both in comfort and reliability, also improving its operational regularity and punctuality.

With capacity for 106 passengers, the Embraer 190 displays comfortable seats (known as Slim Seats) in a cabin configuration of 2 + 2 seats per row that offer excellent in-flight comfort, and is often considered by passengers as the most comfortable aircraft in its segment.

In addition to the Lisbon-Nice route, the new E190 also operated from Lisbon to Barcelona and Toulouse (for a night-stop) in its first day in operation with TAP Express.

Video: TAP Portugal.