Tag Archives: CS-TUA

TAP Air Portugal to add Chicago and Washington

TAP Air Portugal aims to double operations in North America in the next years and is expanding again, adding two new routes to the United States in 2019 with nonstop service from Lisbon, to Washington, DC and Chicago.

TAP will commence five round-trip flights per week between Chicago O’Hare and Lisbon on June 1, 2019, and then add five weekly round-trips between Washington-Dulles and Lisbon on June 16, 2019.

Flights will depart Chicago O’Hare at 6:05 PM, arriving in Lisbon at 7:50 AM (next day). Returning flights leave Lisbon at 1:05 PM, arriving at O’Hare at 4:05 PM. From Washington Dulles, flights will depart at 10:40 PM, arriving in Lisbon at 10:50 AM (next day). Returning flights leave Lisbon at 4:30 PM, arriving at Dulles at 7:40 PM.

TAP is the launch carrier for the brand new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, with 19 planned for delivery until the end of 2019. In all, TAP has a new fleet of 71 brand new aircraft being delivered until 2025, also including 19 A320neos, 17 A321neos, and 14 A321 Long Range jets. This huge fleet growth allows TAP to launch new destinations and spread the global network offered to the airline’s costumers.

The A330neo will feature the new Airspace by Airbus cabin. The economy cabin now comprises two categories: Economy and EconomyXtra. The configuration and design provide a fresh atmosphere, with more legroom, deeper seat recline, and new seat covers in shades of green and gray in Economy, and green and red in EconomyXtra.

In TAP’s Executive business class, the configuration now comprises 34 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, and more space, including more storage room.

“We have 10 gateways in Brazil with service from Portugal. We believe we can support the same number to the US. So, we have several more new destinations in North America in our planning. USA are already TAP’s third major market worldwide and has great potential for further growth. Our network beyond Lisbon is also growing. We now serve 55 destinations in Europe and 17 in Africa and most of our passengers fly with TAP to final destinations beyond Portugal”, says Antonoaldo Neves, TAP’s CEO.

TAP introduced the Portugal Stopover program in 2016 to further attract the ‘beyond Lisbon’ guest. Travelers to all of TAP’s European and African served destinations can enjoy up to five nights in Lisbon or Porto along the way, for no extra airfare.

The Portugal Stopover comprises a network of more than 150 partners who provide exclusive offers for Stopover customers for hotels and shopping discounts and even a free bottle of Portuguese wine in participating restaurants.

Travelers can also enjoy a stopover in Lisbon or Porto even if their final destination is in Portugal, such as: Faro (Algarve); Ponta Delgada or Terceira (the Azores); and, Funchal or Porto Santo (Madeira).

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A330-941N F-WWKM (CS-TUA) (msn 1819) FAB (Antony J. Best). Image: 942899.

TAP aircraft slide show:

Airbus A330-900 receives EASA Type Certification

The Airbus A330-900 has received its Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The Type Certificate was signed by EASA’s Certification Director, Trevor Woods, and handed over by EASA’s Head of Large Aeroplanes Certification, Ludovic Aron, to Airbus’ Head of Engineering for Commercial Aircraft, Jean-Brice Dumont. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification is expected to follow shortly.

In agreement with TAP Air Portugal, its first built aircraft served as a demonstrator for route proving around the world visiting more than 12 countries. Together with the two A330-900 flight test aircraft, the certification flight test campaign was successfully completed in around 1,400 flight test hours in under a year since the first flight on October 19, 2017.

The A330neo is a true new-generation family comprising the A330-900 and its smaller sibling, the A330-800, which will make its first flight in the coming weeks. The A330-900 in particular is the lowest seat-mile cost 300-seater which incorporates highly efficient Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, a new 3D-optimised wing and new sharklets with use of lighter composite materials. Together, these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel consumption of 25 per cent compared with older generation aircraft of similar size.

Passengers can expect the highest levels of comfort when flying on the A330neo, with the aircraft featuring the award-winning Airspace by Airbus cabin with newly designed sidewalls and fixtures, larger overhead storage, advanced cabin mood lighting and the latest in-flight entertainment and connectivity.

Operationally, the A330neo shares a common pilot type-rating with the larger A350 XWB, which facilitates minimum flight training cost and maximum pilot productivity. Maintenance personnel will also benefit from the aircraft’s new Skywise data connectivity features which will help them to predict potential issues before they arise, thus ensuring maximum productivity of the aircraft in revenue service.

The A330 is one of the most popular widebody families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from 120 customers. More than 1,400 A330s are flying with over 120 operators worldwide. The A330neo is the latest addition to the leading Airbus widebody family, which also includes the A350 XWB and the A380, all featuring unmatched space and comfort combined with unprecedented efficiency levels and unrivalled range capability.

Top Copyright Photo: TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A330-941N F-WWKM (CS-TUA) (msn 1819) FAB (Antony J. Best). Image: 942899.

TAP aircraft slide show: