TAP Portugal review by Tomás Alves
14 June 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Lisbon - Terceira - Lisbon (economy). Overall, nothing to complain
about. Food was adequate. Small portions, but tasty. The cabin crew on
both times were courteous and did their job well. Both aircraft were
clean. Seats ok, with good legroom in economy (A310).
TAP Portugal review by M Kirschstein
5 June 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGWFortaleza to Lisbon was delayed by 24 hours due to engine failure. All
passengers were ferried to a hotel, no information was available from
anybody. The next day we were collected and brought back to the airport
where we took off with 24 hrs delay. In the meantime, TAP updated their
computer with information that the flight had taken off and somebody in
TAP arr & dep centre gave my wife the same information. This caused
major confusion and cost us a lot of money but TAP as usual did not
even give an apology. They offer very poor service on and off route.
TAP Portugal review by Paul Caston
5 June 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Lisbon to Heathrow. What can I say, lovely aircraft, almost two hours
late. When boarding we were told no food would be served on the plane,
but that drinks would be supplied. When we were in the air we were told
that we would have to go to the galley to get our drinks. When I went
down to get a drink the stewardesses were sitting down reading
magazines. General impression of TAP is very negative, on the flight
from Heathrow the fact that the plane needed to get into the air seemed
secondary to the crew talking.
TAP Portugal review by Brian Hill
24 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
LGW to FNC and return; outbound an A321, inbound an A320. Both planes
featured the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in, especially the
A320 which had a hard bar at the back of the seat cushion making the
3.25 hour flight nearly unbearable. Food was awful, impossible to guess
what meat it was on the return leg. TAP now offer various brands of
spirits in 'Sachet Systems' instead of bottles - not on these flights,
no spirits at all, just wine, beer or soft drinks. At least the flights
were on time.
TAP Portugal review by S Bothma
17 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Johannesburg to Lisbon and then from Lisbon to Stockholm and then the
same way back again. It was unfortunately the only flight available in
that week. First of all the flight departed three hours late from
Johannesburg. There were spoons lying on the floor, which means they
didn't even cleaned up the plane properly. The TV screen had a magnetic
interference, and the sound did not work. The cabin crew do not
understand English. I asked for apple juice and she gave me water.
When I landed in Lisbon, I missed my link flight with 5 minutes. I had
to wait for 3 hours in a queue (because the ladies helping are not
really in the mood). Eventually I flew to Frankfurt and then Stockholm.
When I arrived at Stockholm my luggage unfortunately did not find it's
way to Stockholm as well. It only arrived the Friday morning, because
the Portugal Airport had only one person to sort out the luggage and we
cannot to expect from him to take care of all the luggage in one day
(the story told to me by Star Alliance). My flight back from Stockholm
was better. But the magnetic interference in the TV display and the
lack of English communication skills were still present. I spoke
eventually Afrikaans (my home language) and then got a reaction from
them. TAP stands for Take Another Plane. Believe me, that is what I
will do next time.
TAP Portugal review by Jean-Louis Vergaert
17 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
London Heathrow to Lisbon, Business class: the secret for a good flight
in this A320 plane is to book seat 3 D/E/F (right side of the plane), as
you have space between the seat and the wall - contrary to other
airlines who squeeze as many seats as possible and give to the poor
first row business class passenger only enough space to insert their
knees. For the other business class seats however, TAP has decided to
give exactly the same space between seats as to the economy class
passengers, however as the cabin was deserted, and as you can lift the
armrests, you could easily lay down over the 3 seats of your row. Food
was very average, but the scrambled eggs were nice and foamy - the rolls
and croissants however have collapsed over themselves. Service was most
attentive and courteous. No delay, good information, so a good decent
flight at the end. That would be a nightmare however if the business
class cabin would have been full.
TAP Portugal review by S Koenig
13 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Economy class Fortaleza-Lisbon, Lisbon-Budapest, Brussels-Lisbon and
Lisbon-Fortaleza. Food, especially dessert, was actually pretty good
for airline food. Except for glitches with the audio system, planes
were fine and not as cavernous as some wide-bodied jets. No headsets on
Lisbon-Budapest flight seemed strange, especially as they still showed a
film, but same thing occured on Brussels-Lisbon flight (they wisely
included a silent Charlie Chaprlin film on that leg). No one sat in the
front section of the flight to Budapest (business class, I think but
still 3 seats on each side), so they shut the curtain to make sure no
one moved up there to get more space. On Lisbon-Fortaleza flight, one
entire side section of economy class was shut off by a curtain (I gather
to reduce the areas they had to clean). Worse was the intoxicated
passenger (he smelled of beer when he boarded, so may well have drunk
all of his alcohol beforehand), who managed to put out of commission 2
of 4 economy class toilets through vomiting and errant urination. At
one point this passenger tried to sleep on the floor behind a row on the
side, stretching his legs across the aisle. Not sure why he was allowed
to board (I was once on a United flight when a passenger with a really
bad hangover was forced to leave the plane, since, the flight attendant
said, she was in no shape to fly, especially in case of an emergency).
This was a 7-hour flight over the Atlantic so it was good he did not
become ill. Fortunately, flight was not full, so passengers managed to
use the 2 remaining toilets without too long of lines. I did submit a
complaint form.
TAP Portugal review by Graham Chilvers
1 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
Rio to London. 17.30 flight from Rio to Lisbon was cancelled. After much
hanging around we were transfered to a Hotel. Told we had a 6am flight.
Picked up at 4am. Flight wasn't until 8.30am - 4.5 hrs in a shut
airport! Arrived in Lisbon at 10pm. One person on duty. Took 2.5 hrs to
get a bus to an hotel on the airport. Left Lisbon for London 8.30am next
day. We left our hotel in Rio at 5pm Sat (UK time) arrived home 6.30
Monday. It's not the cancelled plane I object to - it happens! It is
the total lack of forward planning. TAP knew the plane was cancelled yet
nothing was organised. Never again with TAP.
TAP Portugal review by Ella Autiero
24 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
I've flown TAP last week; I chose them because they are the only european airline flying directly to
Fortaleza (I try to avoid Sao Paulo as a transit airport). The whole experience was poor: they send
prehistoric Airbus 310's to South America with a non-existant entertainment system.The service was
slow and the food inedible. I had a business class ticket (they call it Executive class), and the
business class was half empty, but after two hours inflight people from Economy would just come to
the front and sit down and stay! What's the point in paying 2500euros if their so-called
Executive class is open to everyone? Last but not least, the crew was lazy and inefficient. They
offer DVD players in business; after the service I asked one flight attendant who walked by if it
was possible to get one: he replied to me that he was working in Economy and that I should get up,
go to the Galley and ask on of the Business class flight attendant! Unimaginable on a Swiss,
British Airways or Lufthansa flight!
TAP Portugal review by Jan Keller
15 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
The second time I've flown with TAP from Europe through Lisbon to
Brazil, the second time they lost our baggage on the return flight.
GIG-LIS-LHR: Flight 1 hour late in Rio, thus check in tells us we cannot
reach connection in LIS to LHR anymore. The only option we are given for
an onward connection is at 1pm to Gatwick. With the prospect of a 6
hours stop in Lisbon we board the plane. Flew in business - seats ok,
food terrible, drinks good, crew very unfriendly. In London about 7
passengers don't get their luggage. Filling in forms went quickly, you
are given a telephone number to check the status of lost baggage.
However this is only an answering machine and they never call you back
(text on answering machine is telling: We are sorry that we are unable
to answer your call due to the very high number of lost luggage).
Conclusion: unless there is an emergency, avoid this airline under all
circumstances.
TAP Portugal review by Jorge Zwiep
10 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
I’m a frequent traveller from LIS to Brazil. As TAP offers the highest
frequency of flights to Brazilian destinations. That's was the best part
of my story. Quality of performance and service is terrible. This
organisation is one of the worst I know in Civil Aviation. I returned
from Brazil march 31. The plane was delayed 17hrs due to seems technical
problems in LIS. TAP offered a nice hotel, no problems with that.
Most of the passengers had an onward connexion in LIS, these passengers
were threatened badly. Part of the connexions could not be rebooked.
During the flight no apologies were given about the delay. Short before
arrival the cabin supervisor mentioned that upon arrival ground staff
are waiting to assist transferring passengers. After arrival at 00.30
local time, a single ground staff member advised the passengers to go to
the departure hall service desk for more information. (transfer-area was
closed at that time) At the service desk only one service employee was
available to assist approx. 100 transfer passengers. Passengers got
almost all chairs from a nearby coffee-corner due to the extensive
waiting time. This at night-hours! No hotel was offered in LIS. It was
sad to see that a numerous passengers were on their first
(Intercontinal) flight. It was nice to see that fellow passengers gave
them a helping hand. Warning: TAP is an old fashioned airline, with a
general attitude that passengers should be pleased that they can fly
with them. A new uniform needs also a new attitude.
TAP Portugal review by Matt Hadley
10 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
ZRH-LIS and MUN-LIS. All flights departed late (approximately one hour).
The crew will always try to blame "air traffic control" or "late arrival
of the inbound aircraft" but TAP needs to face the real issue here. The
ground service and boarding procedures in Lisbon are the worst. This
invariably causes the flight to miss the alloted slot granted by air
traffic control, thus causing a further delay. So the inbound aircraft
(TAP into Munich and Zurich) was an hour late. The turn around in
Munich and Zurich works with quite well but the plane is then late back
to Lisbon. Lufthansa and Swiss do not tell you that your leg from ZHR
or MUN is TAP, so they are culpable as well. The Star Alliance needs to
send in a group of consultants to kick TAP into shape on the ground in
Lisbon. Other complaints, on business class MUN to LIS the food was so
bad I had to send it back for another option. Wine was good, even
excellent. Aircraft old and tired but the crew is generally pretty
decent but I agree with unattentive. Baggage on the ground in Lisbon is
also very poor, 50 minutes to receive my bag. I will try to avoid TAP
in the future if I can.
TAP Portugal review by D Vetter
10 April 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
FRA-LIS-RIO-REC return. First of all and most important we reached all
flights. That's worth a comment, because all flights were late.
TAP is OK for inner-european flights and short-distance-flights but
they're out of the question for long-distance-flights. The aircraft from
Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro was quite new but no inflight-entertainment-
systems were installed. Most of the displays (installed every 3 or 4
rows) were "out of service" or showed a very diffuse picture of
whatever. Food was poor. Far the worst was service onboard. The
attendants were pretty unkind. Best of all was, that the aircraft was
not fully occupied. I don't wonder why. TAP ... take another plane.
TAP Portugal review by Marko Pajunen
24 March 2007
BRU-LIS-AMS in economy in March 2007. Not the best experience, I have to
say. The flight BRU-LIS on A320 was on time, but the lack of legroom
made it an unpleasant experience, and the plane look old and cramped.
The return flight LIS-AMS was 45min late and I missed my connection
flight at AMS.The TAP people at LIS were not very helpful, I was only
told "they help you in Amsterdam"... the crew on A319 showed better
attitude and I got the needed information. The A319 was a lot more
comfortable plane, with better legroom and rather nice fake leather
seats. The meals, warm sandwich on both flights, were small but tasty.
The crews were friendly but didn't give the most professional
impression. I will avoid TAP in future, especially if I have connection
flights.
TAP Air Portugal - by T Freitas
24 March 2007
LIS-BRU-LIS C class. Lounge in LIS is acceptable, although the one in
BRU was a deception. A319 for the outbound leg and A320 for the inbound
one, with new livery. Leather seats in good condition (despite being 5
and not 4 each row) and IFE. C class filled up in both flights (10 and 8
pax, respectively). Meals served, even though both were 3PM flights.
Food tasty (typical Portuguese) and varied; the wine was good too. Crew
was very nice and attentive.
TAP Air Portugal - by Henrique Abreu
20 March 2007
I Fly an average of 2 times a month with Tap mainly Lisbon - Zurich.
The main issue is the fact that an average 8 out of 10 flights are
delayed, 2 flights were short term cancelled without notification of the
passengers (I am Victoria frequent flyer ). Food is lousy, service
onboard is getting worse and complaints via the Official TAP web
address do not got any answer. When I have an alternative I am booking
flights with other airlines.
TAP Air Portugal - by Pedro Gil
26 February 2007
LIS-ZHR C Class. Service in TAP has still a long way to go to keep up
with other airlines. 9 out of 10 flights delayed. They do not guarantee
that middle seat (in the right side) is empty in business class. Crew
members are always resting and talking to each other in the galley
instead of checking passengers. Food is terrible. In a 3 hour flight
business class passengers were given a lousy snack. I had connecting
flights in Zurich with THAI (also a star alliance airline) but TAP
didn't allow me to check-in from Lisbon to final destination. What's the
point of an airline alliance?
TAP Air Portugal - by James Stevens
5 February 2007
I travelled Economy to Rio De Janeiro via Porto. This without has to be
the worst airline I have ever travelled . I agree with another comment
made by a customer that staff were very rude and unhelpful. I had asked
for a meal that did not contain beef. So when they came around with the
meals guess what they gave me? Beef. I asked them four times to make
sure it was chicken. When I complained they said they had no chicken
left. I ended up eating bread all they way to Rio de Janeiro. What a way
to start your holiday. If I thought it couldn't get any worse, it
happened again on the way back. I complained on the plane but was told
that they were busy and could not speak to me. An absolute disgrace. I
will never fly Tap again. I complained to the head office and they said
that they will get back to me but it might take over two months!! I will
stick to British Airways.
TAP Air Portugal - by Louise Bryant
19 January 2007
Business Class return from Heathrow to Porto and we would not use this
airline again. We will now fly British Airways to Lisbon. On the
return flight when we queried the amount of seating space we were told
that they had had to charter a different plane which was not configured
for business class. In spite of paying 5 full business class fares we
were not offered any compensation. The food was inedible, the plane was
boiling hot for a long period of time, the staff were unhelpful and part
of the ceiling fell on my lap. Check-in staff were deliberately slow
and unhelpful to prevent us switching to an earlier British Airways
flight. A truly horribly experience. We sent a long list of complaints
to head office but did not receive any compensation or a refund of the
difference between business class and economy. They said that that the
seating space was a business class configuration, I dread to think what
economy is like. Take Another Plane!
TAP Air Portugal - by J Morrison
19 January 2007
If you are vegetarian don't fly with TAP. They have no clue. I flew
TAP economy from Gatwick to Faro on December 30, 2006, have pre-booked a
vegetarian meal/snack. It wasn't available on the flight, nor on the
return flight January 7th, 2007, even although I re-requested on check-
in both times. Cabin staff where unhelpful both times, just shrugged
their shoulders as if I'd asked for something really weird and
unexpected. Absolute no substitute was offered, not even a piece of
bread or fruit. Cabin temperature was way too hot, despite passengers
asking for increase in air-con. We had a very scary landing at Gatwick,
with no information at all given by captain or crew. Flight delayed by
an hour, little info. One woman opposite me was feeling very ill and
when she requested assistance from air crew was told quite bluntly that
nothing was available - not even a glass of water - and was told to take
deep breaths but a rather unhelpful and blunt FA. Needless to say, I
won't be using this airline again.
TAP Portugal review by M Carre
12 January 2007
LHR-LIS-REC. I was really disappointed with TAP. When I booked my
tickets I requested a bassinet as I was travelling with a baby, and
veggie food. When I checked in I was told to speak to the staff at the
boarding gate about the cot - when I did, they denied all knowledge of a
cot on order and said that there was no veggie food. I was seated in the
middle of the four middle seats for the long haul part of my flight
which was totally inappropriate with a baby. The staff were surly and
rude. The whole experience cost me a princely £2180. I will not be
flying with TAP again to Brazil.
TAP Portugal review by P Herman
1 January 2007
Madrid-Lisbon, economy return. Happy with the service provided on this short A319 flight.
Outbound on time, seating comfortable but legroom minimal for a tall person.
Served a light meal : sandwich, small cake, mars bar and a glass of
wine or soft drink, then coffee. Same meal
served on the inbound flight, only this time I was seated directly behind business class in a
slightly wider, extra-legroom seat which I suppose they normally reserve for full-fare economy
paying customers, which I wasn't. Staff were friendly, multi-lingual and efficient, managing to
serve a full cabin in under an hour.
TAP Portugal review by E Taylor
2 November 2006
Porto-London, back to school with extra luggage which you used to be
able to sneak on board as handbag full of weighty school books - ground
staff absolutely adamant, unmoveable, no smiles, you pay or you get your
luggage off our flight. We decided to send the offending bag by DHL
which is cheaper. Ground staff will ruin this airline. This is the
second time I have had the problem with the same woman at check-in whose
supervisor, a tiny snappy little man could not even be bothered to talk
about it, he just snapped, you have to pay - Victoria miles winner card
is only that unless you fly business. I nearly lost my nerves but the
check-in assistant got her revenge and simply delayed the bag so it
didn't get to its destination. I use TAP so much and bring all my
relatives and friends over on this line as I live in Spain - I will
definitely not use it again even if I have to walk!! Porto ground staff
are arrogant and unhelpful and have been trained to be like this, it is
a definite art which they have mastered. Many of us feel that TAP will
be paying for the new airport with monies coming in from Excess baggage
and this is the only place on earth, I have ever had to pay such a
penalty.
TAP Portugal review by Andrey Gerasenkov
5 October 2006
Newark to Venice (changed planes in Lisbon) and Rome to Newark. The
outbound flight was half empty and smooth, with the first leg serviced
by a brand-new looking A330 and the second leg an A319 (also half
empty). FA's were nice and accomodating and the food was not bad. The
flight from Lisbon to Newark was serviced by an old A310 with old main
screens for inflight entertainment (the one in our section wouldn't
lower, and the FA's had to demonstrate the safety procedures). Overall,
this is a 3-star airline.
TAP Portugal review by Robert Ashford
5 October 2006
LHR-LIS-LHR for the weekend. Although they don't have online check in
like some airlines, they did have a phone check in where they allowed
pre-flight seat allocation. Although offered in both locations, The
London side was much better than the Lisbon side. Check in was
effortless -staff adequately attentive, flight out was on time and fine.
Had a bit of a delay in prelude to flight back - felt like we were kept
in a holding cell at Lisbon airport while the crew cleaned the plane,
but they could have had the decency to let passengers know of delay, and
have a coffee or drink at one of the cafe's outside the passenger
holding area. Flight was good with snacky kind of food - so no
complaints. All in all better than expected,
TAP Portugal review by T Freitas
13 September 2006
LIS-FNC-LIS Y class. Both flights on time and boarding was smooth. Crew
friendly and efficient. A319s with new livery and impeccable inside,
with leather seats and IFE. Load-factor was around 80%. A sandwich,
fruit salad and drinks served; good quality and enough quantity for a
1h40m flight. A very pleasant flight. I hadn't flown TAP in medium-haul
for a while, but I think I'll come back.
TAP Portugal review by Nuno Paixão
11 September 2006
LIS - MAD. Boarding started 20 minutes before the bus was available.
Once passengers were in the bus, another 20 minutes passed until we got
some explanation. The explanation given was that there was no crew for
the flight. Passengers started to leave the bus and immediately they
decided to take us to the plane. When arrived to the plane permission to
board was not given and all passengers were took back to the terminal
gate. After half hour finally we boarded at the old A320 with the new
TAP livery. Food was good. IFE was limited to video air show. Seat-pitch
is much better then in the A319. TAP should consider that there's no
need to start boarding procedures, if there is no bus and no crew.