TAP PORTUGAL   Customer Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

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TAP PORTUGAL review :  26 March 2009 : by Den Herraghty (UK)

LHR-LIS-LHR in C class. Full cabin outward but service was excellent. Offered menu, choice of meals on early evening flight. Meal very good with a very experienced Purser topping up wine without asking. Further drinks service offered on completion of meal. On return flight, service was functional. With only 3 adults / 2 infants I presumed service would have been better - but not so. Don't know if it was because of late afternoon flight, but no choice, meal just placed in front of me and only one drink. Meals of good quality. Only gripe is that on both arrival at LIS and LHR, priority bags - although clearly marked - were last ones on the belt.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  5 March 2009 : by J Silver (UK)

LHR-LIS-SSA economy. Flying to north eastern Brazil from London TAP seems the best choice as you save 4+ hours on flying BA to GRU and then TAM/Gol up to SSA. Sadly however I would not risk flying TAP again - many people have noted the horror of Lisbon airport with it's lack of airbridges - to add to that, no VOD, terrible choice of movies and all movies had corrupt soundtracks which cut out 50% of the time (in both directions). My flight back was delayed by 4 hours and then cancelled, so we had to come back the following day, the hotel they offered to put us up in was filthy and low quality (I made my own arrangements). To cap off the whole experience they destroyed my suitcase. Business class looks good value at half the price of BA but given reliability issues I would still think twice.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  4 March 2009 : by Pedro Gil (Portugal)

LIS-EWR return Business Class on A340. Priority Boarding is a joke in TAP - gate agents just let anybody go in, despite announcing priority passengers, so boarding is always chaotic. Then you are transfered to the plane in a crowded bus. Seats onboard were dirty. They were angled lie-flat but felt uncomfortable and claustrophobic due to the proximity of rows. Food quality and wine selection was poor for C Class (supermarket 3€ bottle wine was the best option available). No champagne - just a bad sparkling wine. IFE had only 5 film options and only 2 worked on the first flight (with a terrible image quality). Flight attendants were friendly and efficient, trying to compensate the poor long haul product from TAP - inferior to other European airlines.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  1 March 2009 : by J Kresge

VCE-LIS on A319, legroom limited but flight was not full. Armrests would not come up so I could not take advantage of the empty seat next to mine. TAP provides complimentary sandwich and beverage service (one run) on this 2.5 hr flight. Check in at VCE did not open until 1Hr 40 min before departure. LIS-SVQ was operated by PGA Airlines on Embrear 145. While this plane is small, seat was more comfortable than on A319. They offered complimentary sandwich and beverage service on this very short flight. Sandwich was actually a small roll with Granola bar. Bussed between aircraft and terminal on both legs of flight. Took approx 30 min to get bags from aircraft in SVQ to belt.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  23 February 2009 : by Tim Tudor

LGW-FNC-LGW. Outward A320 full, inward A319 half full. Flights on time (early on outbound) and aircraft clean and comfortable - no issue with the comfort of the leather seats that others have found. Inflight food OK, but a bit bland, red wine from the bottle good. Cabin crew friendly both ways. Funchal airport good but as others have commented the "Duty Free" is very expensive! I would rate this airline highly for an economy experience, significantly better than Easyjet (my other option - also more expensive and would have had to pay lots of extras for food and seating).

TAP PORTUGAL review :  23 February 2009 : by Keith Montgomery

For flights to Brazil, TAP is the best choice. This was my third return from London to Rio de Janeiro, transferring at Lisbon. Service in Business Class is efficient, friendly, and attentive. Meals get four out of five. Seats lie almost flat, and I am able to sleep soundly. The inevitable drawback of flying TAP is Lisbon Airport. Although TAP staff do their best to cope with the facility, there is much beyond the control of the airline. All transfer passengers are herded through a hopeless security bottleneck upon arrival. Transfer passengers have no access to the Star Alliance Lounge without going through passport control. Vendors refuse to accept any currency other than Euros. The terminal lacks sufficient gates, and the majority of TAP flights require a bus journey from plane to terminal, followed by yet another bus journey after surviving the transfer chaos.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  18 February 2009 : by M Perrin

REC-LIS business class. A330 Business Class seats do not recline as much as A340. Crew more pleasant than usual. Food was good, however little quantities. Good wine too. Connecting in LIS for a Portuguese domestic flight, is a mess. Bus to terminal 2, raining a lot, no umbrellas. Bus from terminal 2, to a remote position to plane. No umbrellas! I entered plane completely wet. LIS-NCE-LIS economy on a Fokker100 from Portugalia. On time, clean, pleasant.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  9 February 2009 : by D Freitas

FNC-LIS-FNC Do not think of complaining - as this will not win you favours with the staff who seem to take complaints quite personally, however constructive. Even low cost companies have friendlier staff. The food consists of a roll with cheese and ham so do not expect much. Time keeping is appalling and if you do have problems, expect no help. A number of 'family' members were upgraded to Business Class, allowing the flight attendant to focus entirely on a child in the "family" rather than the paying passengers. 4 hour delays appear to be not uncommon, as this happened on our departure, the day before, and the week before. Think twice if you want to book a TAP flight.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  28 January 2009 : by K Melvill-Smith

This was the worst flight I have ever experienced. I made this mistake when flying from London to South Africa. The first haul to Portugal was ok, horrible food though. Plane was late and when arriving in Portugal, the connecting flight was making its final call. Was a panicked rush to say the least and the ground staff were not particularly helpful. The next haul of the flight was horrendous - the crew were never to be found. TAP changed their flights which meant I had a 14 hour wait in the airport overnight. When I asked if there was any possibility to wait in the lounge, they barked at me saying I was not business and would not be allowed. Overall, I believe the worst airline I have ever flown with. Please heed my warning and do not fly with them.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  22 January 2009 : by T Vaz

LIS-OXB Economy A320. Online check in worked perfect as fast bag drop at LIS airport. Flight on time and plane in good shape, with blue leather seats, seat pitch a bit tight. It was a night flight, so they provide to everyone pillow and blanket. Dinner was served after take off and was ok. I understand why TAP schedule all these medium haul African routes, but it's terrible to arrive in the mid of an African country at 1.30am!

TAP PORTUGAL review :  13 January 2009 : by Mike Field

LGW-FNC return as part of a SAGA holiday. Outward A319, inward A320. Flights both punctual (early on outward leg) and aircraft clean and comfortable - nice leather seats. Inflight food adequate if uninspired - Ok for shortish flight. Cabin crew pleasant and cheerful. LGW very quiet so baggage on return delivered fairly quickly. Funchal airport is superbly clean and efficient and snacks/drinks reasonably priced. Watch out though for the "Duty Free" - a bottle of bog standard Madeira is actually cheaper in the Funchal supermarkets!

TAP PORTUGAL review :  6 January 2009 : by J Davidson

LGW-OPO-RIO-LIS-LHR Y Class. Onboard service was good on all sectors. The longhaul crews were attentive and friendly. Shorthaul crews OK if no more. Food on the short haul sectors was better than average for a short hop, hot panini type stuff with a few other bits. Long haul food was a bit strange. Two full sized hot meals on each sector, with a printed menu and all choices available. I think TAP was trying to be "different" by offering unusual traditional meals you'd never heard of (Portuguese people included), but it didn't really work. Comfort wise, the short haul Airbus seemed pretty bashed up and my seat LIS-LHR had almost no padding left. Long haul TAP have two types of A330 layout. The older aircraft have a very spacious 33 inch pitch, very comfortable seats and PTV - it is a very nice plane to fly. The newer aircraft are much more cramped - seats that whilst not uncomfortable were easy to rest in, and AVOD PTV. Inflight entertainment is poor, with an all mod cons PTV system and about half a dozen old movies you'd not want to watch. All the flights were delayed, which caused two very uncomfortably tight transfers. OPO is a nice airport, although LIS is a real dump which will see you bussed from one side of the airport to the other; then back again. TAP book very tight transfer connections, a system which doesn't work. As I had booked some months in advance, my flight times changes and connection times shrunk so much I decided to make do with only carry on baggage, because it seemed obvious to me there was little hope of any checked luggage actually getting there.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  31 December 2008 : by T Hopkins

LGW-FNC-LGW. I had fairly low expectations for the flights. The crew on both flights were friendly and helpful. The seats on the outbound not so good and I could feel a metal bar in the back. The meals on both flights were tasty. The seats on the return flight a lot better and made of leather rather than fabric.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  10 December 2008 : by I Dumovic

Frankfurt to Lisbon and Lisbon to Zagreb (with stop in Bologna). Both flights smooth and on time. Decent service and polite staff. Check in problems on Frankfurt due to airlines faults on booking but TAP counter resolved problem very fast. Quick check-in on Lisbon airport. Overall, good airline with quite good value for money fares.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  10 December 2008 : by M Pires

Lisbon-Natal return. Both flights very good. On both occasions check-in was fast and flights on time. Food, while not delicious, was good, specially on the outbound flight. IFE was average (not the new IFE that some TAP planes already have), with a selection of 4/5 movies. Cabin crew did a good job. A330 in good condition. In Lisbon we waited 25m for bags to come (not too bad when you know that this is a serious problem at Lisbon airport).

TAP PORTUGAL review :  28 November 2008 : by Michael Little

Porto - Lisbon - Marseille in Economy. First leg in an A319 and the second in a PGA Embraer 145. Quick and efficient check-in, and the planes on both legs were comfortable and on time. Both planes were parked at remote stands in Lisbon, which is usual for TAP. Because of limited overhead storage space on the E145, most hand luggage had to be given up for loading in the luggage compartment -- so don't put any fragile items in it! The only disappointment was a very downmarket snack on the Marseille leg (lukewarm hotdog and a chocolate bar). Other carriers operating regional jets on similar length flights (such as Finnair) do better.

TAP PORTUGAL review :  23 November 2008 : by Michael Little

London-Lisbon-Praia-Lisbon-Porto. A320s between London and Lisbon, and Lisbon to Praia return. The legroom on the Praia sectors seemed less than the run from London to Lisbon - the flight out to Praia was particularly uncomfortable. Service efficient on all legs, with adequate food served. The aircraft were parked remotely at Lisbon on all sectors. The plane from Praia operated around 40 minutes late. The meal was tasty enough but I don't think it´s necessary to disturb people with a meal at 3.30 a.m. The connection from Lisbon to Porto in a Fokker 100 ran 30 minutes late but the service in the half-full plane was efficient and a boiled sweet was perfectly adequate for the short sector.