TAP Portugal

Flew TAP Portugal from Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro and on the way back from Salvador de Bahía, both ways with a stopover in Lisbon. Short haul flights were okay. The problem was both long haul flights, especially from Lisbon to Rio. We flew on an A340 which had relatively new seats and inflight entertainment. 3.5 hours before arriving in Rio we were told that we were not heading to our destination, but had to make an emergency landing in Natal due to a medical emergency. Ok, no problem! If somebody needs to get to a hospital,I totally understand. I was expecting a short stop of about an hour or so. We landed, the ambulance took the ill passenger and after 35 minutes everything was over. But then came the main problem: one of the fuel valves was suddenly stuck and could not be closed and the plane could not be refueled. They kept us inside the aircraft for 5 hours unable to tell us when or if we would be able to continue our journey. It does not sound long, but believe me, it is terrible. After 5 hours we finally were able to fly on for the missing 3 hours of flight. Our journey was supposed to last 9 hours but we ended up being inside the airplane for more than 14 hours. On our way back, from Salvador to Lisbon, we had an A330. The airplane was terribly old, seats unconfortable, the cabin crew rude and unmotivated. My inflight entertainment seat did not work and the cabin crew did not do anything about it. I asked 3 times to please make a reset of my unit, but the only thing I received was a rude answer telling me to make a claim in Lisbon. What a great attitude. When I got up to ask for a glass of water in the middle of the night without anyting to do, the flight attendant made it clear that she was reading her newspaper and that I should come back in 10 to 15 minutes as her colleagues who are resting now would help me. Ok thanks and sorry for not letting you read your newspaper. Another important point is the food served: it is simply inedible. I tasted it but returned the whole tray to the flight attendant as it was absolutely disgusting. I thought I might be a little picky, but when I saw that other passengers where doing the same, I knew the food was simply bad. After all this, I contacted the airline to make the claim for the 5 hour delay on our way to Rio which was originally a medical issue but turned out to be a big technical issue afterwards. I am still waiting for a response and am not expecting to have one soon. I am calling them twice a week to get an update, but they have no answer. My recommendation is to avoid TAP Portugal for long haul flights. The ticket is expensive and the service you get is far better for the same price on other airlines. There are many other alternatives to fly to Brasil.

LGW-LIS on an 320 in Economy. Flight on time and no issues. Used Web check-in which and was able to select an aisle seat. Bag drop at Gatwick was friendly with no lines. Security at Gatwick as always not the most efficient due to a rather odd way of lining up people once you get to the check to the actual checkpoint, but uneventful otherwise. TAP uses the pay-per-entry Clubrooms Lounge at Gatwick (access for Star Alliance Gold status), which is a nice lounge with restaurant style order system and much better than the Number 1 Lounge previously used by TAP which tends to get extremely crowded. Free checked luggage, free seat selection, plus free drink (including beer and wine) and an edible sandwich on board. Additional drinks were served on request. A very friendly crew, FA’s seem to enjoy serving and present throughout the flight. During the flight I saw one FA sharing her restaurant tips for Lisbon with an English couple and one FA tending to an elderly lady who wasn’t feeling in the back galley. A good European Economy product and in my opinion much better than BA on this route. If your journey starts in the UK and you pay by credit card using the TAP website, there is a good chance you will not be able to use web-check in for the first segment as TAP will want to physically verify the credit card before letting you check-in. This procedure was explained to me after I got a check-in error on a different occasion flying TAP from Gatwick. For practical purposes this means a middle seat in the back of the plane, unless you arrive very, very early at the airport or visit a TP city Office before flying. This has never happened to me so far other than flying TAP out of the UK and is a very irritating policy. So, I definitely will not use TP’s website for any bookings out of the UK.

Copenhagen to Lisbon with TAP Portugal on sunday morning 07.15. Departure at time. Seat 6A/6B, seats old and not confortabe. The breakfast was good. Because of bad weather over South France we had a delay of 20 minuts. Overall a pleasant flight and friendly staff. Return to Copenhagen Thursday evening 17.25 with a 10 minute departure delay. Seat 7A/7B. The dinnner was very well. Because of strike at the french aircontrol we had to fly up to the UK and this gave a further delay. Arrival at CPH 22.40.

We went through Lisbon and as always that catastrophe due to the fullness, luckily we got upgraded to business class. We were left rather disappointed it was a very old cabin looked filthy and the TV screens were tiny and we're not on demand. It was an 8 hour flight. The food was excellent and the choice of dessert was also great. I found the staff never came by to come around for drinks and was also rather unfriendly when asked for simple things lik: could i please have a glass of water? Overall I would not fly TAP again. The ground crew was unorganized, the flight was delayed by 2 hours (we were already on aircraft) and the cabins had a old look and were not updated. IFE was horrible.

Terrible boarding process, no organization at all. Was seated in "business" class row 2, seat A. There was a member of the crew seated in row 1A who had placed her bag lengthwise in the luggage compartment. When I asked her to straighten it out she told me to find another compartment. Great customer service, will never, never fly TAP Portugal again.

Had a choice of other airlines but the flight times of TAP Portugal flights were better. But what a bad airline. Boarding was adequate but not well organised. Seating is poor with little legroom even for a short haul flight. In flight food? There was a token effort but no vegetarian food on offer. TAP Portugal have the audacity to charge 15 Euro for a veggie option! The company discriminates against anyone who dietary needs. Next time I'll fly budget : it's a step up from the service offered by TAP Portugal.

Fortaleza to London via Lisbon. Terrible, our TAP Portugal flight was delayed over four hours in Brazil with no explanation or updates. Everyone in the gate was tired and irritable and people ended up banging on the door and screaming at the staff before getting an update. Finally boarded after 80 passengers were told they could not join the flight and would have to fly the next day. The flight itself was uncomfortable and poor entertainment but to be expected from budget long-haul. Missed our connection and had to wait another 5 hours at Lisbon airport. I have yet to have any response from to my communication to complain and request compensation from the airline. Judging by other reviews this is not uncommon!

Booked the TAP Portugal flight for holiday. It was cheaper than easyJet, and I thought it was a bargain - too good to be true. Given it is in Star Alliance I thought it has a standard to uphold. Unfortunately no is the answer and after a horrible experience of flying and encountering with ground crew I totally understand why easyJet is able to charge more. TAP despite the airline hardware the staff is horrible like others feedback. Even for on boarding the four ground grews are unable to organize and make announcements appropriately and the bus organization to the plane was disastrous. I rather fly budget airline or other airlines and I am in disbelief Star Alliance allowed it to be part of its network.

I flew London to Lisbon with TAP Portugal on 30th September, seat 12C. The crews on are pleasant and helpful. Seat space is a bit cramped on Airbus A319s but the flight is just over two hours so not much problem. As usual I had an inconsiderate 'recliner' seated in front of me but that's nothing to do with the airline. We were served a tasty snack with the choice of drinks etc. The baggage was already starting to arrive on the conveyor by the time I reached it.

Seats chosen online were respected and we made a smooth 1 hour tight connection in Lisbon. SSA-LIS on an aging A330, clean and bathrooms in good condition. Seats were not that comfortable but the legroom was generous. Dinner with two options to choose from. Two rounds of drinks and wine offered and food quality was okay. A sandwich served prior to landing. On demand entertainment system was okay. Professional cabin crew with a round of water offered mid flight. LIS-LGW old A320 with leather seats. Offered a sandwich, yoghurt and drinks. A hassle free good experience. Paid heavily discounted price bought 3 months in advance.