TAP Portugal

TP836 C class LIS-FCO. I was upgraded at gate and experienced an almost normal seating arrangement (2+3 instead of 3+3) therefore not particularly different than in Y class. Congratulations however to the staff extremely polite proactive smiling and efficient. Excellent food: choice between two main dishes food was well presented tasty and in due quantity. Extremely good choice of Portuguese wines including an excellent douro white plus a 10 years old port and madeira.

FAO-LIS. Operated by Portugalia. Very old E145. 35 min flight. Bus messy boarding. Leather seats. No service at all on board. Not even water.

TP438 May 19. Flew Lisbon - Paris coach. Delayed plane unfriendly staff awful sandwich and no cool coke warm and no ice! Two good points nevertheless price 65 euros ow and arrival in Paris Orly which is closed to city.

LIS-GIG. A340 (retrofitted). Easy check-in at special C class ground floor counters in LIS. Easy boarding despite lack of discipline of non C passengers (not TAP fault). Nice and clean seats. Great IFE with a very intelligent selection of video on demand. Very smiley FAs. Food was just inedible. Arrived on time. Priority luggage first to be delivered.

We travelled on TP931 from ZRH to LIS last Thursday. First negative impression came up when we approached the gate: instead of boarding 40 minutes prior to departure (which is quite a long time for ZRH where I fly nearly every two weeks) the boarding started only 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. So instead of spending the time in the Swiss lounge (I am *G) we had to wait 25 minutes before getting access to an old A320 with really outdated seating. The leg space was non-existent (row 14) and even newspapers were old. The aircraft definitively has seen better times. FA's were very impolite and at one moment I was nearly disciplined for moving towards the rear door just to give way for a FA (I was waiting in front of the toilet when one FA came along the alley to the rear of the aircraft). No smiling and no kind words. There was only a small sandwich as meal for a 2.45 hours flight which I think is not adequate. I would expect that with a LCC but not with a Star Alliance member airline. Landing with more than 15 minutes delay in LIS we were rewarded with an apron position instead of a gate position. Of course there was not a single word of excuse from the crew a bad start into the weekend. On the way back we had booked in business class which was a little bit better in terms of seating and definitively better in terms of catering. However on that flight there were at least 15 OpUps into business (maybe less than 10 paid tickets) and we asked ourselves why did we bother to pay for it.

I flew the end of February from Frankfurt to Natal (Brazil). The flight from Lisbon to Natal was delayed for 3 hours with no explanation from the very impolite TAP staff. They rejected to answer and said to wait. Finally the aircraft was changed to a small and unknown Portuguese charter company named White. The plane was an old and heavily used A310 no entertainment and seats were not adjustable. The return two weeks later was again 4 hours delayed and flying back with the same old aircraft. Again staff were very unfriendly and seats were not working. I lost my connection flight and train because of the delay. I cannot recommend this airline and surely will not book any flight with them again.

LIS-AMS on Jan 20 on an Airbus 320 in Business - straight forward morning point to point flight as part of an intercontinental itinerary. Flight was on time (and this is where the good things end) and Business Class was almost empty - Premium Check in at LIS with no lines but refused to check our luggage through to VIE on OS (both airlines are part of Star Alliance) as “they are not allowed to do this unless the connection is on TAP. Although we used two separate tickets this was never an issue before with other major airlines. I guess the agent just did not want to deal with it. As we had a longer layover in AMS it was not a real problem but inconvenient. Boarding was bizarre and the procedure just plain stupid. At first the flight was called for boarding 30 minutes before departure and people are asked to line up starting with pre-boarding for small children and the physically challenged. They were first in line. Then one gate agent goes through the line and tells everybody to stand in one of three new lines (based on class of service and seat number) once this is finished the gate agent starts to board line by line. However you are not allowed to actually board the plane but you have to stand in a new line at the gangway for further 10 minutes before the actual boarding of the plane commences. Basically everybody including families with small children and business class passengers had to stand in three different lines for 30 minutes before they were allowed to board the plane. Never seen such an atrocious boarding procedure before. Once on board service was very lacklustre and limited to the initial meal service and tax free sales. Other than that the female FA was in hiding mode behind the curtain. You could actually see her skipping through various magazines totally unconcerned with serving passengers. Also breakfast was a small plate of cold cuts and sub-par for an almost three hour business class flight. All in all a very disappointing flight especially as previous experiences with TP in Economy have been quite good. TP lounge is Lisbon is nice with good quality offerings both drink- and food wise but tends to get packed during busy times. I could not say that any aspect of the flight was in line with one expects from business class. No drama as TP got us to our destination on time but clearly not recommended as the experience was somewhere between mediocre (on board) and unpleasant (check-in and boarding) Definitely not good enough for business class prices. (Star Alliance Gold).

GIG-OPO-LIS on Jan 18 GIG-OPO on an old Airbus 330-200 OPO-LIS on an A319 both legs in Business Class both flights on time with an easy transfer at OPO FA's were attentive and friendly and showed Portuguese hospitality on board. However the transatlantic flight was on an old Airbus 330-200 with angle flat seats in an old style 2-2-2 configuration that were not really that comfortable for sleeping and a vintage entertainment system from the 80s with bad screens showing a couple of films in a loop with even no way to finding out when a film actually starts. What was surprising was that the cabin actually did not look that old and quite fresh. No idea why TP kept the old style seats and the useless entertainment system when they freshened up the plane. Dinner served out of GIG was nicely presented and ok but not stellar. Canapés Smoked Trout (or two other choices) and soup for starters and Sautéed Seafood with Veggies (or Chicken with Lentils or Brazilian Style Dried Beef or Spinach Lasagne) for mains. Portuguese Wines served were good. However the limited cold breakfast (cold cuts and yoghurt) served before landing after such a long flight was definitely not adequate for Business Class. TP uses the Gol Lounge in GIG. While the lounge was comfortable the offerings available were in line with the discount character of Gol and disappointing. OPO-LIS was just a 30 minutes short hop with water served and actually no service to be expected for such a short flight. Most of the Business Class cabin was occupied by TP staff with paying Business Class passengers seated in middle seats while TP staff has been allocated bulkhead seats aisle seats etc. Just a short hop so tolerable but a weird mind set regarding customer orientation. Transfer and EU immigration in OPO fast and easy and shared lounge used by TP in OPO comfortable and nice. All in all a discount Business Class experience but not an unpleasant flight and on-time arrival. However flight to Brazil with LX was a much better experience. TP needs to retire or update these old planes to offer a really competitive transatlantic product. If available at a substantial discount I would not rule TP out for another long haul flight again. (Star Alliance Gold).

I flew from Lisbon to Paris (Orly) and back. The Planes were Airbus 319. Leg space could be better. I found the staff neat friendly and professional. They greeted us with a smile and a salute. It has improved since the last time I flew with TAP. On the first trip the board meal was a simple turkey or chicken ham sandwich rather plain. On the way back I had a delicious tuna sandwich. One of the best I ate on board. Both flights departed on schedule we even arrived earlier at Lisbon. Actually I was going to try AirTransavia for the first time but they changed my 9 am flight to 6.45 pm without much justification (which would make me completely waste my 1st day) so it cost me 35 Euros more but gave me a free meal free luggage and free cabin luggage. If we buy in advance TAP is only slightly more costly than low cost airlines but includes much more for what we pay.

LHR-LIS return. After flying with them last month I did again book to go to Lisbon. Again I was not disappointed with the service. Going out flight was on time and while there was some confusion with the hand luggage allowed the flight went smoothly and excellent service. Got a special meal and happy with friendly and attentive crew. Returning to London flight was also on time although I really dislike boarding a plane via the bus and this is something TAP needs to change. Normally we board via the arm but there was a Rio de Janeiro flight boarding in that gate so I guess those flights have priority. Again cabin crew was attentive and friendly. I am surprised with comments here as TAP provides a very good service in Europe taking into account the current service on other airlines such as Ryanair and easyjet. Have already booked with them for May.