TAP Portugal

Flew CPH-LIS-EWR. First leg CPH-LIS: A319 nice comfortable seats friendly FAs. They served breakfast and it was some omelette with tomato sauce and mushrooms. For some it was tasty not for me. Flight was on time. Second leg LIS-EWR: Was planned as A340-300 got 3 hours delayed due to technical problem on engine. Very bad information at LIS about when flight was going to depart. Aircraft change to A330-200 old interior. Very bad food. Close to not being edible.

LGW-FNC 30th July 2013. I have to say I was dreading this flight after reading a number of reviews. I fly fortnightly on Business and regularly for pleasure and this was the first time we had used TAP. I was happily surprised by the service and quality of flight we received. As a regular traveller to Madeira from the UK it has become rather expensive to use so called low cost carriers and charters to the island so we turned to TAP in the hope they would be able to service our requirements and they far exceeded my expectations. Yes I agree their service could be improved by more presence in the cabin but the cabin crew were friendly and efficient. The leg room and seat space for a large build 6ft3 chap was brilliant for an economy seat. We boarded on time however 25 minutes late leaving LGW due to heavy traffic. Overall a really positive experience and looking forward to the return later in August.

AMS-OPO (TP651 on 25/7/2013) and OPO-AMS (TP652 on 29/7/2013). Inbound flight delayed 1hr 35mins for a 2hr 38mins flight. Outbound flight delayed 30 minutes. Delays are constant on this route. The last 10 flights I flew on this route were all delayed. The explanation was always the same: "late arrival of the aircraft" which really is no explanation whatsoever as to say that the flight is late because the aircraft is late amounts to say nothing at all. The delays led to the loss of takeoff/landing slots and/or to the allocation of the farthest takeoff/landing runaway in Schiphol which adds to the delays and is frustrating to the passengers. Priority luggage at the arrival of the aircraft in Amsterdam was delivered last compounding the delay. Boarding was chaotic with everyone boarding simultaneously and queues not being respected both in OPO and AMS. Aircraft on this route (Fokker-100) are old and outdated. TAP Portugal is expensive (flight costs are those of a premium airline while the service is certainly not) inefficient and its on-time performance is appalling. Although the food is decent in the business cabin the service is nothing special with attitude shown from both the cabin crew and the handling staff. It is dangerously placed in an airline limbo: its service is slightly better than a low cost - food/drinks and newspapers are provided - but its cost is that of a premium airline. However delays are a constant. All in all it would not be a sustainable airline if it did not have the advantage of the de-facto monopoly in certain routes. Not recommended.

My flight yesterday was from Brussels to Marrakech - connecting in Lisbon. Initial flight out was delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight to Marrakech which was the last flight and only flight into Marrakech out of Lisbon airport. The whole situation was preventable had the airport staff skipped us to the front of the customs line or even moved us to the European passport line. We waited in the US passport line for 30 minutes - while there was no wait in the European passport line. When I explained to staff that I was going to miss my flight he responded that the TAP Portugal flight had been delayed 30 minutes so I would still make my flight. When I got to the gate the plane was there but the gate was closed. In fact the flight was not delayed 30 minutes rather they waited an extra 10 minutes for late passengers but apparently not for us. The TAP customer service rep was rude and incompetent. She gave us bad instructions on retrieving our luggage and it took us almost 3 hours to get our suitcases. We arrived at Lisbon airport at 2.15 - by the time we dealt with all the unfortunate nonsense it was almost 6pm before we got in a cab. TAP Portugal's standards of service are unacceptable.

Flew to Horta via Lisbon from Heathrow. All 4 flights there and back were delayed. Luggage lost for 2 days on outward flight. On last leg Lisbon to Heathrow not enough cabin staff to serve the light meal and drink just offered cup of water.

16/6/2013 Amsterdam - Lisbon departure time approx. 12.15 hrs. 28/6/2013 instead of 27/6/2013 (cause: strike 25 hours delay): Lisbon - Amsterdam flight 662. Very bad experience. Flight 1: overbooked no security instruction unfriendly personnel. Flight 2: totally insufficient management of Portuguese strike no security instruction unfriendly personnel same entertainment as during flight 1.

Portugália Airlines: Ancient aircraft lateness and worn out wobbly seats - Portugalia is for you. Stewardesses were very good. Flew Manchester to Lisbon. Booked to fly on TAP but they decided to shunt us onto their poor relation. Ridiculous delays and poor aircraft experience (Fokker 100). Worn out seats and broken fittings. Will go out of my way to make sure next time we fly to Lisbon that we avoid Portugalia - or TAP for that matter.

Portugália Airlines: LIS-BRU on a Fokker 100. Departure slightly delayed. Aircraft was dated there were no information monitors but seats were comfortable although space under the seats could be bigger. Crew was friendly but the meal consisted only of a turkey and cheese sandwich accompanied by a fruit drink however this was a mid- afternoon flight of 2 hours 40 minutes so there is no need for a fancy meal.

Check in at LGW agent did not even greet me took my passport tagged my bag and that was the extent of the exchange. Boarding was on time however my seat (6B) was still in a business call setting so I had to call a steward over to sort this out which she did but then I had to find my own head rest which was under the seat. Lunch was so poor I wish they had not bothered with it. Flight arrived early and we were off quickly. Poor service flight attendants not interested and unfortunately this is not the Air Portugal service that I use to know and I hope that this will change soon.

FNC-LIS-FNC. There is a recurring issue when flying with this airline which is the cabin crew. More than usual they are flying with ‘minimum cabin crew’ which actually means you won't get served any meal whatsoever. Not even a cup of water don't mind asking. Cabin crew more than surly seems absent minded and just don't care about passengers. I'm a frequent flyer and I always get the feeling I'm a burden to them. Low cost carriers offer much better product. Unfortunately for some routes they got the exclusive monopoly. Don't mind complaining too they won't read or reply.