Overview
TAP Air Portugal was established in 1945, with its major hub located in Lisbon Portela Airport. The airline’s focus cities include Francisco de Sa Carneiro Airport and Madeira Airport. Its frequent flyer program is Victoria and its member lounge is Top Executive Lounge. Forming an alliance with Star Alliance, TAP Air Portugal now mans a fleet size comprised of 52 aircraft units – a total of 68 units when Portugalia is included. From its headquarters based in Lisbon, Portugal, TAP Air Portugal mans domestic and international routes to over 60 destinations worldwide. Under its parent company, TAP Portugal, the airline operates in accordance with its slogan, “Voa mais alto,” which means, “Fly higher,” in English.
Company Profile
Famously known as TAP, TAP Air Portugal is actually the national airline of Portugal herself. With its main hub in Portela Airport in Lisbon, the airline has actually been an active member of Star Alliance since March of 2005. The hub located in Lisbon is actually one of the key European gateways found at the crossroads of North America, South America, and Africa. With its network comprised of 65 destinations in roughly 30 countries, the airline operates more than 1,600 flights in a week.
TAP Air Portugal History
Commercial services commenced a year after TAP Air Portugal was established, on 1946, to be specific. The first flight was from Lisbon to Madrid and the Douglas DC-3 was used for that flight. On December of the same year, the airline initiated Linha Aerea Imperial. This was actually a 12-stop service, which included Mozambique, Luanda, Angola and Lourenco Marques.
The following year, domestic flights from Lisbon to Porto and from Sao Tome to London then commenced. Apart from that, TAP Air Portugal also started providing flights to both Casablanca and Tangier in 1949. It was then in 1953 when the airline went on to become privatized.
TAP Air Portugal Subsidiaries
Over the years, TAP Air Portugal has garnered several subsidiaries. These include Portugalia, PGA Express, Air Macau, Macau Asia Express, TAP Maintenance and Engineering, VEM Maintenance and Engineering, Groundforce, TAP Servicos, TAP Tours, Academia Aeronautica de Evora, CateringPOR, Caravela, Megasis, UCS, and Lojas Francas de Portugal.
TAP Air Portugal Fleet
As for its fleet, the airline has several aircraft models included. These are:
- Airbus: A319-111, A319-112, A320-211, A320-212, A320-214, A321-211, A321-202, A330-223, A340-312, A350-800, and A350-900
- Embraer: Embraer ERJ 145
- Fokker: Fokker 100
- Beechcraft: Beechcraft 1900
