TAP Portugal

[dv9mrsm]

Has anyone flown on this airline? Right now it is offering our the cheapest flight to BCN in June. I looked up some reviews on online and they were mixed, most of them were also from years ago. Can anyone provide more current info. I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[fti]

I would take pretty much any foreign airline over any American airline for international travel. But I have not had firsthand experience with TAP.

 

John

[jt1436]

my husand flew with them last year, from the uk to cape verdi, they lost his and 3 freinds luggage going and the return flight. all luggage turned up, but a week later each time. also they all found that the airline people he dealt with didnt understand english very well. hope this helps

[woody14h]

When I was a frequent flyer we used to say that TAP meant "Take Another Plane".

TAP was the only airline that when smoking was allowed had the smoking section on the left side of the plane and non smoking on the right. Go figure.

 

Today they are no better or no worse than any other line. Check the seat guru for pitch et. al. of the seats. I remember there was less seat space than American planes. Alitalia was the worse IMHO.

[Trece]

Woody14h, I LIKE that one, and I'd second it. My two cents is also outdated (November 2005) but for what it's worth....

 

We had open jaw frequent flyer tickets on United, with the return segment being from Lisbon to (I think) Dulles on TAP, which had just become a Staralliance partner. United issued us e-tickets for the entire itinerary. As a Staralliance member, these e-tickets were supposed to be accepted by TAP. We got to Lisbon airport at the crack of dawn (actually, earlier than the crack) and all was proceeding normally, down to our luggage being weighed and tagged and our boarding passes printed, when suddenly out of the blue the agent demanded paper tickets. I said we had no paper tickets, only the e-ticket issued by United. She again demanded paper tickets. I said we had none. Around and around. She could SEE our reservation on her computer, she could SEE that I had called ahead for seat assignments, obviously we had identification, but without paper tickets she would not give us the boarding passes. Higher-ups were called, there were at least six of us at one point, I was in tears - didn't matter. We missed our flight, there was/is no United desk at Lisbon airport, TAP refused us any assistance in making other arrangements, it took the intervention of a wonderful Lufthansa (Staralliance) agent for several hours to get us on a flight to Frankfurt, and from there we were flown to JFK (our car was parked in CT). Several expensive phone calls to the US had to be made, my Mom had to book us last minute transportation from JFK to our home, our animals had to be boarded an extra night, we had to make a special trip the next day to the CT airport to retrieve our car - all because TAP would not accept the e-ticket that it was supposed to accept as a Staralliance member.

 

I'd like to think it was because it was very soon after TAP became a member of Staralliance, but if I had a choice I surely would Take Another Plane.

[dv9mrsm]

Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

[makai 7]

My experience is a bit dated but...

We flew TAP to Lisbon from NJ in 2002, planning to arrive 2 days early for sightseeing before boarding SeaDream1 for the crossing.

 

They lost our luggage and were not very helpful.

We had to return to the airport 24 hours after arrival to again be told we had no luggage, and they didn't know when it might arrive, and then gave us 100 euros each in compensation.

They insisted we provide the combination to the baggage locks (this is before the new locks now available) so the luggage could be opened for customs if needed.

 

So, 14 day cruise on Seadream, with no clothing. We spent our time at El Corte Ingles (Department store) trying to buy the minimum needed to spend 14 days at sea.

 

Sea dream helped track the luggage down and TAP claims that they forwarded both bags to Tenerife for us.

At Tenerife there was only one bag (wife's luggage) even though they insist they sent two.

 

Fast forward two weeks to Florida. Bag #2 is waiting for us at the pier. Bag is locked, but seems a bit light. :confused:

We were late arriving and had to rush to the airport, so couldn't open the bag until we arrived home.

 

Husband opens bag at home. It is 1/2 empty. Anything of value is gone. Toiletry kit, razor, dress shirts (monogrammed!), dress pants, swim trunks, jacket, hat, shoes, etc. Only items remaining are white t-shirts, underwear, and socks, plus spare prescription glasses.

 

TAP claims no responsibility (they had the combination and the bag was LOCKED when we received it!). They compensate lost items by weight only (read small print) to the tune of approximately $40 US.

Fortunately we had travel insurance and they covered the loss.

 

DOn't fly TAP if you actually want any of your luggage to arrive with you!

[Globaliser]

TAP claims no responsibility (they had the combination and the bag was LOCKED when we received it!). They compensate lost items by weight only (read small print) to the tune of approximately $40 US.

 

Fortunately we had travel insurance and they covered the loss.

As an aside, this goes for most airlines. Your protection against lost baggage (including theft) is from your travel insurance, not from the airline's very limited liability to you in relation to baggage.