ljgs

Flying TAP tomorrow from Newark to Lisbon, leaving at 6:15 pm. Later changing planes from Lisbon to Venice. I've heard conflicting things about this airline. Some say avoid it, you'll be treated like dirt and fed worse. My cleaning lady, who is Portuguese and goes home frequently, says it's fine--on time, with good food and great service, including wine and beer even in economy.

Anyone take this flight or fly on any flight with TAP lately???

dhammer53

I have.

I flew TAP 2 weeks ago in business EWR/LIS.
Your cleaning lady is right. If you're from Portugal, you won't have a problem. I think that Europeans may have a lower expectation of service than American based flyers. I'm not saying the service is bad. What I'm saying is that the flight attendants know how to speak English, airline English.

Just as an example I asked for 2 bottles of scotch to go (they say 'take away'.) That wasn't the problem. The flight attendants didn't have a clue what I was talking about. And yes, I spoke slowly. There were lots of these little things that over the course of the flight that made me go

The food upfront was fine. No problems in that department (except that they serve some of the side dishes wrapped under clear wrap). Let's just say that TAP was amazing in so many ways.

Check out the Other European Carriers forum for additional info. http://flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=469 Just keep reading back over the past couple of months and you'll see some TAP threads.
I flew them on a UA award ticket. They were the only carrier that had availability.

Check out the STAR Alliance forums too. http://flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=413

I'd only fly TAP as a last resort.

ljgs, Welcome to Flyertalk.

FYI, the Moderators may move this thread over to the Other European Airlines forum.

Alphaguy

If it was TAP or US across the Atlantic, I'd take TAP and smile....

Sure.. they aren't LH or United, but on-time, reliable and edible food... heads and tails above the current US prodcut which could have been an available choice!

Ocn Vw 1K

lgjs, welcome to FlyerTalk. Let me seamlessly move this to our Other European Airlines forum for additional help. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz

cruisr

Here were the 4 choices for dinner: Fish, Fish, Fish, Mystery Meat (I think it was chicken). No rum, lousy wine, broken seat (There was a few empty so I was able to switch) Lousy service.

You use the Virgin Flyways CLub at EWR. Thought that woiuld be great as I love that lounge. Wrong...No meal service at the FC until after the TAP flight leaves.

My advise, eat something before you leave. The only reason I flew them was that it was the only airline I could get seats on using a *A award.
If you can get the bulkhead seats, these are the best.

ljgs

Thanks, all, for your warm welcome and for the info. I suspect I'll be packing a little sandwich or sushi in my carry-on so as not to be subjected to the mystery meat of the previous post. TAP was the cheapest flight I could find to Italy and back. The one consolation is that I learned the flight is not full. Anyone have any opinions on the check-in process--usually long or not too bad?

Eastbay1K

I was on the route in late July. I'd mostly agree with dhammer53. My crew spoke English better than his I thought the food was pretty "not so good" and the front cabin seat was awful (on the A340) as well as the IFE. But the service was very nice. The crew was very attentive and nice. The VS lounge @ EWR was the pits. Dingy, dark, and nothing to eat. The wine glasses were nice, however.

The good news is the flight is only 6 hours.

My fish was just about the texture of bacalhau in the state you'd buy it in a store.

LatAmCommuter

Don't expect too much.

I flew TAP once in May of this year SSA-LIS and then on to FRA (Saving grace that LIS-FRA was actually operated by LH) in Business Class (they call it Top Executive).

Food was OK, service not outstanding. Immigration to enter the EU in Lisbon is deplorable. The Portuguese are EXTREMELY slow.

On the way back, TP delayed the flight LIS-SSA 3 hours and put us in a dilapidated charter A310 from an outfit called White, Colored by you. This charter A310 could not make the 8 hour nonstop LIS-SSA without refueling, so they stopped us in Natal. This flight was horrible and my knees ached from this 20 inch pitch "Business Class" seat. I wrote 2 letters to TAP and copied UA and Star Alliance. I NEVER heard from TAP.

I WILL NEVER FLY THEM AGAIN!!!!! I WILL GO OUT OF MY WAY TO BE ON LH, UA, KL OR CO.

Good Luck

jacob_m

Tap isn't the very best of airlines around but I still tend to defend them, I believe there is a good amount of cultural differences involved, the FAs are Portuguese and think and behave like Portuguese people in general which is a bit more low-key than e.g. Americans, it's also a culture where I think people don't want to be too intrusive.
Might be a good idea to keep this in mind.

I can't say I've had any bad experiences with TAP except the terrible punctuality.

In all fairness scotch is a fairly American word which typically isn't used in Europe, but I guess an FA flying regularly to the US should know it/have heard it before.

Golden

pay peanuts get peanuts!! Don't expect much and you will be fine. TAP is never a first choice but if on a budget one is happy to find a reasonable fare.

dhammer53

We used the SAS lounge at EWR. They had an assortment of light edibles, such as sliced turkey and cheese.

I asked one of the flight attendants if he felt Americans gave them a hard time. he said no. He also told me they've all flown to the states hundreds of times. He followed that up with 'we brush up on our English watching CNN.' LOL!

dh

hscholz

I've been on the new HAM-LIS route for a short trip last weekend.
On my flight into LIS I was suprised that I'd get a full/warm breakfast on a 3h flight. The A319 could use some paint and still had ashtrays in the armrests. I slept most of the time and did not care that much.

LIS airport itself was smelly and had a cramped subway-station feel to it. I had to wait almost an hour for my luggage. Feedback from fellow travelers was that this is normal and ground staff tends to be slow.

My flight back was worse:
http://www.wormulon.net/pic/2007_09_...22-07.jpg/1024

In a nutshell: old A319, old interior and bad service. I asked for a red wine and water to go with the chicken (no choice) but all I got was water.
There were lots of delayed flights out of LIS that sunday evening - as was mine.

I'd prefer to not fly TAP again but instead use Swiss and hop through ZRH for my weekend trips but at 82 Euro for the weekend (and 125 status miles just credited to my M&M account ) it wasn't bad.

flyingsaucer

Just had a great return flight on TAP (LHR - OPO)
Friendly staff, comfortable seats, okay food, plenty of wine, OPO is cleanest airport I have ever seen and puts LHR to shame.

You want to go where?

I had a decent business class flight Lisbon - Luanda recently. Admittedly, it wasn't the quality of LH, BA, or AF business class, but I would put it at or above U.S. airlines business class level. It certainly beat out El Al (ex JNB) in the food department.

Pincus

Do I sense some improvement in service from TAP here?

Pincus