Note: This flight was taken in February 2022. Certain travel restrictions and service protocols described in this review may not be reflective of the current state of travel. I’ve shared the background of why I took this trip in an earlier post Introduction: The Three Year Chase. I do recommend reading that, to understand the context behind this trip.
TAP Air Portugal are known for having cheap transatlantic business class fares, as long as Portugal isn’t the origin or destination. Cheap isn’t necessarily good, and they have a reputation for being difficult to deal with when things go wrong. I first booked a flight on TAP for April 2020, as part of a USA trip that required me to fly into Europe first. Obviously, things didn’t go to plan due to the big C. TAP absolutely refused to refund the ticket in cash, and were only willing to issue a voucher, which I was basically forced to accept. I was desperate to get rid of the voucher, and this round-the-world trip offered that opportunity.
One of the reasons I initially wanted to try TAP – besides the relatively cheap fares – was because they were using the A330neo on several transatlantic routes. In fact, they were the launch customer for the A330-900. The A330s are actually one of my favourite aircraft in any class of travel, small overhead bins aside, so I was looking forward to trying this latest variant of the A330 family.
This flight turned out to be quite decent. TAP certainly can’t compete with the best Asian or Middle Eastern carriers or even the best of its fellow Europeans, but they’re perfectly acceptable. There was a little kerfuffle at check-in caused by the ever-changing Covid rules then, but onboard service was fine and the food was edible. The seat was modern and mostly comfortable, though not class-leading for sure. Considering their very reasonable transatlantic business class fares, I certainly wouldn’t mind flying them again if I need to cross the Atlantic and can’t find a redemption.
Booking
As mentioned, I had a voucher from a Covid-enforced cancellation. Using it was easy, just apply the voucher code at checkout. TAP operates to both JFK and Newark in New York. I would have liked to fly out of Newark to try and get into the Polaris lounge (though that’s in Terminal C and TAP flies out of B), but EWR didn’t have the A330-900 on the date I needed. So JFK it was. The cost of this one-way business class ticket from JFK to London-Gatwick via Lisbon was EUR1,227.46 (SGD1,758), of which I offset around EUR1,100 with the voucher i.e. the money I’d already sunk into TAP. It sounds expensive, but transatlantic business class fares can be very expensive, so this was probably at the low end.
On the Ground
Check-in
Here is where I totally stuffed up. It had somehow been seared into my brain that TAP operates out of Terminal 5. However, and this is totally on me, I missed that they were relocating to T1 as of 1st February 2022, just a few days before this flight. It was on the confirmation email and the online check-in notification. But I missed it all. The end result was me getting out of the cab at T5, walking around T5 confused trying to find the nonexistent TAP counters, realising my colossal screw up and literally running to the AirTrain to get to T5. To add insult to my self-inflicted injury, TAP still had balloons and were giving out gifts (some small Portuguese cake) to celebrate their move to T1!
I eventually got to the check-in desks 1h15min before the 10pm departure of TP210. Normally that’s sufficient buffer, but in Covid times, and with TSA precheck closed at that timing, I would have liked more time to spare. The queues were still pretty long, even at the premium queue there were a couple of passengers ahead of me.
When I got to the desk, the check-in agent refused to accept me without clearing with a supervisor. She insisted I needed a Covid test to transit Portugal (the UK didn’t require one for fully vaccinated arrivals), despite that requirement being removed for EU-recognised vaccination certificates, which the Singapore certificate qualifies. In fact, the Singapore vaccination certificate was EU DCC compatible. I was prepared for this of course, and had open on my phone a Portuguese government or some authority webpage clearly listing the Singapore certificate as acceptable. But the check-in agent still refused.
Eventually, the supervisor was able to attend to my case, while ducking in and out of an increasingly agitated argument with another passenger. I politely but firmly pointed out to him what the Portuguese authority stated on Singapore certificates being accepted. He took a look, checked my certificate then we went back to the check-in agent with a “he’s good to go”. This was thoroughly frustrating, but it was one of those pandemic-era travel challenges. I’m just glad those days are behind us now. I have to commend the supervisor for keeping his cool amidst the chaos of handling other, more difficult passengers. It also appeared there were some technical issues at the gate which he was trying to sort out.
Lounge
Unfortunately, there was no lounge to access at JFK T1. Lufthansa does operate a lounge at JFK T1, but it closed for the day before I could get through TSA security. At Lisbon, TAP also doesn’t have a lounge in the non-Schengen area. Being in transit, I opted not to attempt entering the Schengen zone to visit the lounge there.
This lack of lounge availability was rather annoying, given I’d had a full day out in NYC before the flight, and then had to run for the AirTrain. I would have loved a shower, but alas I couldn’t get one till I got to my hotel in London. The gap in lounge availability is definitely a huge drawback of flying TAP.
Boarding
The boarding gate was pretty chaotic. From what I could gather, the ground handling agent were having issues with the aerobridge. The crew were still sitting around the gate area 25min before departure. It was clear we weren’t departing on time, at 10pm. Indeed, boarding didn’t commence till around 9.55pm. Somehow, I missed the call for premium boarding, and only realised when they started calling the Economy boarding groups. I came across the supervisor from check-in, who quickly let me through before Economy boarding was in full swing.
Onboard
I eventually boarded the aircraft a little past 10pm. We pushed back around 45min late, but with the typical JFK taxi times and departure queue, we didn’t get airborne till almost an hour later, or almost 90min behind schedule. To be honest, I didn’t mind the delay, since I had a 3h transit and no lounge.
The Seat
On the A330-900, TAP has chosen the Recaro Aircraft Seating CL6710 for its business class seat. This is a staggered business class seat, with the middle seats alternating between “honeymoon” (together with just a narrow armrest in between) and “divorce” (separated by the centre console). On the A330-900, TAP has fitted 34 business class seats into a single cabin between doors 1 and 2.
One difference this Recaro has over a typical forward-facing staggered seat is that it’s not quite forward-facing. With the CL6710, the seats angle away from the direction of travel ever so slightly. The window-adjacent seats angle towards the window, while the aisle-adjacent seats angle towards the aisle. What’s the benefit of this design? The shallow angle allows for a reduced pitch (distance between the seat and the one in front). For airlines, this allows for a denser configuration, enabling them to pack in more seats. More seats = more money, if you can fill the seats of course.
To illustrate this differnce, Seatguru (yes I know not the most reliable source) lists the pitch on TAP’s A330-900 as 42-inches. Comparing to the staggered, true forward-facing Thompson Vantage XL which EVA has fitted on their 787s that I also flew last year, that is listed as 44-45 inches.
The drawback of this design for passengers is a narrow footwell. Taking the window-adjacent seats for example, there’s only that much space between the shell of the seat in front and the sidewall of the aircraft, and that’s the space the footwell can use.
I’m not blessed vertically, so when lying down the relatively tighter pitch of the footwell doesn’t bother me too much, but I can imagine it’ll be a problem for taller travellers. You can also see how dense the configuration is when the seat is in full-flat position. There’s not that much of it outside the footwell in that position.
Speaking of Recaro, I’m assuming they gave TAP a discount on the seats, and for that they got to slap their logo on the seats. It’s not often to see the manufacturer’s branding on aircraft seats.
My seat was 7A, a window-adjacent seat in the third-to-last row of the cabin. This allowed me to relatively near, but not too near the lavatories at door 2.
Unfortunately, the seat controls were of the soft-touch button variety i.e. not physical hard buttons. I really don’t like these sort of buttons on airplane seas. Quite frankly I’d rather a control wheel or even have it digitised on a tablet. My main gripe with these type of buttons is that they’re either not responsive, or too responsive. My other specific issue with the controls on this seat was that the symbols were white on grey background, making them washed out in bright light. It’s not so bad when the cabin is darker and the button illumination becomes more obvious.
The seat was fitted with a couple of storage options. The problem was that none of these were particularly big. Besides the main stowage compartment where the Recaro branding was, there was also a triangular compartment at seat base level, and a netted area for shoes.
One thing I did like about the seat was the tray table. It’s a single piece that slides out from under the IFE monitor. I prefer this sort of tray table design for a couple of reasons. Firstly, on most such seats it’s possible to move the tray table sufficiently to be able to get out of the seat, without fully stowing it. Compared to one that’s stowed in the side console, it’s simply impossible. Secondly, I find these sort of tables more stable, with less bouncing when typing on a computer. Not all are that firm, but I find this design tends to allow for a more solid table.
Because of the design of the seat shell, the IFE monitor is stowed at angle to the passenger. Unfortunately this means it has to be stowed for takeoff and landing.
Typical of business class seats nowadays, the seat has coat hook.
For the tech-equipped traveller, there’s a universal power outlet and USB-A charging port. These were positioned quite a low down on the side console, together with the headphone jack. I found the location rather awkward, and and device adapters will eat into the space to get in and out of the seat. Not a problem for aisle-adjacent seats, but definitely a problem in this window-adjacent seat. I had to remember to avoid my phone charger when moving in and out, otherwise I either end up with a bruised shin or sending the charger tumbling out.
For sure, this seat isn’t perfect. Nowhere near. The storage options are limited in capacity, and it’s not the most spacious, particularly with the relatively tight footwell. Visually, the whole cabin looks bland in colour too. There’s way too much grey and brown, with the flashes of bright green hidden away by stowage compartment enclosures. It’s still a lie-flat business class seat at the end of the day, and it’s not a bad seat. It’s just a little lacking, and there’s many better products out there, even with a similar staggered configuration.
Amenities
Waiting at the seat when I boarded was a pillow and blanket. These weren’t really great quality, the blanket was too scratchy for my liking. TAP also provides a soft pouch amenity kit. I thought the design was quite cute and colourful. I don’t recall what the contents were exactly, but I know there were definitely socks, a pen and some scented item.
Meal & Service
Service was better than I expected. Not super outstanding, but quite good. TAP appears to give some preferential treatment to Star Alliance Gold members too (I hold Star Gold as a KrisFlyer Elite Gold). In fact, I felt more recognised as a Star Gold on TAP than as a KF Elite Gold on Singapore Airlines.
The purser (or whatever TAP calls the most senior cabin crew member) came to introduce herself, and personally took my meal order. I saw her go to a handful of other passengers as well, but for everyone else the other crew members just went down the aisle. Prior to landing, the purser returned to inform me of the gate assignment for my onward flight to Gatwick. I thought that was a nice touch.
A full meal was served after departure from JFK. I did have a big dinner before heading to JFK, but I had the meal to give TAP’s food (or should I say their JFK caterer?) a try.
There was no pre-deprture drinks. Many foreign airlines don’t serve alcohol on the ground in the US anyway, due to alcohol tax and licensing issues. Service started with a drink and mixed nuts. Unfortunately, service was a bit slow, and only started around an hour after takeoff, which is not ideal on a fairly short overnight transatlantic hop. I requested for champagne, or sparkling wine, whatever it is that they were serving.
My meal was served around 20min after this. By this time it was almost quarter to 1am, which was late for a meal. Admittedly part of the timing was due to the delayed departure out of JFK. The appetiser and main were served together. I opted for the salmon with dill cream, cauliflower rice and vegetables.
I don’t remember anything about the appetiser, so it must have been edible but forgettable. The salmon was tasty, if slightly salty. Texture-wise it was on the dry side, no surprise for airplane food, but at least it wasn’t overly fishy.
For dessert, TAP serves a whole platter consisting of ice cream, fresh fruit and cheeses. The fresh fruit turned out to be mostly berries, and not very sweet either. The ice cream and cheese were fine, though unremarkable.
Overall, a very average meal. Nothing much to really complain about, but not memorable either. The food was edible at least, and it’s good to see TAP doesn’t stinge on dessert, offering all 3 items rather than a choice. Not that the dessert portions were big. The appetiser and main course portion were certainly quite reasonable, so no complains on that either.
Inflight Entertainment & WiFi
The entertainment selection was not the biggest. A decent variety of movies and TV shows, though the music selection was rather weak in my opinion. The A330-900 is equipped with inflight WiFI, and passengers get free messaging. Annoyingly, the system requires re-registering every hour or couple of hours, even though there’s technically no limit for messaging.
Conclusion
Flying on TAP Air Portugal was a pleasant experience, if slightly lacklustre for business class. The lack of lounge access at JFK and the non-Schengen zone of Lisbon airport is definitely a problem. Their propensity for operational issues isn’t welcome either. But as long as everything goes mostly smoothly, the value proposition is acceptable. It’s still a modern lie-flat business class seat, though rather tight. The service is good, and food edible but unremarkable. With their keen transatlantic fares, they’re certainly worthy of consideration for Star Alliance flyers looking for a wallet-friendly business class. Just bear in mind you get what paid (or didn’t pay for).
Bonus: Snippets from LIS-LGW
I won’t write a full review of my Lisbon to Gatwick flight, as it was just a standard euro-business flight. It was rather awkward to be the only passenger in business class. Somehow being the only passenger in First class on a 777 is fine, but in a business class on a euro-business A319 it felt weird. I thought the food out of Lisbon was actually better than out of JFK. The crew were fine, though not as nice as on JFK-LIS.
Other posts in this series:
- Introduction: The Three Year Chase
- Review: ANA 787-9 Business Class (SIN-NRT)
- Review: ANA 777-300ER ‘The Suite’ First Class (NRT-SFO)
- Review: Jetblue A321neo Mint Suite (LAX-JFK)