76th anniversary of TAP Air Portugal
TAP Air Portugal - A330-200 (CS-TOR) - Photo: AirTeamImages.com - Simon Willson
On March 14, the Portuguese airline TAP Air Portugal (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) will celebrate its 76th anniversary.
The airline came into existence on March 14, 1945, but its first flight took place the following year, on September 19, 1946, a flight between the Portuguese capital (Lisbon) and the Spanish capital (Madrid).
In the same year, TAP gave birth to what was called the Imperial Airline.
Photo: Jornal TAP
On the last day of 1946, TAP inaugurated the Imperial Airline, which was 24,540 kilometers long, with 12 stopovers and 15 days round trip. Created a year after the company's birth, the line christened by Humberto Delgado served the Lisbon - Luanda - Lourenço Marques route, fulfilling the dream of connecting Portugal to the Portuguese colonies in Africa.
The 1990s -
In 1990, the airline carried three million passengers in a single year for the first time and began purchasing European-made Airbus A320, A340, and A319 aircraft. By 2003, the airline was finally turning a profit, now operating a fleet of 40 aircraft before joining Lufthansa and United Airlines in the Star Alliance two years later.
TAP Air Portugal - Airbus A320neo (CS-TVB) - Photo: AirTeamImages - Steve Flint
When the JACDEC Airliner Safety Report was released in January 2011, TAP Air Portugal was ranked as the safest airline in Western Europe and the fourth safest in the world after Qantas, Finnair, and Air New Zealand.
In 2012, TAP Air Portugal was flying to 78 destinations in 34 countries.
JetBlue and Azul founder David Neeleman saw TAP Air Portugal's potential to be a more significant link between the Americas and Europe. In June 2015, together with Portuguese businessman Humberto Pedrosa, Neeleman, under the aegis of the Atlantic Gateway Consortium, acquired 61% of the Portuguese government's Portuguese carrier.
However, in February 2016, the new government immediately returned the majority stake to the state, leaving Neeleman and his partners with a 45% stake in the airline.
TAP Air Portugal - A330-900neo. Photo: Clement Alloing
On October 26, 2019, TAP said goodbye to its A340. It had been 25 years of history with the aircraft operated by TAP. The aircraft was replaced by the brand new A330-900neo, which would provide a 20% savings over the A340.
In the making: First A330neo to TAP Air Portugal
"TAP Air Portugal has taken delivery of the world’s first new-generation widebody A330neo and, as the launch airline, will be the first to benefit from the aircraft’s unbeatable operating economics, increased range, and Airbus’ new Airspace cabin offering passengers the best in class comfort. The Portuguese carrier will take delivery of a further 20 - A330-900s in the coming years." - Airbus.
The A330neo uses two modern Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 turbofan engines against the CFM56 frame of the A340-300.
The four CFM56 engines are virtually the same as those used in Airbus' smaller aircraft, the A320. The difference is in the ratio of air that actually passes through the turbine and outside, the so-called by-pass ratio.
Without going into technical details, the CFM56-5C4 engine on the A340-300 has this ratio of 6.4, compared to 5.9 for the CFM56-5B6 that powers most A320s worldwide. This small modification to increase the by-pass ratio has caused the air to be more compressed, generating 10,000 pounds of extra thrust needed to lift a much heavier jet, but still requires four engines.
July 2020 -
In July 2020, the Portuguese government made a deal with the shareholders and took control of TAP, with the stake increasing from 50% to 72.5% of the airline's shares.
"To avoid the collapse of the company, the state chose to reach an agreement with the private shareholders to buy part of their stake and obtain 72.5% of TAP, gaining control," said João Leão, the Portuguese government's finance minister.
The acquisition of the 22.5% cost 55 million euros, the country's finance minister said.
TAP currently has one of the youngest fleets in Europe. Under the direction of Davi Neeleman, the American-Brazilian businessman, it had a fleet modernization plan, to which 53 new planes were ordered, 14 of which were the new Airbus A330-900neo.
TAP Air Portugal - A321neo - Retro Livery (CS-TJR) - Photo: AirTeamImages - Rui Alves
With the new fleet of aircraft, TAP was growing exponentially, providing flights between Lisbon and Porto to cities in North America and other destinations in the American continent and other parts of the world.
With the pandemic, the company, as well as the entire aviation industry, has been suffering significant losses due to flight cancellations around the world and on its routes.
TAP Air Cargo -
TAP Air Cargo has already been operating since the start of the pandemic within the global trend of using passenger planes as freighters since 2020. Since the demand for cargo to transport vaccines and medical supplies will grow, the company painted a plane in the colors of its cargo division.
The Airbus A330-200, CS-TOP, was named Pedro Nunes after the famous Portuguese mathematician, navigator, and cartographer. The plane was delivered in 2008 directly from Airbus to TAP. On normal days before the coronavirus pandemic, it carried up to 269 passengers, 25 in Bussiness Class and 244 in Economy Class.
With mass vaccination in Portugal and other countries around the world, the trend is that aviation will gradually return to normal, and the airlines will be able to reverse their losses and resume operations.
TAP Air Portugal flight statistics on the RadarBox:
TAP Air Portugal aircraft utilization statistics on the RadarBox:
