NEW YORK and TORONTO, Dec. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAP Portugal today announced the addition of six new destinations to its global route network by July 2017, including Toronto, Canada, the airline’s fifth North American gateway.
TAP will also add five new European destinations: Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania; Las Palmas and Alicante, Spain; and Stuttgart, Germany. With these five new cities, TAP will serve 52 European destinations, adding more options to its popular Stopover program where travelers can enjoy a one, two or three day visit to Portugal on the way for no extra airfare.
The Stopover booking option is available on the flight search mode in the www.flytap.com site and TAP also has launched an innovative app, available from the Apple Store or Google Play.
The airline will also add additional flight frequencies in Europe to Madrid (departing Porto), Manchester, Moscow, Dusseldorf and Faro. These flights can be booked starting today.
The new service represents an 11% increase in operations, with 1,176 more flights than in same month year-over-year, representing an increase of 19 percent in seat capacity.
The growth planned for 2017 is in line with the expansion strategy TAP began in 2016, including the order of a new medium and long haul Airbus fleet (due for delivery by end of 2017); two additional A330 aircraft; the cabin retrofit of 48 aircraft currently in progress; the launch of the new brand TAP Express for regional operations; the new Lisbon/Oporto shuttle service; the launch of TAP Stopover and the addition of two routes to North America, with the re-launch of service from Boston and New York’s JFK.
Following the successful launch of the Lisbon/Porto shuttle and the frequency increases to both Madeira and the Azores, TAP will as of next summer increase operations from Lisbon to Faro, growing from three to four dailies, for a 33 percent increase in service.
In order to support the additional operations, the company will add another long haul aircraft (A330), two medium haul aircraft (A320F) and four Embraers to join TAP Express regional operations, increasing TAP's fleet from 80 to 87 aircraft in total.
TAP’s four US gateways are New York’s JFK, Newark, NJ, Boston, MA and Miami, FL. Currently TAP serves 46 European destinations from the US via Lisbon including: Portugal’s own Faro, Funchal, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Porto Santo, and Terceira; France’s Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, and Toulouse; Germany’s Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich; Italy’s Bologna, Milan, Rome, and Venice; Spain’s A Coruña, Astúrias, Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Valencia, and Vigo; the United Kingdom’s London and Manchester; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark; Geneva, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; City of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Moscow, Russia; Oslo, Norway; Prague, Czech Republic; Stockholm, Sweden; Vienna, Austria; Warsaw, Poland; and Zurich, Switzerland. TAP also serves Porto nonstop from Newark.
This month, Global Traveler magazine named TAP as "Best Airline in Europe" for the sixth consecutive year as well as delivering the "Best New Route Launch (Boston-Lisbon)."
About TAP Portugal
TAP is Portugal’s leading airline, and member of Star Alliance, the global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach, since 2005. In operation since 1945, TAP celebrated 70 years on March 14, 2015, and has completed its privatization process in 2015, with the Atlantic Gateway Group now as new private shareholders of its share capital. TAP's hub in Lisbon is a key European gateway at the crossroads of Africa, North, Central and South America, where TAP stands out as the international leading carrier in operation to Brazil. The company’s network currently comprises 77 destinations in 30 countries worldwide. TAP currently operates about 2,500 weekly flights on average with a modern fleet of 63 Airbus aircraft and 17 aircraft in TAP Express livery, operating in the company’s regional network, adding up to an 80 aircraft fleet total.
Within the vast restructure program currently going across the company as the outcome of its privatization process, TAP has announced its Network restructure, its medium and long haul fleet renewal program as of 2017 and the retrofit of the fleet currently in operation as well as the launch of the new branded product TAP Express, which replaced PGA and operates a new fleet of 8 ATR 72 and 9 Embraer 190.
In the pursuit of its customer focused policy, TAP continuously strives to deliver safe, reliable and upgraded products & services, tailored to meet customers’ expectations. Retaining the Portuguese character of the Company’s brand and quality service as the basic concept has been the main driver of TAP strategy in most recent years. Recognized and awarded as Europe’s Leading Airline to Africa as well as Europe’s Leading Airline to South America by the World Travel Awards in 2016, 2015 and 2014, the company was also awarded as the WTA World’s Leading Airline to Africa in 2011 and 2012 and the WTA World’s Leading Airline to South America in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, while the company’s In-flight magazine UP also received the WTA award as Europe’s Leading In-flight Magazine in 2015 and 2016. Voted Best Airline in Europe for the last six consecutive years including 2016 by Global Traveler, USA, the company was also honored by UNESCO and by the International Union of Geological Sciences with the IYPE “Planet Earth Award 2010”, in the category of “Most Innovative Sustainable Product”. TAP was also voted Best Airline by Condé Nast Traveller Magazine in 2010 and Best Portuguese Tourism Company by the specialized magazine Marketeer, in 2011.
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A STAR ALLIANCE MEMBER
Media contact: Gareth Edmondson-Jones GEJ, Ink 917 399-9355 GEJink@gmail.com
