George Nugent Travels

This flight was the second leg of my itinerary from Glasgow to Lisbon. The first flight was Ryanair from Glasgow to Dublin which I will not review as it was a short flight.

This flight would be a series of firsts for me, it was my first time departing from Dublin, 1st time flying with TAP & my 1st time flying on an Embraer aircraft. As there were so many first time experiences I was not sure what to expect on this flight.

Continue reading to find out my experience with TAP and if I would fly with them again.

Flight Details

Flight Number – TP1327

Aircraft Type – Embraer 190

Seat Number – 8A

Departure Date – 08/07/2022

Price Paid – £66

Dublin Airport Experience

Having read the news before travelling I was expecting a long queue for security in Terminal 1. Unsurprisingly there was, however, this queue cleared in approximately 40 minutes and was full of staff assisting passengers.

Even though 40 minutes sounds like a long time for security, it could of, and has been, much worse than it was. Furthermore, I was travelling on a Friday night which is likely to be one of the busiest times of the week for the airport.

After security terminal 1 was very, very busy with people struggling to find places to eat and sit. Thankfully, Dublin Airport displays gate information well in advance so I headed to that area which was much less crowded.

The Delay

The scheduled departure of this flight was 1940, however, I had received a text message the morning before advising me of a 25 minute delay to this flight.

By the time I had cleared security this delay had increased to 50 minutes. TAP remained committed to this delay time for the next hour, before increasing the delay to 120 minutes.

That last delay meant a departure time of 2145, the only reasonable time they had provided considering the arrival time of the aircraft.

However, it soon became clear at the boarding gate that it would not be departing at 2145 due to the questionable decisions made by the gate staff.

Boarding

Boarding began at 2125 and it became clear very quickly that somewhere there was a breakdown in communication surrounding the use of face masks.

At the time of writing masks were not required in Dublin Airport, however, they were required on all TAP Air Portugal flights. Gate staff allowed passengers through the gate without masks, only to be stopped at the aircraft door to put one on.

Most passengers had a spare one in their bags and could put it on, however, some passengers found themselves without one. Gate staff then initially decided to let them enter the terminal and purchase one. This plan was quickly shut down by the gate supervisor who said it would not be possible.

Thankfully for those passengers another traveller had a spare packet of masks and kindly gave them to any passenger who needed one.

Once onboard we were greeted by the cabin crew and I quickly found my seat.

Pushback and a Possible Safety Demonstration

We pushed back from that gate just after 2150 and the crew took their positions for the safety demonstration.

On some airlines the safety demonstration is a pre-recorded audio announcement that the crew follow and demonstrate the relevant procedure at the correct time. On other airlines it is announced live by a member of the crew and is all done in real time.

In my experience, pre-recorded is always better and it is clear and is the same on every flight. TAP decided on this flight that it would be done live, and lets just say nobody on that flight could understand it. This would be fine if you fly on this aircraft type regularly, however, not everybody has meaning that would like to hear what the crew are saying.

After this we taxied to the runway and after a short wait finally took off at 2200.

In Flight Experience

Approximately 50 minutes after take-off the crew began the inflight service. This consisted of a buy on board snack service, however, this came with another catch.

TAP uses the same in flight menu on their Airbus and Embraer fleets, however, some products are not available on Embraer aircraft. This caught out some passengers who tried to purchase these products.

I did not purchase anything on this flight as I had food in the terminal, however, prices seemed reasonable compared to the other airlines who operate this route.

After the crew had finished the service the crew disappeared for the rest of the flight. Some of the crew did not even show themselves during the flight as they spent the entire flight in business class.

After a couple of hours we began our decent into Lisbon.

Landing in Lisbon

We landed in Lisbon at 0017 meaning our arrival was 102 minutes behind schedule. To make things worse, we arrived onto a remote stand away from the main terminal building. This was problematic for people like me who were planning on catching the metro which finished at 1am.

After a 5 minute drive we arrived at the terminal and we made our way to the border. As we were the only flight landing from outside the Schengen area there were no queues at the border.

UK passengers can use the automated e-gates at Lisbon Airport and then approach a border agent for a passport stamp. This makes the process faster than in countries that still insist you visit a manned counter, however, it is important to follow the rules that your destination country has in place.

My Final Thoughts

Overall, my TAP experience was rather underwhelming if I am honest. The boarding process was a shambles, a lengthy delay, a rather underwhelming on board service and a safety demonstration that nobody could understand all made the experience rather poor.

This was particularly disappointing given TAP is a member of the Star Alliance, which I have used frequently this year. Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines all provided a better level of service and a much more organised and seamless experience.

Ultimately I think I would give TAP another chance, however, I would not got out of my way to fly with them again. It is possible I just got the crew on a bad day and that it is usually better than this.

Furthermore, if I was to visit Portugal again, I would look to take a more direct itinerary. This routing was only selected as my original Lisbon flights from Birmingham with Jet2 were cancelled months in advance.