Easter Holiday 2024. Danny and Sam visited Porto in February, I visited the capital, Lisbon, in April with Steve, Philippe and Nicolas. I had my free week during a school holiday and as the boys work in education, I made the best of it. We chose Portugal for its convenience and our hope for fair weather. It wasn’t our first time in Lisbon, but my  last visit dated from 2004. Twenty years is a long time. We had three full days. 

We flew economy with TAP Air Portugal. Transportes Aéreos Portugueses. The other option is obviously Brussels Airlines, but TAP Air Portugal offered a better price and timetable.

TP645, Brussels Airport, Belgium to Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport, Portugal.
Airbus A319-112, CS-TTS.
Scheduled departure 20:55 (8.55 PM).
Scheduled arrival 22:45 (10.45 PM).
Actual departure: 21:15 (9.15 PM).
Actual arrival: 22:49 (10.49 PM).
Brussels is on CET, Lisbon on GMT.

We booked the cheapest option. No checked luggage, no choosing seats. But at online check-in some 36 hours before the flights, we were put together on row 12, which was fine. 

Upon arriving at the gate, the attendant spotted us. “Do you want to check your bags?” No, we were fine. Turns out it wasn’t a question, really. With a cardboard box, she ‘measured’ our trolley, barely making an effort. It made me think of the Johnny Cochran line “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit” in the OJ Simpson trial. 

Our bags didn’t fit, but we weren’t acquitted. At least the attendant made us ‘priority’ so we could get on the plane early and our bags would roll out faster. This gate-checking mania irritates me and I’ll probably write a rant post on the subject later. 

But being priority, I got to be the very first passenger on the plane, which is a first for me. 

The cabin

The cabin is configured in a 3-3 seating setting. The first ten or eleven rows were different to the rear rows. Seats with red headrests featured an extra tablet for a phone and is just of a different type. Probably you pay extra for those. 

We had seats with green headrests. Thez seats are very basic, a very small amount of padding. They’re hard and and there’s very little legroom. I can’t say it’s (very) comfortable. But this is standard nowadays on short-haul flights. 

There is no in-flight entertainment. 

Catering

Catering is not included. Prices are okay and the catering service is very unsurprising. Very standard. Nicolas had a chocolate muffin. Philippe and Steve had also muffins and shared a Mateus rosé and white wine. I had nothing, having eaten at Belgorama at Brussels Airport before. 

The flight was uneventful. Having so little legroom, I was glad the flight was over. 

Return flight

TP642, Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport in Portugal to Brussels Airport in Belgium.
Airbus A320-214, CS-TNK.
Scheduled departure 11:25 (11.25 AM).
Scheduled arrival 15:10 (3.10 PM).
Actual departure: 12:26 (12.26 PM).
Actual arrival: 15:40 (3.40 PM).
Lisbon is on GMT, Brussels on CET.

The return flight was very similar so doesn’t warrant a separate post. Again we had to gate-check our bags. Again little legroom. As the flight left with an hour’s delay, many people rushed to the toilet. 

But apart from that, the flight was uneventful.

So? 

TAP Air Portugal follows European short-haul air travel trends for economy of offering no thrills, gate-check cabin luggage and no included catering. The legroom is limited, as is (becoming) the norm.

Staff were mostly friendly (enough). While I wouldn’t per se recommend TAP, I also wouldn’t discourage you booking TAP.