Best and most credible TAP review on TH-cam. Thanks! Unfortunately I searched for this after I booked. Hope I will be lucky in terms of delays and cancelations.
You are welcome and thank you for watching. News articles suggest TAP is going to be sold in the coming months, so we will see if a new owner will bring on positive change.
Your experiences are similar to ours. We just returned to NY from Seville and used TAP for the second time. I could not book through their website and finally booked through Cheapoair. Only one of our flights was delayed. The on-board service was excellent.
Thank you for such a thorough review of your experience with TAP. I will be traveling to Lisbon in a couple of months and your experience with checking baggage size and weight right before the flight definitely is one of my bigger stressors. I checked the TAP website for the carry-on dimensions which are 55x40x20cm / 22x16x8in, but my carry-on luggage has 9in depth. Have you had any issues with baggage size and weight before? I was hoping that I would be able to slide by since my carry-on is just about the correct dimensions but unfortunately that doesn't seem like the case when I fly back from Lisbon.
We have luggage that would be considered "European size", as it fits in the little bin TAP puts out by the gate area when you board. About 50% of the time, they require us to check the bag, either before we scan our boarding pass, or, as we wait in the jetway! This is not for a turbo-prop or small aircraft, it is for the regular fleet at TAP. Honestly, it all depends on what kind of day the gate representative is having. We had priority boarding, meaning we were the 5th and 6th people on the plan and were asked to check our legal carry-on sized luggage. We got on the plane and of course, every storage bin was empty. The flight attendant said it was not her call, it was the gate agents. Typical blame game. That same luggage was fine to carry onto a turbo prop plane which has smaller storage bins. Logic is in short supply with TAP. I would think of it this way. Assume your bag is going to get checked prior to boarding. If it does not, consider yourself lucky. It all depends on who is at your gate for the flight...
I've only just begun searching for flights US > Lisbon. TAP certainly has a price advantage and other videos about the onboard experience are positive. But you've put the fear of god into me regarding the preflight experience. Not sure where to go from here.
We have flown TAP maybe 40 times since we moved to Lisbon. In flight, it is a great experience. It's everything leading up to the flight. Getting tickets can be a pain. Every time, and I do mean every time we have booked tickets, it has taken us several tries to do so. Meaning, their website stops working so you lose the info you put in. More often, it will freeze between screens, so you have your flights picked, and when you go to add your name, their site stops working or gives an error. Trying to book tickets using any mobile phone is useless. Once you get through to book tickets, however many tries, you can get frustrated at the gate. Each flight we have taken, they have 1-2 reps coming around trying to nickel and dime by getting you to ticket your perfectly good carry-on luggage. We had small bags by even EU carryon standards, had priority with an "A" ticket, and the reps kept asking us to check our bags. We kept telling them no and then asked to speak to their manager. Only then did they move on to the next, but everyone, locals and foreigners is tired of the nickel and diming. TAP is usually referred to by locals as "Take Another Plane" for good reason. Again, the flight itself is great and the inflight personnel are awesome. It's everything that happens before you get on the plane, that stinks.
The in flight experience is great. It's just the website/app and the check-in that makes you not want to fly them. We do fly them when there are no other options, but have lowered our expectations compared to every other airline.
Although all of their online platforms are terrible (app/website), the flying experience from gate to gate is really nice. Hoping you have a good flight experience with TAP.
@@paulanthony6931 Getting the ticket is half the battle. We have flown TAP to and from Boston and from Newark and felt the flight was great, with very good service from the flight attendants.
We use TAP as it offers the most destinations to the most places when flying out of Portugal. In-flight is fantastic. Everything leading up to it is less than desirable. It is referred to by locals as "Take Another Plane."
@@traveltidbitsrus Thank you for responding. I would appreciate more information regarding your experience with stop overs, and all the issues you have encountered, if you don't mind sharing.
@@kimberlywilliams5212 You read about the luggage issue. We have had to deplane after a long delay, have missed connections, and had 2 plus hour delays which caused us to miss a connection or we needed to run to catch the connection.
Depending on your flight, they may serve a dinner and breakfast. We have flown TAP internationally twice back to the States. Once we got two meals, one time we got nothing other than snacks.
If you miss a connecting flight, do they make you buy a new ticket? Or do they switch you easily to a later flight? If I miss connection, do I have to call them( i.e.wait +/-1 hr.), To get onto later flight that day? Will they just issue you a new ticket at the counter once they say you missed your connection.... probably due to that passport line???
You gotta speak to TAP about it. You can do it in person, but if you do any search of TAP on youtube or news about the airlines, no one can really answer the questions you are asking...And I wish I could!!
TAP is the worst airline that I ever flown. My return flight from Heathrow got cancelled on September 29, 2023 without any further explanation. After a long discussion to the customer service in the airport , I was able to rebooked my flight but it was a nightmare during the processed and TAP representative check in counter was trying to check in all my group carry on baggage with acceptable sizes to make extra money. TAP incoming flight are not using the jet bridge, jetway or sky bridge instead planes landed at the very end of the airport using stairs with overloaded bused to transport passengers to the terminals. Before you book TAP think thousand times so you won't disappoint.
Can't agree with you more. It is the only airline in Europe before each flight, the gate rep goes out of their way to weigh or nickel and dime people on luggage. We do use them for some routes, but we try to use any other airline. TAP is often referred to as "Take Another Plane."
I have to fly to France in June landing at Orly airport,their Executive class airfare is almost $800.00 cheaper than Air France,Delta,AA,United..but i don't think all the stress you go through with Tap,is worth the savings..
@@traveltidbitsrus I will keep up to date...it's too early to book my flight in June,so will wait until i get the right business class fare..so far it's $3,500 with the major carriers,TAP was $2,700...
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
Best and most credible TAP review on TH-cam. Thanks! Unfortunately I searched for this after I booked. Hope I will be lucky in terms of delays and cancelations.
You are welcome and thank you for watching. News articles suggest TAP is going to be sold in the coming months, so we will see if a new owner will bring on positive change.
Your experiences are similar to ours. We just returned to NY from Seville and used TAP for the second time. I could not book through their website and finally booked through Cheapoair. Only one of our flights was delayed. The on-board service was excellent.
Great job on this video!
Thank You
Thanks for the in depth review! I’ve booked two flights now with Tap and you’re spot on, the website and app are disasters.
You are welcome.
Great review, I fly with TAP and I totally agree with everything that you said
Thank You. I don't like being negative, but so many of us have had complaints about this airline. It needs to be sold or completely overhauled.
Thank you for such a thorough review of your experience with TAP. I will be traveling to Lisbon in a couple of months and your experience with checking baggage size and weight right before the flight definitely is one of my bigger stressors. I checked the TAP website for the carry-on dimensions which are 55x40x20cm / 22x16x8in, but my carry-on luggage has 9in depth. Have you had any issues with baggage size and weight before? I was hoping that I would be able to slide by since my carry-on is just about the correct dimensions but unfortunately that doesn't seem like the case when I fly back from Lisbon.
We have luggage that would be considered "European size", as it fits in the little bin TAP puts out by the gate area when you board. About 50% of the time, they require us to check the bag, either before we scan our boarding pass, or, as we wait in the jetway! This is not for a turbo-prop or small aircraft, it is for the regular fleet at TAP. Honestly, it all depends on what kind of day the gate representative is having. We had priority boarding, meaning we were the 5th and 6th people on the plan and were asked to check our legal carry-on sized luggage. We got on the plane and of course, every storage bin was empty. The flight attendant said it was not her call, it was the gate agents. Typical blame game. That same luggage was fine to carry onto a turbo prop plane which has smaller storage bins. Logic is in short supply with TAP. I would think of it this way. Assume your bag is going to get checked prior to boarding. If it does not, consider yourself lucky. It all depends on who is at your gate for the flight...
I've only just begun searching for flights US > Lisbon. TAP certainly has a price advantage and other videos about the onboard experience are positive. But you've put the fear of god into me regarding the preflight experience. Not sure where to go from here.
We have flown TAP maybe 40 times since we moved to Lisbon. In flight, it is a great experience. It's everything leading up to the flight. Getting tickets can be a pain. Every time, and I do mean every time we have booked tickets, it has taken us several tries to do so. Meaning, their website stops working so you lose the info you put in. More often, it will freeze between screens, so you have your flights picked, and when you go to add your name, their site stops working or gives an error. Trying to book tickets using any mobile phone is useless. Once you get through to book tickets, however many tries, you can get frustrated at the gate. Each flight we have taken, they have 1-2 reps coming around trying to nickel and dime by getting you to ticket your perfectly good carry-on luggage. We had small bags by even EU carryon standards, had priority with an "A" ticket, and the reps kept asking us to check our bags. We kept telling them no and then asked to speak to their manager. Only then did they move on to the next, but everyone, locals and foreigners is tired of the nickel and diming. TAP is usually referred to by locals as "Take Another Plane" for good reason. Again, the flight itself is great and the inflight personnel are awesome. It's everything that happens before you get on the plane, that stinks.
Going to Spain in Nov. Air Portugal has been the best priced but I’m so hesitant and so many reservations. Thanks for your review
The in flight experience is great. It's just the website/app and the check-in that makes you not want to fly them. We do fly them when there are no other options, but have lowered our expectations compared to every other airline.
I agree, website is weak, customer service is terrible. In flight experience used to be good, although I have not traveled recently.
Thank you sir for the review. I will fly TAP for the first time from SFO (layover Lisbon) to Barcelona.
Although all of their online platforms are terrible (app/website), the flying experience from gate to gate is really nice. Hoping you have a good flight experience with TAP.
Thank you Mr. McLean, headed there this end of the month. First time time to use TAP. Have a bless day.
@@paulanthony6931 Getting the ticket is half the battle. We have flown TAP to and from Boston and from Newark and felt the flight was great, with very good service from the flight attendants.
Thank you for a very thorough and comprehensive review
Thank You!
Thanks for the information.
Any time!
As a first time international flyer, I found this quite interesting.
We use TAP as it offers the most destinations to the most places when flying out of Portugal. In-flight is fantastic. Everything leading up to it is less than desirable. It is referred to by locals as "Take Another Plane."
After difficulties with getting a refund for a flight TAP cancelled, I will never book with TAP again and recommend no one else do either.
Geez, I'm really scared to book with them now. The website is the first impression. I'm trying to fly to London and this is not looking so good.
We still fly TAP, but only when we have no other options. You may want to see if Ryanair, British Airways, or American with get you there.
This is such an awesome and thorough review. Have you ever experienced a TAP stopover?
I have. As I mentioned in the video, I feel the flight crews are really good and helpful. We have experienced delays and issues with stopovers.
@@traveltidbitsrus Thank you for responding. I would appreciate more information regarding your experience with stop overs, and all the issues you have encountered, if you don't mind sharing.
@@kimberlywilliams5212 You read about the luggage issue. We have had to deplane after a long delay, have missed connections, and had 2 plus hour delays which caused us to miss a connection or we needed to run to catch the connection.
I would be coming from Chicago to Lisbon. Do they serve a few meals on TAP?
Depending on your flight, they may serve a dinner and breakfast. We have flown TAP internationally twice back to the States. Once we got two meals, one time we got nothing other than snacks.
@@traveltidbitsrus Thank you!
TAP has turned into a low cost airline. The charge 2.50 for a bottle of water.
If you miss a connecting flight, do they make you buy a new ticket? Or do they switch you easily to a later flight? If I miss connection, do I have to call them( i.e.wait +/-1 hr.), To get onto later flight that day? Will they just issue you a new ticket at the counter once they say you missed your connection.... probably due to that passport line???
You gotta speak to TAP about it. You can do it in person, but if you do any search of TAP on youtube or news about the airlines, no one can really answer the questions you are asking...And I wish I could!!
They lost my baggage, no cloths no méditations, They ruined my vacation
Sorry to hear this!
TAP is the worst airline that I ever flown. My return flight from Heathrow got cancelled on September 29, 2023 without any further explanation. After a long discussion to the customer service in the airport , I was able to rebooked my flight but it was a nightmare during the processed and TAP representative check in counter was trying to check in all my group carry on baggage with acceptable sizes to make extra money. TAP incoming flight are not using the jet bridge, jetway or sky bridge instead planes landed at the very end of the airport using stairs with overloaded bused to transport passengers to the terminals. Before you book TAP think thousand times so you won't disappoint.
Can't agree with you more. It is the only airline in Europe before each flight, the gate rep goes out of their way to weigh or nickel and dime people on luggage. We do use them for some routes, but we try to use any other airline. TAP is often referred to as "Take Another Plane."
I used tap from uk to porto i never use it again ever very bad sirvice 0 at 10 every thing have to pay i never see airlines like tap ever
Good information. Thank you.
I have to fly to France in June landing at Orly airport,their Executive class airfare is almost $800.00 cheaper than Air France,Delta,AA,United..but i don't think all the stress you go through with Tap,is worth the savings..
There is talk of the airline being sold in the coming months and with it, hopefully, some positive changes.
@@traveltidbitsrus I will keep up to date...it's too early to book my flight in June,so will wait until i get the right business class fare..so far it's $3,500 with the major carriers,TAP was $2,700...