TAP Portgual is in the midst of change. With a partial sale of the airline to a consortium comprising of Azul Linhas Aéreas and Barraqueiro group (known as Atlantic Gateway), the future aircraft orders were always up for review.
Now the review is complete, TAP Portugal has been shopping for 53 new aircraft.
TAP Portugal will be ordering a mixture of single aisle and wide-body aircraft, split down:
- 15 Airbus A320neo
- 24 Airbus A321neo
- 19 Airbus A330-900neo
The existing order for 12 Airbus A350-900s that TAP holds will be replaced by the 19 Airbus A330-900neos.
TAP Portugal is an all-Airbus operator currently (operating A320 family, A330-200s and A340-300s), with its Portugália subsidiary operating Fokker 100 and Embraer E-145 aircraft.
With the A330neo fleet joining TAP, the airline is hoping these aircraft will help it go into new markets, as well as improve frequencies on existing services.
Certainly, the purchase of larger A321neos is a sign the airline is wanting to carry more passengers on dense routes (currently, the airline operates three A321ceo aircraft).
No delivery date has been set for these aircraft as yet.
However, for TAP Portugal to succeed – the airline will have to up its customer service game as well as its new aircraft joining the fleet.
That could be the tougher challenge as the airline adjusts to private ownership and commercial realities.
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