The plane was small and one felt the turbulence much more. The lines to get through immigration were insanely long.
Our steward Margarida who served us from Lisbon to Boston was absolutely fantastic! She deserves a raise. Conscientious and thorough as well as showing appropriate attention for every need.
Comfortable but not Polaris or Delta comfort Business Class. Overall 7 out of 10
Not much to like. Check-in and bag drop procedures are a crowded, disorganized and confusing mess. Agents were grumpy and unhelpful, somehow expecting passengers to automatically know and understand the airline's procedures. Boarding was chaotic and included a stand-up, sardine-packed bus ride to a stairway pushed up to the aircraft out on the tarmac. Passengers were left waiting in the bus for a lengthy period on both ends. Flight departure and arrival were delayed by passengers scrambling to find space for bags in the overhead storage. Many passengers not in compliance with carry-on rules. Everything you could hate about flying in this ride.
A bit disappointing. Our business class seats were not cleaned from previous flight. They were also missing headphones and bottled water. Dining options were not always available.
Didn't get to go because connection flight was cancelled
The flight to Lisbon from Paris was quite pleasant. However, charging several Euros for each item of food left something to be desired. Further, there seemed to be no complimentary drinks, even water.
The flight crew was top notch. Total professionals, they worked to help everyone fit their luggage on board and get comfortable. Like many European airlines, dinner service included wine with no extra charge. Always a nice touch. On our layover, everyone needed to clear passport control, which looks like a horrible time sink when you have a connection. My compliments to the ground crew who tried to move people with tight connects to the front of the line. I don't know whether they were Air Portugal employees or not, but they were some people's heroes. I'm not a fan of airline pricing that doesn't give you a reasonably realistic idea of your total cost. Checked baggage on Air Portugal is very expensive and negates any other price advantage. Seat selection is also quite costly. My biggest complaint about this airline is their boarding process. There is no info available to passengers on the screens in the boarding lounges. Just long lines that stretch into other gate areas and too few people offering any clarifying info at all. Those who try to direct often ended up yelling into the crowd. On my last leg, they called for boarding groups over the PA system, but when I presented myself, I was sent back to the end of the single line even though others in later groups were ahead of me. It was a confusing mashup of two systems that left everyone disgruntled and took over an hour. I don't think I can recommend this airline if you have any other options.
I have been flying internationally for most of like. My first trip with TAP- wonderful! I look forward to flying with them more frequently in the future!
Flight was 2+ hrs late boarding. Delay updates were nonexistent. Boarding Gate change was by word of mouth.
