TAP Express (TAP standing for Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) is a Portuguese virtual carrier and regional airline brand name for TAP Air Portugal which operates short and medium-haul routes. Its head office is on the grounds of Lisbon Portela Airport in Lisbon. Currently, Portugália Airlines operates under the TAP Express brand.[1][2]
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| Founded | 2016 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Lisbon Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Porto Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | TAP Miles&Go | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 19 | ||||||
| Destinations | 23 | ||||||
| Parent company | TAP Air Portugal | ||||||
| Headquarters | Lisbon, Portugal | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Website | flytap.com | ||||||
History
editOn 14 January 2016, TAP Portugal announced that Portugália Airlines, its regional subsidiary, would be rebranded TAP Express as of 27 March 2016,[3] as part of the restructuring measures within the group, even though the company still operates as a wholly owned company of TAP Air Portugal. Mainline carriers often use regional airlines to operate services in order to increase frequency, serve routes that would not sustain larger aircraft, or for other competitive reasons.
Also on 14 January 2016, TAP Air Portugal also announced that the entire Portugália fleet consisting of Fokker 100 and Embraer ERJ-145 would be replaced by July 2016 with new Embraer 190 and ATR 72-600 aircraft (the latter operated by White Airways) which received a livery similar to that of TAP Portugal.[3] White Airways, an airline owned by Omni Aviation, operated for TAP Express until 2022.[4]
Fleet
editAs of November 2023, the TAP Express fleet consists of the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| Embraer 190 | 12 | — | — | 106 | 106 | |
| Embraer 195 | 7 | — | — | 118 | 118 | |
| Total | 19 | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ aviation.direct - "Portugália Airlines to be merged with TAP" (German) 15 April 2022
- ^ "TAP's Portugália Airlines adds maiden EMB-195".
- ^ a b atwonline.com - TAP Portugal creates TAP Express to replace Portugalia 15 January 2016
- ^ aerotelegraph.com (German) 3 November 2022
- ^ "TAP Fleet - Explore the TAP aircraft - TAP Air Portugal". www.flytap.com.
External links
edit Media related to TAP Express at Wikimedia Commons