Outlining TAP Air Portugal’s North American Expansion Strategy

TAP Air Portugal is currently undergoing a significant transformation strategy that gears towards transporting passengers between North America, Europe and North Africa through Portugal. Since the carrier’s partial privatization in 2015, JetBlue’s founder David Neeleman has been involved in leading a consortium of investors looking to boost the Portuguese carrier’s potential with more routes, operating a young, fuel-efficient fleet and a strong service focus to become a major carrier of choice for passengers crossing the Atlantic. For such, TAP is in the process of receiving 76 Airbus aircraft, including 21 A330neos and 16 A321LRs to replace its aging fleet. So far, the Portuguese carrier has received seven A330-900s, with the first delivered in November 2018 and one A321LR delivered in April of this year. With new fuel-efficient aircraft, the airline is in the process of doubling its capacity in North America. TAP will go from serving three North American destinations in 2018 to nine by the end of the year. In total, the Portuguese carrier will add 13 new international destinations throughout the year.