TAP Air Portugal is optimistic about expanding more in the U.S., Chief Customer Officer Sofia Lufinha shared. The Portuguese flag carrier announced a batch of new routes starting this summer, including Porto to Boston, Terceira to San Francisco, and Lisbon to Los Angeles.
The City of Angels will become TAP’s eighth U.S. destination when it launches on May 16. Initially, flights will operate three times per week, before an additional flight is added on May 25.
In the past several years, TAP has continued to bolster links between the U.S. and Portugal. In 2019, the carrier began serving Washington Dulles and Chicago O’Hare, both of which are hubs for its Star Alliance partner United.
(Photo: TAP Air Portugal)
What’s on the Horizon
During an interview with AirlineGeeks on Friday, Lufinha added that the airline has big plans in the U.S. even beyond its previously announced routes for summer 2025.
“ There’s huge opportunities in the U.S., and we are exploring all the routes and even increasing frequencies, which is something that we still have opportunities to do,” she shared.
Beyond its network, the carrier has made other investments in the market. Partnering with Avianca, TAP opened its first branded lounge outside of Portugal in Miami last week.
“ This is something that we are really keen to offer to our customers to have a very comfortable journey and also to bring a bit of Portugal to Miami,” Lufinha continued. “Indeed, Miami is a [very important market] for TAP. And the U.S. as a whole is a very important market for TAP with the big growth in the last [few] years.”
In 2024, she said, TAP carried 1.6 million passengers between the U.S. and Portugal. This is six times more volume than a decade ago.
Slot restrictions at its main hub in Lisbon have limited some growth opportunities, Lufinha noted. But she hinted at future expansions from other Portuguese cities.
“We cannot grow a lot because we have restrictions in terms of our airports in Lisbon, at least on our hub … . So part of our growing will also be outside of Lisbon,” she said.
