TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo Business Class (LIS-MXP) Review
TAP Air Portugal flight TP828 from Lisbon to Milan was the second leg of our journey from Boston to Milan.
Our layover in Lisbon was 12 hours long, which we did not mind a bit: it was a perfect amount of time to tour Lisbon and we still had a plenty of time to check out the lounges at Humberto Delgado Airport.
See the review of ANA (Priority Pass) lounge here and the review of TAP lounge here.
If you are looking for a private one day tour of Lisbon, I can’t recommend enough Top Ten Tours.
Table of Contents
Booking
We used Avianca’s LifeMiles to book Boston to Milan Business Class flights.
The cost was 63,000 LifeMiles plus $65 per person.
Overview
Don’t be fooled by the “Business Class” designation on your boarding pass. Despite the name, the experience might not live up to your expectations. On short-haul, intra-European flights, TAP Air Portugal’s Business Class is essentially just the first few rows of the Economy cabin with a blocked middle seat.
This is what is commonly referred to as “European Business Class.” While it may offer a slight advantage over the standard Economy seats in terms of extra legroom and a blocked middle seat, it may not offer the full business class experience that one might expect based on the name.
Ground Experience & Boarding
Our Business Class tickets entitled us to access the TAP Lounge and Fast Track security lane.
We did not get to experience the Fast Track lane as we took a wrong turn following the signs to the lane and ended up in the “regular” security section. Since there was no line whatsoever it didn’t make sense to try to locate the Fast Track lane so we went through the “regular” screening. It was fast and easy.
We spent a brief moment checking out the TAP Lounge before our flight, but the majority of our time at the airport was spent at the Priority Pass ANA Lounge. This was because our travel companion was flying in Economy and did not have access to the TAP Lounge.
The boarding was done via a remote stand.
When the bus taking the passengers to the remote stand arrived, Business Class passengers got to board the bus first, and then the rest of the passengers boarded the same bus.
Seating
TAP’s short-haul A321neo has 3-3 seat configuration.
As mentioned earlier in this post, TAP Air Portugal’s short-haul Business Class seats are simply Economy seats with additional legroom and a blocked middle seat. The seat padding was minimal, and the overall comfort level was not what one might expect from a Business Class experience. In fact, the seats felt similar in terms of comfort to those on budget carriers such as Frontier.
Our flight was not full, so I am pretty sure Economy Class passengers got very similar seating arrangements.
In-flight Experience
Prior to our flight, we received an email from TAP Air Portugal inviting us to pre-select our entrees for the meal service.
Despite the fact we already chose our entrees, we received the menus anyway.
The menu options were:
Starter
Beef Carpaccio
Maine Course
Duck Confit
or Radicchio Tortellini
Dessert
Sericais (Eggs & Cinnamon Cake with apples and citronella)
Since we had a very long day and not enough time on Boston to Lisbon flight to get a full night sleep, my daughter fell asleep shortly after the take off. When it was time to serve dinner, I told the flight attendant she would not be eating, and he seemed to be very unhappy to hear it. I’m assuming it is because we pre-selected the entrees but I wasn’t going to wake her up and force to eat 🤷♀️
The Duck Confit entrée I chose was the least appetizing meal I’ve ever been served on a plane, or probably ever.
It did not taste much better. The cake and the appetizer were pretty good.
I think the picture speaks for itself.
Final Thoughts
If you’re expecting a full business class experience, with separate cabin, lie-flat seats and a gourmet meal, you may be disappointed. However, if you’re simply looking for a little extra comfort and space on a shorter flight, TAP Air Portugal’s Business Class may still be a good option for you.
