Interior view of an Airbus A320 of TAP Air Portugal at the city of Munich’s Franz Josef Strauß Airport right before departing to the city of Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Some background information:
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. It consists of the four Airbus narrow-body aircraft series for short, medium, and long-haul routes. The A320 was launched in 1984 and first flew on in 1987. It was developed to compete with the Boeing 737 Classics and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 series, and has since faced challenges from the Boeing 737 Next Generation and the Boeing 717. As of 2010, the A320 family also faced competition from Embraer's E-195 and the C-Series being developed by Bombardier.
In 2006, Airbus started the A320 Enhanced programme as a series of improvements targeting a 4 to 5% efficiency gain, with larger winglets (2%), aerodynamic refinements (1%), weight savings and a new aircraft cabin. Engine improvements that reduced fuel consumption by 1% were made to the A320 in 2007 with the CFM56 Tech Insertion and in 2008 with the V2500Select. The Airbus A320 has a retractable tricycle landing gear and is powered by two wing pylon-mounted turbofan engines. The A320 flight deck features a full glass cockpit and is equipped with an Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) with side-stick controllers.
The A320 is particularly impressive due to its wingspan and, in its maximum configuration, can carry groups of up to 180 passengers. However, various configuration options and class divisions reduce its capacity. Hence, the standard layout accommodates around 150 seats. The list prices for the different versions of the A320 family range from $75.9 million for the base version of the Airbus A318 to $127 million for the best-equipped Airbus A321neo, excluding optional special equipment.
As of 2024, a total of 19,075 aircraft from the Airbus A320 family had been ordered, of which 11,865 units had been delivered. Of these, 10,947 are still in service. With 8,839 orders, the Airbus A320 is the most popular variant, followed by the Airbus A321 with 8,613 purchases. By now, a total of 40 Airbus A320 aircraft had been destroyed or damaged beyond repair due to accidents, acts of war, or criminal activity. These incidents resulted in the loss of 1,128 lives.
TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport Airport which also serves as its hub. TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2,500 flights a week to 90 destinations in 34 countries worldwide. Currenty, the company has a fleet of 100 aircraft, all of which are manufactured by Airbus with the exception of 19 aircraft manufactured by Embraer, operating on behalf of the regional airline TAP Express. In recent years, TAP has been booked by nearly twelve million passengers annually.
The airline was established in 1945 and began commercial services in 1946. Having been founded as a national institution, the carrier was privatised for the first time in its history during 1953. Throughout its existence, TAP has alternated between public and private ownership. By the late 1990s, TAP had sold its Boeing 727s and 737s, replacing them with Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. Its Lockheed L-1011 TriStars were also replaced by Airbus A340s. These changes led to TAP becoming an Airbus-only operator and exclusive customer of the European aircraft manufacturer ever since.
At this time, the company is 50% owned by the Portuguese state and 45% owned by the Atlantic Gateway Consortium while 5% of shares are available to TAP collaborators and employees. However, the Portuguese government wants to reprivatize the company once again and is awaiting the right market moment to proceed with the plan. It is intended to find an investor from the aviation sector, not a financial investor. In addition to the sale of 51% of the shares, 5% are still intended to be reserved for the employees.
TAP Air Portugal has already collected a number of awards. In 2007, TAP the airline was awarded by NATO as the Best Engine/Aircraft Source of Repair for the NATO AWACS Maintenance Program. In 2010, TAP Air Portugal was awarded the "World's Best Airline Award" by British Condé Nast Traveler magazine, after already being rated for its excellence in previous years. In recent years, TAP Air Portugal has been consecutively elected World's Leading Airline to Africa and South America by the World Travel Awards (WTA), considered the "Oscars" of the world travel industry. And In the 2018 edition of the magazine Monocle's Travel Top 50, an annual list, TAP was awarded the accolade of "most handsome crew."
