Portugal’s Airline Launches New Cheap Nonstop Routes From Three Major US Airports In 2019
by Heather Cassell
Flying to Portugal will soon be cheaper and easier with new nonstop flights from Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC next year.
TAP Air Portugal announced the launch of three destinations including new nonstop flights to Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city from San Francisco, in the airline’s December 13 news release.
The flight will be the Bay Area’s only year-round nonstop flights to Portugal’s capital city starting in June.
“We’re excited to keep adding new cities from the USA to Portugal,” said David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways and a major shareholder in TAP, reported the San Francisco Business Journal.
San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar C. Satero expressed his excitement for the new route with TAP in the in the release.
“We are proud that TAP Air Portugal has selected SFO for its growth plans on the United States West Coast,” said San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “We share TAP’s passion for making air travel an enjoyable experience, and travelers in the San Francisco Bay Area can look forward to an easy and economical new way to travel to Portugal and beyond.”
TAP’s planes will start taking off from San Francisco International Airport to Lisbon International Airport on June 10. Bay Area travelers will be able to choose from five flights a week Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays departing at 4:10 p.m. (16:10 p.m.), arriving in Lisbon at 11:25 a.m. the following day.
Lisbon travelers will depart from Portugal’s capital city (which looks like San Francisco’s twin) at 10 a.m., arriving in San Francisco at 2:40 p.m. (14:40 p.m.).
Flights will take off from Chicago from Chicago O’Hare and Washington, DC from Washington-Dulles airports starting June 1 and June 16, respectively.
Additionally, TAP reinforced the number of weekly flights from Porto to Newark from two to six weekly flights, according to the release.
TAP’s announcement comes a day after United Airlines announced its largest international route expansion in San Francisco, according to a news release December 12 from the airline.
Both airlines are Star Alliance members.
The new service is designed to attract both business and leisure travelers to Portugal’s capital city, TAP said, reported the Journal.
In a price comparison between TAP and United Airlines departing from San Francisco to Lisbon on July 15 and returning on July 18, TAP’s nonstop service dramatically beat United’s non-direct service in more ways than one. TAP’s flight is as low as $797.16 in coach and $3,101.16 in business class with no stops. United requires a connecting flight or layover through New Jersey and runs a whopping $3,804.73 in economy class and $9,828.73 in business class, reported the Journal.
TAP’s new route follows other low-cost carriers Norwegian Air and Level offering new nonstop flights to Europe from San Francisco, noted the Journal.
To sweeten the deal, TAP’s San Francisco travelers traveling to its other European or African destinations can also take advantage of the carrier’s Portugal Stopover program, which allows travelers to stay up to five nights in Lisbon or Porto during the trip at no additional airfare, reported the Journal.
Additionally, United MileagePlus members can earn miles flying on the new TAP Air Portugal nonstop flight can earn as a part of the Star Alliance.
Travelers will be flying from aboard the airline’s new Airbus A330neo. The Airbus features a state-of-the-art personalized entertainment system and connectivity that allows free text web-based messaging for all passengers.
TAP will be the first European airline to offer free web-based messaging on long-haul flights for travelers, according to the release.
“TAP will be the first airline in the world to fly the most efficient and comfortable aircraft in the world and also innovates with this new service, which allows all passengers to be always connected,” said TAP Air Portugal CEO Antonoaldo Neves in the release. “TAP will be the first European airline to offer unlimited Wi-Fi web-based messaging service on transatlantic flights.”
San Francisco marks TAP’s eighth destination to North America. TAP flies to Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York – JFK, New York – Newark, San Francisco, Washington from Lisbon. The airline flies to New York – Newark and Toronto, Canada from Porto.
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