A sale that went from three suitors to one
Portugal began the year with three possible buyers for TAP. By the end of April it had two. On April 2, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa submitted non-binding bids. IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, said it would not go ahead. It wanted to put growth inside its own group first. On April 27, the cabinet moved both bidders forward, according to the official resolution.
The state wants to sell 44.9% of TAP to an airline partner. It has set aside another 5% for employees. Both bidders filed binding offers on July 29, as Reuters reported. Air France-KLM said its plan covered passengers, cargo, loyalty and maintenance. Delta backed the bid. Delta's chief executive, Ed Bastian, said the airline supports its joint venture partner's proposed investment. Delta said it would negotiate a codeshare and loyalty deal if Air France-KLM won. Reuters said Lufthansa promised to build Lisbon into a strategic hub for the South Atlantic.
On September 4, the cabinet ordered an extra round of talks. Both airlines sent improved final bids in late September. In August, a decree-law had already said the winner could buy any employee shares left unsold, as Euronews reported.
On October 14, the government picked Lufthansa. It said the bid was 16% higher than the rival offer and carried less risk. The government rated the two plans as equal on technical and contract terms. Its slides put Air France-KLM's total at €1.038 billion. They also showed a possible €100 million bonus for Air France-KLM tied to 2028 profit and debt targets. Lufthansa offered €1.025 billion for the 44.9% stake. That rises to about €1.2 billion if it also takes the employee share. The state keeps 50.1%. The government puts TAP's value in the deal at €2.552 billion.
A second step is possible. Portugal Resident reports that Lufthansa also bid €1.351 billion for the state's remaining stake. Part would be paid in Lufthansa shares. That would make Portugal a roughly 5% owner of Lufthansa Group. The government has not approved that step. Closing the first deal needs European approval and is expected in early 2028. The finance minister put the wait at 18 to 24 months.
Air France-KLM said it was "naturally disappointed". It also said it would look at all options to grow in Portugal and South America, and it will keep working on its SAS deal. Its chief executive, Benjamin Smith, said the result did not change the group's strategy, Jornal Económico reported.
What Lufthansa has promised
The government says the plan keeps the TAP brand, the Lisbon headquarters, the Lisbon hub and links to the islands. It also covers links to Portuguese communities abroad. Fleet goals are 117 aircraft by 2035 and 130 after that. Up to eight Airbus A350-900s would move to TAP from 2030, per Euronews.
Lufthansa says it is building a maintenance site at Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto. Ground was broken in June. Portugal Resident puts the cost near €300 million and the new jobs at about 700. Lufthansa says its Portugal headcount will rise from more than 500 to more than 1,000 by 2030. The government also cites a pilot school at Tancos, an innovation center in Aveiro and a corporate services center. It says the plan ties about 3,000 jobs to TAP's growth.
TAP stays in Star Alliance. Lufthansa's chief executive, Carsten Spohr, called TAP a long-standing partner in the alliance. Lufthansa said it expects to sign the deal documents shortly. CNBC noted that analysts see Lufthansa's own financial strain as a challenge.
Leadership
Luís Rodrigues remains chief executive and Carlos Oliveira remains chairman. They have held those jobs since July 2025. On October 14, minister Miguel Pinto Luz said the government wants Rodrigues to stay. He also ruled out shared management with Lufthansa before the deal closes, per Lusa. Lufthansa gets the right to watch TAP's strategic plan in the meantime. After closing, Lufthansa would name three executive directors and the state one, and Lufthansa would run day-to-day operations.
On September 1, José Eduardo Moreira became chief operating officer. He replaced Mário Chaves, who resigned, CAPA reported.
Speaking at an aviation event in Lisbon on October 14, Rodrigues called the sale price fair. His line, as ECO reported, was "Nós sabemos o que valemos," or "we know what we are worth." He also urged care with new routes. A new route can take about three years to pay back, he said.
Money: record traffic, heavy fuel bills
In the first quarter, TAP's loss shrank to €39.9 million from €108.2 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to €914.4 million, and capacity grew 3.9%, TAP reported on May 25. Trade press noted the airline already warned of fuel price pressure.
The second quarter went the other way. For the first half, TAP lost €99.2 million, up from about €70.7 million, according to Air Data News. Revenue rose 4.3% to €2.04 billion. TAP carried a record 8.2 million passengers on 57,500 flights, up 4.2%. Planes were 85.4% full. Ticket revenue rose 4.4% to €1.829 billion. Recurring EBITDA, another profit gauge, fell 29.8% to €181.9 million.
Fuel was the problem. TAP's fuel bill rose 18.7% in the half and 52.3% in the second quarter, which TAP tied to the Middle East conflict, Euronews noted. Recurring EBIT, a measure of operating profit, fell to a loss of €83.7 million. A year earlier it was a profit of €17.3 million. The second-quarter net result swung to a €59.3 million loss from a €37.5 million profit.
TAP also issued $407 million of senior notes in the half. It ended June with about €1.22 billion in cash. Some outlets quoted other profit figures for the half. We use TAP's own numbers here. Q3 results are not out yet.
| Measure | 2026 | Versus a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 net result | -€39.9M | From -€108.2M |
| Q2 net result | -€59.3M | From +€37.5M |
| H1 net result | -€99.2M | From -€70.7M |
| H1 revenue | €2.04B | +4.3% |
| H1 recurring EBITDA | €181.9M | -29.8% |
| H1 recurring EBIT | -€83.7M | From +€17.3M |
| H1 passengers | 8.2M | +4.2% |
| H1 load factor | 85.4% | +3.4 points |
Source: Air Data News, Euronews and TAP's first-quarter release. TAP gave prior-year revenue, EBITDA, passenger and load factor figures only as percentage changes, so no prior-year amounts are shown. Second-quarter recurring EBIT was -€47.6M, against +€136.5M, per Air Data News.
On June 30, the European Commission confirmed that TAP's state-aid restructuring plan was complete. Portugal had sold its stakes in the handling firm SPdH and the caterer Cateringpor, and TAP returned €24.99 million to the state. TAP has also launched a 2026–2035 strategic plan and a digital program called Horizon.
Fleet
The restructuring plan had capped the fleet at 99 aircraft, and that cap ended. Air Data News counted 101 operating aircraft at midyear. It also reports TAP planned 10 deliveries for 2026: six A320neos, two A321neos and two A330-900neos. That would lift the fleet to 104–106 by year's end. One source in our search spoke of eight new aircraft, so treat the exact count with care.
| Aircraft type | In operation |
|---|---|
| A330neo | 19 |
| A330 (older) | 3 |
| A321LR | 13 |
| A321neo | 10 |
| A320neo | 17 |
| A321ceo | 3 |
| A320ceo | 14 |
| Embraer E-Jets | 19 |
| Total | 101 |
Source: Air Data News, operating fleet at the end of June 2026. A third A320neo was still being phased in and is not counted.
TAP flies the A321LR on transatlantic routes. Aerospace Global News lists it on Lisbon flights to Boston, Newark, Montreal, Washington, Toronto, Natal and Belém. It also flies from Porto to Newark and New York JFK. At a Routes Americas event in 2026, a TAP executive said an A321XLR could replace the A321LR on about half of these routes.
Routes
This year marks 60 years of TAP flights to Brazil. TAP now serves 15 Brazilian cities, per Aviontourism. Flights to Curitiba began July 2, with three a week on an A330-200, TAP's plan shows. Summer also brought Porto to Terceira (July 1) and Porto to Praia (July 2). Lisbon to Athens began July 1, with five flights a week.
The winter schedule starts a new wave. Aproxima Viagem lists these changes, with the summer launches for comparison:
| Route | Starts | Weekly flights |
|---|---|---|
| Lisbon–Athens | July 1 | 5 |
| Porto–Terceira | July 1 | Not reported |
| Porto–Praia | July 2 | Not reported |
| Lisbon–Curitiba | July 2 | 3 |
| Porto–Sal | October 25 | 2 |
| Lisbon–São Luís | October 26 | 2 |
| Porto–Rio de Janeiro | October 28 | 3 (rising) |
| Lisbon–Orlando | October 29 | 3 |
| Porto–Boston | Winter, year-round | 2 |
Source: TAP's strategic plan for the summer routes and Aproxima Viagem for the winter changes.
Orlando is TAP's ninth U.S. destination, the same report says. It also says Caracas service is returning, and that Funchal to Faro now runs in winter. We found no TAP release with the restart date.
Overall, TAP expects weekly flights to rise 4%, from 1,081 to 1,125, this winter. Weekly flights to South America go from 93 to 99. Africa goes from 80 to 87. North America reaches 82.
A new cabin and the Lisbon lounges
From June 1, TAP flies Economy Prime, a cabin between Economy and Business on long-haul flights. TAP's help page says it has 12 seats in the first three rows of Economy, with four seats per row. The seat next to you stays empty. Fares include Fast Track security, premium boarding, a meal with two hot dishes and two checked bags. Passengers also get a travel kit made with the Portuguese brands PEDEMEIA and 8950, and a 13-inch screen. Sales opened March 31. TAP's benefits list does not include lounge access. Sample fares on TAP's page start at €1,327 on Lisbon to São Paulo. TAP lists the A330-900neo and A321LR among the planes that carry the cabin.
For lounge readers, the TAP lounge page lists three TAP-run lounges. Lisbon Terminal 1 has the Tejo lounge on the sixth floor in the Schengen area. It has 320 seats and opens 5 a.m. to midnight. Only Tejo has a bar. The Atlântico lounge is on the fifth floor in the non-Schengen area, with 100 seats and the same hours. Paris-Orly has a small TAP lounge of about 30 seats in Terminal 1B, before security.
TAP says Tejo's restrooms and showers close for renovation from October 20. Other services stay open. The page gives no end date. We found no new TAP lounge opening in the six months.
Free access goes to Business passengers, Navigator and Miles&Go Gold members, and Star Alliance Gold members. Silver members get access on intercontinental TAP flights and four yearly visits to the Lisbon lounges on Europe and North Africa flights. TAP Platinum Visa holders get entry at Lisbon and Porto only. TAP also sells entry from €28. It says flyers can reach more than 60 lounges worldwide.
Many of those are Lufthansa Group lounges, including Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Heathrow. We found no announced lounge changes tied to the sale. The Washington Lufthansa lounge was closed for renovation from October 1, 2025, TAP notes.
Labor
On June 3, Portugal held a general strike over labor-law plans. TAP said it would fly 79 of the more than 300 flights it runs daily, according to DW. Earlier, TAP had agreed to minimum services of at least 34 flights, according to ECO. The flight attendants' union joined. The pilots' union, SPAC, did not, ECO reported. SPAC also said it worried about how Lufthansa deals with unions.
After the October decision, the SITAVA union said workers must not have to rescue TAP again. It warned that folding TAP maintenance into Lufthansa would be a gross mistake, Portugal Resident reported on October 15. The minister said Lufthansa had promised to respect current labor agreements.
Miles&Go
TAP changed its loyalty program twice. From May 3, it raised mileage prices for flights on partner airlines. A Brazilian travel site said Asia economy trips from South America went from 95,000 to 210,000 miles. That is one blog's account, so treat it with care.
From July 28, TAP added more price levels for award flights, including trips with connections. Gold members, except Gold Partner and Gold Club, and Navigator members pay fewer miles than others. We found no announced change tying Miles&Go to Lufthansa's Miles & More.
What to watch
The deal is not final. Final contracts, European review and a possible second step all remain. Lufthansa expects to sign the contracts soon, while closing is still more than a year away. Fuel prices decide whether TAP's losses shrink. The Tejo work may change the Lisbon lounge experience this winter. Keep an eye on TAP's third-quarter results and on any Lufthansa lounge changes. Our earlier report on Lufthansa winning the TAP stake has more on the bid.
