So what the heck does “TAP” stand for? When the airline was established in 1945 it stood for Transportes Areos Portugueses. In 1979 the name was changed to TAP Air Portugal and finally it was simplified to just TAP Portugal.
TAP has an all Airbus fleet of A319, A320, A321, A330 and the A340. They also have 12 Airbus A350s on order. The airline flies to 65 destinations in 31 countries via their fleet of 66 aircraft. They also run a regional airline, called PGA, with 16 additional aircraft.
The livery overlaps the TAP on the front of the fuselage and mostly just has the “P” on the tail. This gives it a clean and unique look, especially with the “TAP PORTUGUAL” going vertically up the tail.
Image: Guido Haesevoets
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Different look but pretty cool to me. Here’s a TAP A330 I spotted at Orlando last December. Its blurry through an airplane window as the sun was setting. Picture here: http://usera.ImageCave.com/engineerdude/Aircraft/P1280156.JPG
Interesting livery; not bad; not one to write home about.
-Craig
(Scratching head)…Drew, that’s TAM. Also Portugese-speaking (its from Brasil), but not the same as TAP…though they’re both in the Star Alliance.
Take a look on you tube for the TAP a330 low flybe at high speed…. it’s an incredible thing to see!
I meant flyby!