TAP Air Portugal plans to increase frequencies on several transatlantic routes during summer 2023, with flights added to both its Lisbon and Porto hubs.
The Portuguese flag carrier will add 10 flights from its Lisbon hub to five key US cities. Services to Boston will increase to twice daily, while flights to Miami and Washington will increase to 10 times weekly, and routes to Chicago and San Francisco will increase to five times weekly.
TAP will also add flights to Brazil, with connections from Lisbon to São Paulo increasing to 20 times a week, Belo Horizonte to seven, Brasilia and Salvador to six, and Belem to four. Flights to Caracas, Venezuela will also increase to three times weekly.
Flight schedules at its Lisbon hub will be retimed to ensure faster connections and greater accessibility, according to the carrier.
Meanwhile, twice-weekly flights between Porto and New York will become daily and services to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will increase to three and two flights a week, respectively.
The carrier also plans to launch a new direct flight between Porto and Luanda, Angola in May 2023, pending government approval.
The summer schedule announcement comes three days after Portugal's SNPVAC union, which represents TAP cabin crew, called for a seven-day strike at the end of January to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
In response to questions from BTN Europe the carrier said: “We respect and regret the cabin crew union’s decision and are continuing to do what we can to reach an agreement that serves the country, our clients, cabin crew, and TAP´s best interests.”
Flight frequency increases are also planned in the Middle East and Europe.
Flights to Tel Aviv, Israel will become daily during summer and seasonal routes to Naples, Italy and Tangiers, Morocco will recommence alongside seven weekly flights to Ibiza, Spain. New services to the Balearic Islands are also planned, with four weekly flights to Palma de Mallorca and Menorca.