The Portuguese flagged airline, TAP Air Portugal is celebrating. With 73 years of operations, the Portuguese flag carrier has obtained good relations with its customers in Brazil, being the international airline that has more flights between Brazil and Europe.

In 2015, TAP was semi-privatized with 45% of  controllership under the responsibility of the Atlantic Gateway Consortium, led by David Neelleman, founder of the airlines JetBlue in the USA and Azul Linhas Aéreas in Brazil, with the remaining 50% for the Portuguese State and 5% for TAP workers.

Since then, TAP has adopted a market innovation strategy with the renewal of its fleet. An investment of €70 million by the company. The announcement came in April 2016 with the firm order for 14 Airbus A330-900neo. Differentiated by the acronym 'NEO', which means “new engine option”, the NEO is the second and newest generation of the A330 Family, launched by Airbus in July 2014 during the Fair Farnborough International, with two versions: the -800neo with an average unit cost of US$259 million and the -900neo with an average unit cost of US$296 million.

The agreement between TAP and Airbus did not stop there! The order marked an important milestone between the manufacturer and the operator, which established itself as the launch customer of the A330neo Family model and also the launcher of the new passenger cabin on the A330neo, called Airspace.

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For the Airbus Marketing sector, the new Airspace cabin has similar characteristics to the A350XWB and encompasses four pillars: comfort, ambiance, service and design. This will ensure that the new cabins add value to NEO generation aircraft operators and bring new experiences to passengers.

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TAP innovates in its customer products

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The A330neo from  TAP is configured with 304  seats (32 in executive, 96 in economic plus and 176 in economic). The plane included a new welcome area in the Airspace cabin, the latest LED-based lighting system with 16.7 million possible color variations, larger internal luggage compartment (bins), new contemporary designed lavatories, entertainment and state-of-the-art IFE connectivity. The cabin environment reduces jet lag and ensures passenger well-being with recognizable iconic elements throughout the cabin.

In addition to the new cabin interior, the A330neo also incorporates the latest generation of engines, the Rolls Royce Trent 7000. The new engine is noticeable low noise during operations, ensuring greater silence during takeoffs. The Trent 7000 generates thrust between 68,000 to 72,000 lbf (302-320 kN) with a 10% fuel efficiency compared to the current Trent 700 that powers the previous version of the A330.

Airbus has developed aerodynamic improvements to the wing of the A330neo. Benefiting from the A330's unbeatable economy, versatility and high reliability. The wing tip gained a new asymmetry, very similar to the A350 XWB.

With all this technology, the A330neo came to market with a mission of increased innovation. It has less impact on the environment and reduces fuel consumption by 14% per seat, making it the most efficient and lowest-cost mid-size plane.

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the first flight

The first A330neo of the launch operator TAP Air Portugal is the MSN1819 (with manufacturer registration F-WWKW – future operator registration: CS-TUA). The aircraft completed its maiden flight on May 15, 2018 with a flight duration of 4:32 hours.

The aircraft joined the fleet of two A330-900neo test aircraft that have been flying tests since October 19, 2017.

The MSN1819 is equipped with test instruments to check cabin systems such as air conditioning, crew rest, etc.

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Brazil and TAP's A330neo

The A330neo in TAP's colors made on June 19, 2018, the first in a series of test flights around the world.

These are the latest tests required by the EASA and FAA for the Aircraft Type Certificate and include Extended-range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) missions, landing at alternative airports and proof of airport handling services.

The first of the “Tour” flights brought the A330neo to Lisbon for the first time, from where it flew to Brazil with the first landing in the city of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão (GIG) – it was the A330neo's first transoceanic flight – the A330neo returned again to Lisbon and, on June 21st, took off again to Brazil, heading for the International Airport of São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU). NEO stayed overnight in GRU and on the afternoon of the following day, June 22, took off for Recife (REC) as part of their tour across five continents to demonstrate that they are ready to operate. These legs of travel marked the A330neo's first visit to Brazil.

After completion of tests, the aircraft will be officially delivered to the TAP Air Portugal customer later this year 2018. With the delivery, the fleet's legendary A340 / A330 will be gradually phased out of its fleet and Brazil will start receiving the A330neo daily, in addition to from other international stretches operated by the company.