By the late 1990s, TAP had sold its Boeing 727s and 737s, replacing them with Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft its Lockheed L-1011 TriStars were also replaced by Airbus A340s. In 1983, TAP started operating its first Boeing 737-200s on short-haul routes.
During the 1980s, the fleet of Boeing 707s and 747s was replaced with Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and Airbus A310s on long-haul routes. By the end of the decade, the airline operated a fleet of 32 modern airliners that served in excess of 40 destinations on four continents. In 1979, the airline underwent a modernisation programme, changing its name to TAP Air Portugal.
In 1972, TAP received its first Boeing 747-200 wide-body jetliner. In 1967, the airline became the first in Europe to exclusively operate jets. During the following year, it bought its first Boeing-built jetliner, the 707. On 19 June 1964, TAP carried its one-millionth passenger. In addition to DC-3s, TAP procured Douglas DC-4 Skymasters and Lockheed Super Constellation airliners.ĭuring July 1962, TAP entered the jet era via the procurement of several French-built Sud Aviation Caravelles. During its early decades of operation, the airline expanded and launched numerous routes, including the lengthy Linha Aérea Imperial colonial service across Africa, various domestic and European services, its first transatlantic service to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Having been founded as a national institution, the airline was privatised for the first time in its history during 1953 throughout its existence, TAP would alternate between various forms of public and private ownership. The airline was established as Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (Portuguese Air Transportations) on 14 March 1945 it began commercial services on 19 September 1946 with an inaugural flight from Lisbon to Madrid using a Douglas DC-3. The company has a fleet of 100 airplanes, all of which manufactured by Airbus with the exception of 22 made by Embraer and ATR, operating on behalf of the regional airline TAP Express. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2,500 flights a week to 90 destinations in 34 countries worldwide. TAP Air Portugal is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub.
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