What’s TAP Air Portugal Like Lisbon to Manchester (Embraer 195)

This was the return flight of our long weekend to Lisbon following an unimpressive flight on the Embraer 190 from Manchester to Lisbon with TAP on the way out, and it started even less impressive.

36 hours before and you are allowed to checkin online. Fine, but my first attempts the site defaulted to Portuguese and I couldn’t change the language! Trying a different way and eventually I got it in English and it’s the longest online checkin I’ve ever done with repetitive questions.

Having checked and double checked bag drop times and having waited in Manchester until exactly 2hrs 30 before departure for the desk to open I’d booked our transfers to get us to the airport 2 hours 40 before flight. Confirmations etc through, the night before the flight I went to bed then woke up to an email saying we must go to border control at least 3 hours pre flight. Why send that 23:35 the night before a lunchtime flight? This was certainly a good way to add stress. At least I was then thankful I’d not taken up the offer of E40 each for the lounge - it looked like we’d be queuing all that time. Nothing I could do - too late to change the transfer when I woke up for breakfast.

One late transfer later, an in app notification of a delayed departure and we found ourselves in Lisbon airport trying to self check bags. Learning from the debacle on the way out we’d redone the bags - not enough and after tagging the bags we put them on the conveyor and it was refused as too heavy. A quick repack and try again. Refused unable to read the barcode. No idea why but eventually we were shown to turn the label over as the required barcode was face down.

Flying through security (6 mins) and border control (3 mins) then a long walk to the furthest gate, we were sat at the gate 75 mins before our scheduled departure, 2 hours before expected departure. And there’s little to do there apart from sit and wait for almost 3 hours.

The new departure time came and went with priority, families and group A queued in the air bridge. Everyone with a large cabin bag was having it taken off them as they were going in the hold. Eventually the queue started to move and we all boarded, and waited again.

We eventually pushed back 90 minutes late and 15 minutes later we were in the air. A perfectly smooth flight, but the seat belt light was again held on for 45 minutes even to the point of a special needs man being berated over the tannoy for trying to go to the toilets.

The Embraer 195 is slightly more comfortable than the older 190, but still only left me 2 inches of space between knees and seat in front. However the toilet situation is interesting - only the first 4 rows (16 people in premium) are allowed to use the front toilet. The remaining 23 rows (92 people) share the remaining toilet at the rear and queuing is not allowed.

The staff seemed surprised that anyone would want food and drink on a flight scheduled 2pm to 5pm and actually 90 mins late, who had been told to hear through border control by 11am, into an area of the airport with little food to buy.

Landing into Manchester we were quickly through passports but our bags were slow. 45 minutes after we landed they appeared, with checked in bags following those taken off people at the gate.

Would I travel with TAP again? If there wasn’t an alternative.