Summary
- TAP Air Portugal has named an Embraer 190 after the historic city Guimarães, often known as Portugal’s Cradle City, as a part of their initiative to advertise Portugal’s culture and heritage.
- Guimarães is a big tourist center within the North of Portugal, with a well-preserved Historic Center and Couros Zone which can be UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- The aircraft chosen for the occasion, with registration number CS-TPZ, is an element of TAP Air Portugal’s regional subsidiary, Portugália, which operates short and medium-haul flights under the TAP Express brand.
The flag carrier of Portugal has named one other aircraft after considered one of the nation’s favorite historic sites. TAP Air Portugal has chosen to christen a plane from its regional fleet after the historic city of Guimarães, often considered the Cradle City of Portugal. In February, the Star Alliance carrier named one other E190 after the coastal town of Cascais.
Why Guimarães?
Guimarães is some of the significant tourist centers within the north of the country, situated lower than an hour by automobile from Porto Airport. Founded within the tenth century CE, Guimarães became the primary capital of Portugal within the twelfth century. It was notably (and arguably) the birthplace of the nation’s first king, Afonso Henriques (Afonso I of Portugal). The town’s Historic Center and Couros Zone, originally outside the town partitions, remain incredibly well preserved and were distinguished as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2001.
A symbolic ceremony was held at Guimarães Town Hall to mark the christening of the Embraer 190, chosen to represent the historic city. Present on the event was the town mayor, Domingos Bragança, to whom the Managing Director of Portugália, Mário Lobato de Faria, presented a model of the aircraft to mark the occasion.
The TAP initiative follows a previous “Embrace Portugal” project, which was announced in 2017 to mark the corporate’s anniversary. In its role because the airline of the Portuguese people, TAP has confirmed it can proceed naming its regional fleet after the 18 districts and the 2 autonomous regions of Portugal to advertise the unique culture, gastronomy, and heritage of every region and strengthen connections between regional cities.
Regional with Portugália
This system’s aircraft are all from TAP Air Portugal’s regional subsidiary, Portugália. The airline began operations in 1990 with Dutch Fokker 100 jets and quickly expanded to grow to be a frontrunner in regional connectivity. In November 2006, it was announced that the airline had been sold to TAP Air Portugal, which continued to operate as a subsidiary until 2016, when it was rebranded as TAP Express.
The airplane chosen for the occasion is an Embraer 190 with the registration number CS-TPZ. The model was first delivered to Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, where it flew for a decade under the registration PR-AZF before being returned to the lesser. Initially owned by Nordic Aviation Capital, the model is believed to be considered one of those transferred to TrueNoord, which is currently listed because the owner on ch-aviation. The plane entered service with Portugália in March 2022 and was most recently spotted operating sectors from Lisbon to destinations including London Gatwick, Dublin, and Nice.
Portugália continues to operate short and medium-haul flights under the TAP Express brand. Assisting in that mission is the corporate’s relatively fresh fleet of twelve Embraer 190s, with capability for 106 passengers, and 7 Embraer 195, which may carry 118 passengers. Along with Cascais and Guimarães, several more local aircraft names are expected to be announced in the approaching months.