TAP Air Portugal carried greater than 7.5 million passengers over the primary six months of this 12 months, over 30% more in comparison with the identical period in 2022. The airline noted a robust performance on its intercontinental routes, which exceeded its pre-pandemic levels by almost 15%.
TAP enjoys rising passenger numbers
Portugal’s flag carrier saw a 30.2% increase in passengers in the primary half of this 12 months, serving a complete of seven.58 million. The airline – coming off a yearly net profit of $70 million for 2022 – continues to be around 4% off its pre-pandemic half-yearly figures but is clearly moving in the correct direction. While it could have reported net losses of $63 million for the primary quarter of 2023, it managed to halve the deficit in comparison with the identical period in 2022.
Photo: Matheus Obst I Shutterstock
Despite a robust recovery on its intercontinental network, TAP has yet to completely get better its European network, which makes up over 70% of its passenger capability. The airline carried 5.41 million passengers across its continental network – which incorporates domestic and intra-European routes – 29.8% greater than in 2022 but around 10% fewer than in 2019.
Intercontinental travel higher than 2019
With international COVID restrictions now a thing of the past, TAP has enjoyed a robust recovery across its non-European international network. The carrier served 2.17 million passengers on its routes to Brazil, North America and Africa, 31.1% greater than in the primary half of 2022.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying
The airline also exceeded its pre-COVID levels by 14.7% over the six-month period, showing how well its recovery goes. By the late summer of 2022, TAP had recovered 97% of its pre-pandemic Brazil traffic (from January 2022 to September 2022) and carried over 500,000 passengers to and from Brazil during that summer.
TAP’s footing in South America, particularly Brazil, is certainly one of the important reasons IAG, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are all all in favour of acquiring a stake within the carrier – in line with a Reuters report, Portugal’s government is desirous to begin TAP’s privatization process as early as this month.
Load factor, ASK and RPK up
The carrier’s average load factor across its network was 80.2% over the primary half of 2023, a 5.5 percentage point improvement in comparison with 2022 and half some extent higher than in 2019.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
Moreover, the airline’s ASK (Available Seat per Kilometer) exceeded 25 million over this era, 21.4% greater than last 12 months and 4.3% greater than 2019. It also recorded an RPK (Revenue per Kilometer) of over 20 million, which is 30.4% higher than in 2022 and around 5% higher than in 2019.
Have you ever flown with TAP Air Portugal this 12 months? Who do you think that is the most effective candidate to accumulate a stake within the airline? Tell us within the comments.