TAP Portugal Celebrates Portugal Day with New Nonstop Service to Lisbon from Toronto

Portuguese people the world over celebrate Portugal Day on Saturday, June 10, commemorating the death of the national literary icon Luis do Camoes in 1580. Portugal’s national airline is celebrating Portugal Day with new nonstop service between Toronto and Lisbon.

The new flight runs five days per week. It departs Toronto Pearson at 11:55pm, arriving in Lisbon at 12:15pm the following day. The return flight departs Lisbon at 12:50pm and arrives in Toronto at 4pm.

Toronto is the latest route addition to a year of incredible growth for TAP. The airline has added new aircraft and, last year, two new routes from the USA. The number of passengers flying from the USA in the last year has doubled for the popular European carrier, named “Best Airline in Europe” for six consecutive years by Global Traveler magazine. TAP currently flies approximately 12 million passengers a year.

The carrier’s A330 aircraft now feature full-flat beds in Business class, more comfortable Slimline seats in Economy, and some of the world’s most advanced inflight entertainment systems.

TAP, however, continues to reimagine the entire onboard experience. This autumn, the airline will announce a revolutionized wine list, with a new selection model that will give Portuguese producers the opportunity to promote their products internationally.

Further, with TAP’s new “Taste the Stars” program, a team of seven Portuguese chefs – who have all won Michelin Stars – are adding new Portuguese flavors to re-make the airline’s onboard cuisine, starting in September, in both Business and Economy cabins.

TAP’s cuisine consultant Chef Vítor Sobral is collaborating with six award-winning chefs, including Henrique Sá Pessoa, José Avillez, Miguel Laffan, Rui Paula, Rui Silvestre, and George Mendes.

Further, the Michelin chefs’ restaurants will also now be part of TAP’s popular “Portugal Stopover” program, where travelers can enjoy up to three nights in Lisbon and/or Porto en route to Europe or Africa for no extra airfare.

Lisbon is the second closest European capital to North America’s east coast (only Dublin is closer) making it a natural gateway geographically for a stopover on the way to Europe or Africa. The Stopover program features more than 150 partners offering exclusive prices for Stopover customers for hotels, a free bottle of Portuguese wine in restaurants and free experiences, such as tuk-tuk rides, visits to museums, dolphin watching in the River Sado and food tastings, among others.

TAP serves Lisbon from four US gateways: New York’s JFK, Newark, Boston and Miami. Beyond Lisbon, TAP currently serves 46 European destinations from Toronto via Lisbon including: Portugal’s own Faro, Funchal, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Porto Santo, and Terceira; France’s Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, and Toulouse; Germany’s Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich; Italy’s Bologna, Milan, Rome, and Venice; Spain’s A Coruña, Astúrias, Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Valencia, and Vigo; the United Kingdom’s London and Manchester; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark; Geneva, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; City of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; Moscow, Russia; Oslo, Norway; Prague, Czech Republic; Stockholm, Sweden; Vienna, Austria; Warsaw, Poland; and Zurich, Switzerland. TAP also serves Porto nonstop from Newark.

Also, TAP’s Stopover program applies to the airline’s 16 African destinations, including Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Accra, Ghana; Algeria, Algiers; Guinea-Bissau, Bissau; Boa Vista, Cape Verde; Casablanca, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Lome, Togo; Luana, Angola; Maputo, Mozambique; Marrakech, Morocco; Praia, Cape Verde; Sal, Cape Verde; and Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe.

The Stopover booking option is available on the flight search mode in the www.flytap.com site and TAP also has launched an innovative app, available from the Apple Store or Google Play.