A Disastrous Journey with TAP Air Portugal
I recently traveled to Portugal with a friend, flying with TAP Air Portugal, the country's national airline. Our adventure began with red flags months before our departure.
The Booking Experience
In November, we booked our trip for March. After selecting hotels, we found TAP Air Portugal offered the most affordable nonstop flights: $565 roundtrip from New York City to Lisbon and $171 roundtrip from Lisbon to Madeira. Despite my usual caution regarding low-cost airlines, TAP's prices seemed reasonable, and I had assumed a smooth experience based on my past travels with other national airlines.
Flight Changes and Cancellations
Two months before our trip, we received an email notifying us that our return flight to the US had been pushed back by a full day. We were left with no explanation and faced additional costs for an extra hotel night.
Overbooked Flights
After spending time in Lisbon, we were set to fly to Madeira. Upon arriving at the airport almost three hours early, we discovered our flight was overbooked, and we had no assigned seats. We were rescheduled for a flight five hours later, arriving at midnight, just a few hours before our planned hike.
Another Cancellation
The situation worsened when we received an email notifying us that our return flight to Lisbon was canceled. We were automatically booked for a new flight 12 hours later than our original schedule. Frustrated, we opted for a Ryanair flight back to Lisbon, incurring additional costs.
Customer Service Woes
Attempting to secure a refund through TAP's website proved frustrating. My friend faced multiple issues while trying to request her refund, with the website failing to process her requests. Even when we sought help at the TAP customer service desk, we were told we could only request refunds online, which was not functional.
Lessons Learned
After this chaotic experience, we realized that we ended up spending nearly $400 extra due to flight changes and cancellations. While flight disruptions can happen, the combination of multiple issues with TAP Air Portugal has made us reconsider our airline choices for future travels. Next time, we would be willing to pay a bit more for a more reliable airline.
In summary, our experience with TAP Air Portugal was riddled with inconveniences, leading us to vow to choose differently in the future.
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