TAP Air Attributes Positive H1 2023 Result to Strong Long-Haul Market Performance

TAP Air Portugal, the flag carrier of Portugal, has showcased strong results in its key long-haul markets, resulting in a record positive net income in H1 2023.

The airline highlighted that its yields on North American and South American markets have achieved remarkable growth at 32% and 18%, respectively, compared to H1 2022. In Europe yields grew by 8%, while in Africa & Middle East they grew by 11% during the same period.

Furthermore, load factors in all markets grew by between 2.4% and 6%, allowing the airline to achieve an average load factor of 80.2%.

Intriguingly, in H1 2023 TAP Air Portugal has offered more Available Seat Kilometers (ASK), which measures capacity, compared to the same period in the previous year as well as in 2019, despite now having a smaller fleet of aircraft compared to H1 2019. Nevertheless, 4.1 million passengers boarded the Portuguese carrier’s aircraft during H1 2023, a drop of 0.4 million from H1 2019 figures.

According to Luis Rodrigues, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the airline, the results “underpin TAP’s sustained trend of commercial and financial improvement, achieving an excellent performance with a positive net income in the first half”.

TAP Air Portugal ended H1 2023 with a net income of €23 million ($25.1 million). In the previous year, the net loss was €202.1 million ($220.7 million).

“The operating margins and the deleveraging path, above the targets of the restructuring plan, prove the Group’s financial sustainability at a critical moment in our history,” Rodrigues continued, before warning there is still “a long way to go” in the restructuring process of TAP Air Portugal.

Looking forward, the CEO pointed out that demand remains strong, with “bookings for the coming quarters reaching considerable figures, indicating an intense second half of the year, for which TAP will be prepared”.

According to ch-aviation.com data, TAP Air Portugal has 84 aircraft in its fleet, five of which are wet leased in, including two Airbus A320s from SmartLynx. Its regional subsidiary, TAP Express, operates a fleet of 23 regional aircraft.