TAP Portugal Economy Passengers

It's common to be asked and sometimes required to gate check carry-on luggage. I buy basic economy/economy light tickets and 3/4 of the time I am told to gate check since the flight is full. And when I board, there is still overhead space. So it is not only TAP, but many airlines. I normally fly Delta/KLM/AF and have had to gate check for the last 3 flights. Also, European airlines commonly weigh and enforce weight limits on luggage.

I foresee you becoming upset in the future if you still plan on traveling and buying economy tickets. Personally, I don't see this as targeting economy flyers, but I suppose you could see it that way. The cheaper the ticket you buy, the chance of having to gate check is higher. I doubt business class would be required to do so. But then, the advantage, you still got to travel from point a to point b at a fraction of the cost. Not all bad.

Before I keep going, I want to praise cabin crew, they are friendly, polite and helpful. Kudos to cabin crew.

I've flown TAP and this statement I agree with. I really liked their cabin crew.

Dear Gail,
I only expect to receive the services offered and included in the Airline advertisment for a certain amount of money. It is a contract, virtually signed and agreed by both parties.
I should not expect, and be happy and grateful to receive the lower possible service because I did not book Business class. The Airline is not doing me a favor, there are many other airlines, offering the same route at the +/- price and less inconveniences.

I strongly believe that people should be treated with respect and agreements -unless external circumstances prevent one of the parties for fulfilling their side of the agreement- must be honored at all times.
Let's not normalize Airlines taking advantage of their customers.

I just have to defend TAP a bit, and tell the another side of the story. I’ve flown TAP over 20 times in the eight years I’ve lived in Portugal. I’ve never had the experience you describe. Other than being asked to check my bag at the gate for no cost, which I gladly do. This is a common practice with most airlines - European and American. At least in my experience.

Lining up - or queuing - is not practiced in Europe like it is in the states. That was a difficult adjustment for me. So boarding isn’t the same in most European countries and airports.

The sizing for European airlines carry on luggage is a bit smaller than planes in the USA. TAP is not nearly as bad an Ryanair or Easy Jet. But, if your luggage complies only with American standards, you will likely have difficulty in Europe, unless you manage to always fly an American airline.

As you noted, the onboard staff has always been quite good.

The one way TAP is problematic for me is with changes to flights. I had them change my flight to a very late one on the date I scheduled, which wouldn’t work for me. I cancelled and booked on another airline. I’ve never received my refund.

So, TAP is definitely not perfect, but I wanted other readers to hear another point of view. BTW - they are still my preferred airline, both within Europe and back and forth to the U.S. And, I’ve only flown Business one time.

We flew TAP to Barcelona and returned from Lisbon back in October. I'd rate them as acceptable, and fairly up-front that they are a "nickel and dime" business model. I pre-bought a checked bag, so we were not pestered at all. I considered going the carry-on route, but wanted to have no extra stress dealing with the sort of stuff the OP mentions. Happy I did and also happy my wife and I can fit all our stuff in one medium sized piece of luggage :)

I will say, the US and the Euro "carry-on" sizing is slightly different, and it is a PITA to have to care about such minor details. As it is, though, we do have our US carry-on bags, and our EU carry-on bags taking up space in the closet waiting for their opportunity to shine. Probably can go simply to the EU size, since our flights in the US are almost solely on carriers we don't have a checked bag fee with, but low(er) cost flights to Europe through our non-regular carriers (United and Delta) are likely to be EU based airlines and follow the EU dimensions.

We bought tickets on TAP Portugal for October that include checked luggage to avoid such problems. They still are economy tickets just not the lowest priced ones. We intend to try to carry on but if flagged we will be able to check without being charged.

But my observation from flying discount airlines with restrictions a lot (think Spirit) is that the attention to baggage goes in spurts. I think that people abuse the rules and then there is a crackdown that can seem to go beyond reasonable. In support of that conclusion is my son and his wife's recent experience on TAP Portugal. They bought the cheapest class of tickets to fly to Madeira which required two flights both ways. They had their American sized carry ons over stuffed and each had an overstuffed backpack as well. I thought their violation of the rules was so obvious they would be flagged. They were not.

So I think there is a bit of the luck of the draw with carry on and how carefully it is monitored.

Thanks for the heads up. I suppose I will pack my luggage scale for the return trip.

In 2019, in preparation for my first off-continent trip, I agonized over finding European size approved carry-on luggage, returning several pieces because of the wheels and handles. Finally, out of desperation to finally end the stress of it, I bought a Brigg$ & Riley one. Even though it cost a couple hundred more than the US carry-ons, it was worth it. Seeing the exorbitant $115 price for having to check a carry-on, it will pay for itself by avoiding one or two instances of that.

I was extremely annoyed that they allowed the most flagrant overages to be carried onto the plane. Some people have the luck to be able to get away with that, however, that is not I.

Reading their allowances for puny personal item allowance (16x12x5 and 4.4lbs) with no allowance for medical item (medical items are to be approved beforehand but that doesn't mean you get a personal item and a medical device, like of BA, it just means if your CPAP machine is outside the approved weight and measures, they will allow you to carry it onto the plane. At least that is how I'm reading it) has lead me to conclude that I chose the European equivalent of Spirit Airlines. Oh well, it's a direct flight to Lisbon so I will just toe to the line.

Lisboa is a wonderful city filed with restaurants, cafes, music, galleries, fantastic architecture and beautiful people. Enjoy it.

There's a prior thread regarding CPAP and TAP.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/portugal/tap-with-a-cpap

Basically, you need to register it with the airline prior to flying and they will note it on your reservation.

Has anyone heard of them checking the personal object? My wife and I are planning on taking backpacks but they are 18 inches long and don’t meet their length requirement

It is a lottery, they might let you board with your backpack, or take your backpack for checking in -free- or charge you €115 for each bag.
If I were you, I will shrink my backpack to their strictly enforced limits.
Boa viagem

Those limits may also apply to people in business class and premium economy. Those boxes and scales are not uncommon for European Airlines. I have encountered them on both Air France and Austrian Air and those are the only two European airlines I have flown. I think some airlines have a single weight limit that applies to the total for the carryon and personal item together. So try to carry your heaviest items(eg heavy shoes) in a non-noticeable manner on your own body, which so far they don't weigh.