INFLIGHT 200 DIECAST MODEL AIRLINERS

TAP Portugal, commonly known as TAP, is the national airline of Portugal. It has its head office in Building 25 on the grounds of Portela Airport in Lisbon, and has been a member of the Star Alliance since 14 March 2005, the same day on which the company celebrated its 60th anniversary. Its hub in Lisbon is a key European gateway at the crossroads of Africa, South America and North America. TAP's route network comprises 77 destinations in 34 countries worldwide. TAP operates almost 2,000 weekly flights with a fleet of 55 Airbus aircraft, and 16 further aircraft servicing regional subsidiary carrier Portugalia. TAP originally meant Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (Portuguese Air Transportations.) This was dropped in 1979 when the company changed its name to TAP Air Portugal, then dropped again to its current operational name, TAP Portugal. The airline was founded on 14 March 1945, beginning commercial service on 19 September 1946, from Lisbon to Madrid with a Douglas DC-3 under the name Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP). On 31 December that year, TAP began its Linha Aérea Imperial, a twelve-stop colonial service including Luanda, Angola and Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique. In 1947, domestic services commenced from Lisbon to Porto as well as from São Tomé to London. Four Douglas DC-4 Skymasters were bought in 1947, remaining in service until 1960. These were used on the routes to Africa and to major European destinations including London. TAP began service to Tangier and Casablanca in 1949. In 1953, the airline became a private company. The one-millionth passenger flew on TAP on 19 June 1964, 18 years after the airline began operations. In 1969, service to New York via Santa Maria Island in the Azores began. Boston was added to the New York service the following year. In 1975, TAP was nationalized, becoming a state-owned corporation (Empresa Pública) and changing its name to TAP Air Portugal in March 1979. TAP purchased Boeing 747s during the 1970s, replacing their Boeing 707s; but they were eventually sold due to lack of demand. They were replaced by Lockheed TriStars and Airbus A310s on long-haul routes. In 1985 TAP established its charter subsidiary Air Atlantis. By the late 1990s, TAP had expanded its fleet by selling its older Boeing 727s and Boeing 737s, and had replaced them with Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. The TriStars were sold to Air Luxor and were replaced by Airbus A340s giving TAP an Airbus-only fleet.

Info:   TAP Air Portugal Cargo Boeing 707-300 "CS-TBJ"