Over the years, we’ve seen premium economy become an increasingly popular cabin on long haul flights. That’s logical, as economy cabins keep getting tighter, while business class cabins keep getting more spacious, so people want an option between the two.
Up until now, Star Alliance member TAP Air Portugal hasn’t offered premium economy on long haul flights. That will be changing in 2026, though not necessarily in the way that you’d expect…
TAP plans unconventional premium economy product
As of the summer of 2026, TAP Air Portugal will introduce premium economy on long haul flights, and it’ll be available on both Airbus A330 and Airbus A321LR aircraft. However, if I’m understanding this announcement correctly, the airline won’t actually be reconfiguring planes in any way.
The airline promotes how it will offer 12 seats at the front of economy with an adjacent empty seat, which “ensures a quieter, more private environment for a truly relaxed journey.” So it sounds like TAP won’t actually introduce a true premium economy hard product, and that this will simply take up the first two rows of economy on the A330, and the first three rows of economy on the A321LR.
The soft product will be more in line with what you’d expect from premium economy, though:
- At the airport, premium economy will offer premium check-in, priority baggage, fast track security, and priority boarding
- Onboard, premium economy will offer a premium main meal with two hot dish options, meal pre-selection up to 24 hours before departure, amenity kits, premium pillows, and enhanced headphones
- In terms of rewards and flexibility, premium economy will offer bonus miles, and flexible rebooking and refund conditions
My take on TAP’s unique approach to premium economy
I’m a fan of airlines giving customers more choice in terms of the type of experience they can have, so I’d consider this to be a positive development.
That being said, I can’t help but think that the airline may have a hard time managing expectations with this new concept. When people book premium economy, they generally expect a completely different seat, more in line with what you’d expect in domestic first class within the United States (admittedly there are some exceptions, like Condor branding its extra legroom economy section as premium economy). If you book a premium economy flight on TAP and don’t do your research, you could be very disappointed.
At the same time, there’s no denying that this is an efficient way to introduce premium economy. With the delays that exist nowadays with sourcing new seats, plus the amount of time it can take to reconfigure cabins, that’s potentially a huge undertaking. With the approach TAP is taking, the airline can essentially “switch on” premium economy overnight, and there’s something to be said for that.
Bottom line
As of the summer of 2026, TAP Air Portugal will introduce premium economy on long haul flights. However, the airline won’t actually be introducing different seats, but instead, will simply rebrand the front rows of economy, and block adjacent seats.
On the plus side, the soft product will be fully in line with what you expect from premium economy, with everything from an improved meal service, to amenity kits. This is definitely an unconventional approach for the airline to take, but it sure is efficient.
What do you make of TAP’s premium economy plans?
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