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Onboard Octopus? TAP Air Portugal's Push for 'Portugality'
16.08.2024 - 13:58 / skift.com / Gordon Smith
Serving a country of just over 10 million people, TAP Air Portugal has had to look beyond its shores to build scale. It’s a strategy that’s worked. Today, just 20% of TAP passengers are Portuguese.
However, when only one in five passengers is from Portugal, how Portuguese can you – should you – be?
It’s a question on the mind of Catarina Índio, TAP’s Head of Onboard and Ground Product. She joined the flag carrier last year and is on a mission to improve passenger experience at all levels.
Speaking to on the fringes of Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport, Índio uses one word time and again: Portugality.
Walk the corridors of TAP headquarters and it’s a term you’ll hear frequently. Put simply, the goal is to reflect Portuguese culture, cuisine, and products as part of the journey.
What can initially feel like a fluffy marketing concept is rooted in sharp business acumen. Being distinctive is a competitive advantage.
“We don’t make it a particular differentiator on certain routes where we have strong competition. Our commitment is to have Portugality onboard, no matter if you’re going to Brazil or flying short-haul in Europe,” says Índio.
How exactly does an airline turn this concept into practice? One of TAP’s flagship ‘Portugality’ projects is the Local Stars initiative. Launched in March 2023 and running until next April, business class passengers on long-haul flights departing Lisbon are offered a bespoke menu.
Twelve chefs representing regions across mainland Portugal and its Atlantic islands are tasked with creating dishes that showcase the area while considering seasonality and the practicalities of dining at 35,000 feet.
Slick social media videos and bonus content are available online to support the campaign. The current menu centers on river crayfish from the central Lezíria do Tejo region.
Curating a locally focused experience for high-spending passengers is one thing, but what about the 90% of customers who travel in economy?
“Our commitment is exactly the same,” says Índio. “When we prepare the menus for economy class, we’re still focused on Portugality. We ask for local recipes, local ingredients. For example, many other international airlines like to serve curry in economy. That’s not something you’ll see us doing. Our goal wherever you’re sitting on the plane is that you feel like you are in Portugal.”
Such commitments are noble, but surely airline profitability comes ahead of platitudes? Pressed on whether TAP would pay more to have a distinctive local supplier, Índio replies with a steadfast “yes.”
“In our procurement process, we ask for Portuguese suppliers, but it’s not always easy. Giving additional consideration to local companies is the only way, even if it costs us a little
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