> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Portugal’s Airline Is Up for Sale. I Hope Air France & KLM Get It - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/tap-air-portugal-sale-air-france-klm-lufthansa/ - Published: 2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-10T23:59:59.000Z - Description: Portugal is about to pick a new partner for TAP, and it's down to Air France-KLM or Lufthansa. Only one of them, I think, would actually make flying TAP better. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: Editorial, TAP Portugal The TAP Air Portugal sale is almost decided. Portugal is selling up to 44.9% of its national airline to another airline group, with up to 5% more set aside for TAP's own employees, and it's down to two bidders: Air France-KLM and Lufthansa. Both sent in their final offers on September 30, reportedly worth more than €1 billion each, and the government is expected to pick a winner around mid-October. Most of the coverage has been about price, hubs and which group gets Lisbon. That stuff matters, but I care about something simpler. Which owner would make TAP a better airline to actually fly? For me, it's not close. I'm hoping Air France-KLM gets it. Airline sale ### Who Gets TAP Air Portugal? Stake for sale Up to 44.9% State keeps At least 50.1% Pick expected Mid-October Deal closes 2027 #### BidderAir France-KLM Airlines Air France, KLM, Transavia Alliance SkyTeam (TAP would switch) US partner Delta Loyalty Flying Blue #### BidderLufthansa Group Airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, ITA Alliance Star Alliance (TAP stays) US partner United Loyalty Miles & More Both groups sent final offers on September 30\. Up to 5% more of TAP is set aside for its employees. IAG, owner of British Airways and Iberia, didn't bid. Contrail --- ## Where the Sale Stands The state isn't giving up control yet. It keeps at least 50.1% of TAP for now, though whoever wins this round would be first in line if Portugal sells more later. The government says it'll judge the offers on price, the buyer's plan for the airline, connections for Portuguese travelers and investment in the fleet. There was a third group in the race. IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, qualified to bid but didn't make an offer by the April deadline. It had pushed for a clear path to full ownership, which the minority stake on offer didn't give it. If everything goes to plan, the deal gets signed by the end of the year and closes in 2027 after European regulators review it. Nothing changes for passengers before then. --- ## What TAP Could Be TAP has something most European airlines would love to have. It's the main way a huge number of people get between Europe and Brazil, it flies to more than a dozen Brazilian cities, and Lisbon sits in a perfect spot for flights to the Americas and Africa. It carried a record 16.7 million passengers last year. The network was never the problem. What TAP has been missing is the money and attention to make the experience match the map, and that's what makes this choice of owner so important. ![Downtown São Paulo at night, with high-rise buildings around a lit-up highway interchange](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1470160710819-b3bd5ec85c66?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDZ8fHNhbyUyMHBhb2xvfGVufDB8fHx8MTc5MTU1MjM3NHww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000) Downtown São Paulo at night. Credit: Vanessa Bumbeers / Unsplash --- ## Why Air France-KLM Air France-KLM has spent the last few years showing it cares how its flights feel, not just where they go. Air France is my favorite business class in Europe, and the gap between it and most of its competitors comes down to things you notice on board: the food, the crew and a cabin that feels designed rather than specified. That approach runs through the whole group. Across Air France and KLM, I’ve found the catering more elevated, the crews warmer and the focus on luxury much broader, with newer seats that make long flights feel like an occasion rather than a commute. A group that already thinks that way about its own airlines is far more likely to bring that thinking to TAP. Its CEO, Ben Smith, has said he wants to make Lisbon the group's "exclusive Southern European hub." That would make TAP a centerpiece of the group's plans for southern Europe, with no other airline in the group competing for that role. When an airline group needs one airline to carry a whole region, it has a reason to make that airline good. ![Tails of an Air France jet and a KLM jet side by side at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ac/ed/acedfbb2-ff9c-499b-b431-eb36d7539be1/content/images/2026/10/IMG_0852.jpg) Air France and KLM jets side by side at Paris Charles de Gaulle. Credit: Zach Benitez / Contrail --- ## Why Lufthansa Worries Me Lufthansa runs its airlines as one big network. It already owns SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and, more recently, ITA Airways, and it agreed this year to take its stake in ITA up to 90%. It knows how to plug an airline into its system, share routes and squeeze out costs, and that's a real strength for the business. For passengers, though, that model tends to produce airlines that are well connected rather than special. Lufthansa's own long-awaited Allegris cabins took far longer to reach travelers than the airline first promised. If it can't move quickly on its own flagship product, I'm not convinced TAP's cabins would be near the top of its list. That matches what I’ve seen flying the Lufthansa Group. Its airlines feel focused on getting you where you’re going and not much more. The lounges are forgettable, the service is fine but rarely memorable, and the seats are more functional than enjoyable. None of that is a disaster, but it’s not the kind of product that would turn TAP into an airline people go out of their way to fly. My worry is that TAP becomes another tile in a big network map. It'd get more connections and more feed from Frankfurt and Munich, and probably not much else. ![Lufthansa Airbus A320neo in the rainbow “Lovehansa” livery taking off from Frankfurt Airport](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1673897840646-7f8ee7cd6aa4?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDd8fGx1ZnRoYW5zYXxlbnwwfHx8fDE3OTE1NTIzMzd8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000) A Lufthansa Airbus A320neo taking off from Frankfurt. Credit: Jan Rosolino / Unsplash --- ## What It Would Mean for Travelers The most visible change would be loyalty. TAP is currently in Star Alliance, the global airline group that includes Lufthansa and United. Under Lufthansa, that wouldn't change. Under Air France-KLM, TAP would almost certainly move to SkyTeam, the rival alliance that includes Air France, KLM and Delta, and its passengers would eventually move toward Air France-KLM's Flying Blue loyalty program. That switch would be messy for some TAP regulars, and it's the strongest argument for Lufthansa. If you've got a pile of TAP Miles&Go miles, keep an eye on what happens to the program once a winner is picked. --- ## My Pick Both bidders would keep the TAP name and its Lisbon headquarters, and both would probably make the airline more profitable. Only one of them, I think, would make flying TAP feel different. TAP has the routes, the location and the history to be one of the best airlines in Europe. It just needs an owner that cares about what happens inside the plane as much as where it lands. That's why I'm rooting for Air France-KLM.