TAP Air Portugal achieved a ‘record’ profit of €65.6 million in 2022 despite “continuous operational challenges”, the carrier announced on Thursday (23 March).
The Portuguese carrier reported revenues of €3.485 billion at the end of 2022, an increase of 151 per cent on the previous year, which saw a net loss of €1.599 billion and spurred a restructure of the airline.
Flight frequency and capacity also inched closer to pre-Covid levels in 2022, reaching 79 per cent and 87 per cent, respectively.
TAP carried a total of 13.8 million passengers throughout 2022, while load factors increased to 80 per cent, just 0.1 percentage points below 2019.
TAP CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener, said: “For the first full year of the restructuring plan, TAP generated an operating profit that is an all-time record for the company.”
She added that the carrier “certainly delivered” in 2022, producing results close to that forecasted for 2025.
While forward bookings for 2023 indicate continued travel demand, Ourmières-Widener said the carrier still faces challenges for the year ahead.
“2023 is about optimising revenues in an uncertain environment, further reducing costs against a backdrop of inflation,” she explained.
In 2022 the carrier opened 31 new lounges, reorganised its commercial team and hired 779 new employees.
During an earnings call on Tuesday (21 March) the carrier highlighted plans to increase capacity in Brazil and the US in 2023 and said improving distribution management and enhancing its TAP Corporate programme are among its priorities for the next 12 months.