Inflation, fuel price hikes, demand uncertainty are concerns
"Galloping inflation, skyrocketing fuel prices, as well as uncertainties regarding demand next year, are present and future concerns," said the chairwoman of the national airline's.
The chief executive of TAP, Christine Ourmières-Widener, on Wednesday warned that “galloping inflation”, “skyrocketing fuel prices” and uncertainty about demand are “present and future concerns” for the airline.
“Galloping inflation, skyrocketing fuel prices, as well as uncertainties regarding demand next year, are present and future concerns,” said the chairwoman of the national airline’s executive committee in Ponte de Sor (Portalegre).
Christine Ourmières-Widener gave a speech on the subject of “TAP Air Portugal – The Path to Efficiency for the Future” at the 6th Portugal Air Summit, which began today at the Ponte de Sor Municipal Aerodrome.
In her speech, the TAP official also said that she was already preparing for the summer of 2023 and recalled that the company is limited to a fleet of 99 aircraft until 2025 and has had to give up some of its slots.
“But, even so, we will manage to increase our capacity next summer, which is very positive,” she stressed.
With the slot restrictions at Lisbon airport, “increasing our fleet to fly larger aircraft is the most efficient way to deal with the forecast demand,” argued Christine Ourmières-Widener.
“TAP is focused on increasing fleet reliability so that we can avoid operations being penalised by aircraft unavailability and unnecessary technical issues.”
According to the TAP CEO, “the return of most of the ATRs, lower capacity aircraft”, will allow the company to “operate with a stable fleet of 19 E-Jets and increase by four the number of Airbus” it currently operates.
In her speech, Christine Ourmières-Widener also mentioned that “TAP has not been a profitable company for many years” and that, “in fact, it has never been, despite having positive results in 2017 and, in 2019, being in expansion”.
“The pandemic stopped the business almost completely and, with that, further aggravated the company’s difficulties, but everyone recognises that TAP is a strategic company for Portugal and, for that very reason, the Portuguese State decided to intervene to save it,” she alluded.
The CEO acknowledged that this intervention was “at a high price for taxpayers, it is true, but with the certainty that everything will be done to make the national airline a sustainable company in the long term.
Since ‘landing’ at TAP, due to the “very difficult” situation she found, “not only economically and financially, but also on the human side”, it has been “painful for everyone [and] continues to be”, but there is today “an opportunity to create a better, stronger TAP”.
“It is, in fact, the last opportunity. After the state capital injection this year, TAP will not be able to receive any more support for 10 years. We cannot fail,” she said.
