"The first quarter results are worse than the first quarter of last year, but they are better than [those foreseen in] our budget. It was something that we already knew would happen due to the transformation process that the company is undergoing," Luís Rodrigues told journalists in London, where he was to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Lisbon-London connection.

However, he added: "We already know that April was a better month than what we had budgeted" and the bookings for the rest of 2024, especially in the summer, "are extraordinary".

The CEO is confident that TAP will be able to achieve the objectives set for this year in financial and operational terms.

"Financially, it is not necessarily a new record year, that is not what we are looking for. We are looking for a profitable, sustainable year that continues to consolidate TAP as one of the best companies and to evolve to be one of the best companies in the sector," he stressed.

TAP reported losses of 71.9 million euros in the first quarter of the year, a worsening compared to the negative net result of 57.4 million recorded in the same period last year.

In 2023, the airline recorded a 'record' profit of 177.3 million euros.

The CEO of the Portuguese airline, who has been in office for about a year, reiterated that the end of salary cuts, inflation adjustments and new company agreements will have a good impact in the medium and long term.

"People are motivated to work, they feel they are being paid fairly for what they do and, therefore, they have delivered from the very beginning the productivity that we asked everyone to happen and that is happening. All operational indicators are improving," he stressed.

Luís Rodrigues downplayed conflicts with unions, saying: "We have our disagreements here and there, but, in essence, we are in complete agreement."

Regarding the restructuring plan, he defended the need to "honour the [...] commitments" until the end of the process, in December 2025.

"Obviously, from January [20]26, if the privatisation process is completed, the new shareholder or one of the new shareholders will have their own ideas for what to do with the fleet or with the company," he said.

TAP's CEO was speaking on the sidelines of an event held at the Portuguese embassy in the United Kingdom to mark the 75th anniversary of the Lisbon-London air link.

The company currently connects Lisbon and Porto to two London airports (Heathrow and Gatwick) and also to Manchester.

"We transport more than three million people a year, which is impressive for a company like ours," he said.

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