Is Icelandair or TAP Air Portugal better to Europe?

TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Icelandair wins 0 and TAP Air Portugal wins 2. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Which is cheaper, Icelandair or TAP Air Portugal?

On the 26 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Icelandair was cheaper on 20 and TAP Air Portugal on 6. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.

Does the aircraft change the answer?

Yes. TAP Air Portugal scores 8/10 on the A330-900neo and 5/10 on the A321LR. Check the equipment on your date before deciding.

Has Jon flown either of these?

TAP Air Portugal, in business on a Europe route. Icelandair has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

Head to head

Icelandair vs TAP Air Portugal

TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare.

By Jon Miksis · cabin data verified August 30, 2026 · fares for travel November 8–14, 2026

Best product each one flies

Scored on what can be verified. Service, food and ground recovery are absent deliberately: they need someone in the seat, and they live in the reviews rather than here.

One caveat on the Value line, stated rather than buried: the cabin scores describe a business product and the fares behind Value are economy. A carrier that prices economy aggressively generally prices business the same way, but they are different products. Read Value as how an airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

Seat: 0/10
IFE: 4/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 6/10

TAP Air Portugal

A330-900neo · flown by Jon

Seat: 8/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 9/10

Dimension by dimension

Seat: TAP Air Portugal
0/10 on the 737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium) against 8/10 on the A330-900neo.
IFE: TAP Air Portugal
Screens, connectivity and power: 4/10 against 8/10.
Lounge & bags: level
What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.
Value: level
Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 10/10 against 10/10.

Where both were priced on the same dates

Every fare is November 8–14, 2026, so a difference between two rows is a difference between two airlines and nothing else. These are economy fares, while the cabin scores above describe the business product — read them as how each airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Route	Cabin	Icelandair	TAP Air Portugal	Cheaper
BOS → OSL	economy	$477	$626	Icelandair by $149
BOS → ARN	economy	$496	$583	Icelandair by $87
ORD → OSL	economy	$544	$645	Icelandair by $101
BOS → ZRH	economy	$548	$700	Icelandair by $152
ORD → CPH	economy	$549	$647	Icelandair by $98
BOS → CPH	economy	$585	$648	Icelandair by $63
ORD → BER	economy	$1047	$600	TAP Air Portugal by $447
BOS → MUC	economy	$618	$751	Icelandair by $133
BOS → FCO	economy	$713	$627	TAP Air Portugal by $86
BOS → FRA	economy	$629	$720	Icelandair by $91
JFK → OSL	economy	$1007	$629	TAP Air Portugal by $378
ORD → ARN	economy	$630	$679	Icelandair by $49
JFK → ARN	economy	$1116	$647	TAP Air Portugal by $469
BOS → AMS	economy	$649	$671	Icelandair by $22
ORD → DUB	economy	$673	$697	Icelandair by $24
BOS → LHR	economy	$683	$778	Icelandair by $95
ORD → MUC	economy	$960	$693	TAP Air Portugal by $267
ORD → LHR	economy	$699	$728	Icelandair by $29
ORD → MAN	economy	$729	$884	Icelandair by $155
ORD → FRA	economy	$734	$738	Icelandair by $4
ORD → ZRH	economy	$896	$752	TAP Air Portugal by $144
BOS → MAN	economy	$838	$864	Icelandair by $26
JFK → LHR	business	$2356	$3333	Icelandair by $977
JFK → AMS	business	$2404	$3591	Icelandair by $1187
JFK → FCO	business	$3065	$3334	Icelandair by $269
ORD → FRA	business	$3195	$4063	Icelandair by $868

What happens if the aircraft swaps

Both carriers are paying-the-same-fare-either-way propositions on some frames. The worst product each one flies:

Icelandair

737 MAX / 757 (Saga Premium)

Seat: 0/10
IFE: 4/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 6/10

TAP Air Portugal

A321LR · flown by Jon

Seat: 5/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Product score: 8.3/10

Icelandair: Saga Premium is a wide recliner, not a lie-flat business class: roughly 20 inches wide with about 5 inches of recline. Closer to US domestic first class than to a transatlantic business seat, and the shorter Iceland sectors are what it is built for.

TAP Air Portugal: Solo throne seats in the 1-1 rows; the 2-2 rows require stepping over a neighbor.

Common questions

Is Icelandair or TAP Air Portugal better to Europe?: TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against Icelandair at 6/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Icelandair wins 0 and TAP Air Portugal wins 2. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
Which is cheaper, Icelandair or TAP Air Portugal?: On the 26 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), Icelandair was cheaper on 20 and TAP Air Portugal on 6. Every pair of fares is the same departure and return date in the same cabin, so the difference is the airline rather than the dates or the cabin.
Does the aircraft change the answer?: Yes. TAP Air Portugal scores 8/10 on the A330-900neo and 5/10 on the A321LR. Check the equipment on your date before deciding.
Has Jon flown either of these?: TAP Air Portugal, in business on a Europe route. Icelandair has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

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