Is SAS or TAP Air Portugal better to Europe?

TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against SAS at 8.8/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, SAS wins 0 and TAP Air Portugal wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Which is cheaper, SAS or TAP Air Portugal?

On the 49 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), SAS was cheaper on 24 and TAP Air Portugal on 25. 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. SAS has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

Head to head

SAS vs TAP Air Portugal

TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against SAS at 8.8/10 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.

SAS

A330-300 / A350-900

Seat: 8/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Product score: 8.8/10

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: level
8/10 on the A330-300 / A350-900 against 8/10 on the A330-900neo.
IFE: level
Screens, connectivity and power: 8/10 against 8/10.
Lounge & bags: level
What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.
Value: TAP Air Portugal
Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 9/10 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	SAS	TAP Air Portugal	Cheaper
BOS → OSL	economy	$422	$626	SAS by $204
BOS → ARN	economy	$437	$583	SAS by $146
JFK → MAD	economy	$609	$530	TAP Air Portugal by $79
ORD → OSL	economy	$559	$645	SAS by $86
JFK → CPH	economy	$583	$613	SAS by $30
JFK → FRA	economy	$809	$591	TAP Air Portugal by $218
JFK → MXP	economy	$686	$591	TAP Air Portugal by $95
JFK → ARN	economy	$596	$647	SAS by $51
JFK → DUB	economy	$600	$617	SAS by $17
ORD → BER	economy	$705	$600	TAP Air Portugal by $105
JFK → OPO	economy	$605	$694	SAS by $89
ORD → MAD	economy	$723	$613	TAP Air Portugal by $110
ORD → ARN	economy	$625	$679	SAS by $54
JFK → OSL	economy	$748	$629	TAP Air Portugal by $119
JFK → ZRH	economy	$769	$630	TAP Air Portugal by $139
BOS → LHR	economy	$636	$778	SAS by $142
ORD → BCN	economy	$778	$638	TAP Air Portugal by $140
ORD → CPH	economy	$673	$647	TAP Air Portugal by $26
BOS → CPH	economy	$683	$648	TAP Air Portugal by $35
BOS → AMS	economy	$656	$671	SAS by $15
ORD → SVQ	economy	$932	$656	TAP Air Portugal by $276
JFK → LHR	economy	$664	$670	SAS by $6
JFK → VIE	economy	$670	$749	SAS by $79
ORD → DUB	economy	$685	$697	SAS by $12
BOS → HAM	economy	$783	$687	TAP Air Portugal by $96
ORD → MUC	economy	$698	$693	TAP Air Portugal by $5
BOS → ZRH	economy	$759	$700	TAP Air Portugal by $59
BOS → BER	economy	$702	$811	SAS by $109
JFK → MAN	economy	$732	$706	TAP Air Portugal by $26
ORD → HAM	economy	$707	$739	SAS by $32
ORD → FRA	economy	$708	$738	SAS by $30
BOS → MXP	economy	$760	$710	TAP Air Portugal by $50
BOS → FRA	economy	$733	$720	TAP Air Portugal by $13
ORD → VIE	economy	$727	$784	SAS by $57
ORD → LHR	economy	$787	$728	TAP Air Portugal by $59
BOS → PRG	economy	$738	$731	TAP Air Portugal by $7
BOS → VIE	economy	$748	$744	TAP Air Portugal by $4
BOS → MUC	economy	$821	$751	TAP Air Portugal by $70
ORD → ZRH	economy	$969	$752	TAP Air Portugal by $217
JFK → MUC	economy	$837	$758	TAP Air Portugal by $79
JFK → BER	economy	$778	$778	level
JFK → HAM	economy	$780	$805	SAS by $25
ORD → LIS	economy	$811	$938	SAS by $127
BOS → SVQ	economy	$815	$826	SAS by $11
ORD → PRG	economy	$818	$888	SAS by $70
JFK → NCE	economy	$819	$821	SAS by $2
BOS → MAN	economy	$836	$864	SAS by $28
ORD → MAN	economy	$893	$884	TAP Air Portugal by $9
ORD → FRA	business	$4003	$4063	SAS by $60

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:

SAS

A330-300 / A350-900

Seat: 8/10
IFE: 8/10
Lounge & bags: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Product score: 8.8/10

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

SAS: Thompson Vantage XL in a staggered 1-2-1 on both widebodies, so the product does not change with the frame.

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

Common questions

Is SAS or TAP Air Portugal better to Europe?: TAP Air Portugal scores 9/10 against SAS at 8.8/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, SAS wins 0 and TAP Air Portugal wins 1. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.
Which is cheaper, SAS or TAP Air Portugal?: On the 49 routes where both were priced for the same week (November 8–14, 2026), SAS was cheaper on 24 and TAP Air Portugal on 25. 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. SAS has not been flown, so nothing here claims firsthand experience of its cabin.

Join the Club, free

One email a week: the Europe fares worth acting on, the new transatlantic routes, and first look at the tools. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.