Getting to Madeira
Airlines that fly to and from Madeira
By Jorge Barbosa
May 26, 2008 - 2:57:59 PM

Getting the island of Madeira is almost always done by air. For tourists it is about 95% of the way they get here. Exceptions to this are passengers that arrive here for a day trip off a cruise-liner, the odd ferry boat from the Canary islands (only in the summer) and a new summer service between Funchal harbour and Portimão in the Algarve on mainland Portugal.

 

A model airplane that somebody has fixed to the top of their roof - overlooking Funchal

  There are many charter flights to Madeira. Indeed, up to 80% of flights to Madeira from beyond Portugal fall into this category. The airport in Funchal is still, however, dominated clearly by flights from the Portuguese behemoth TAP (Transportes Aereos Português) who until recently have enjoyed a near monopolistic share of the national Portuguese market for air traffic between mainland Portugal and Madeira. But this is all changing in 2008. Restrictions on competitive carriers have been removed and much fuss has been made about a possible regular schedule provided by EasyJet from Lisbon to Funchal. The new competition will drive prices of tickets down. In anticipation of the possible entry of new and more agile competitors onto the market TAP has begun programmes of incentives and discounts, some with flights costing about €75 Euros one way. These prices seem to be what would become the new standard tariff for flights from Lisbon/Porto to Funchal.

Homepage snapshot of TAP Portugal

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