Really need some help or sanity checking here because this is turning into a nightmare.
I had a TAP Miles and Go award booked for 1/26 from ZRH to SFO. Yesterday I didn’t get any email from TAP, but my Flighty app alerted me that the booking was canceled. When I checked TAP’s site, they had automatically rebooked me for 1/28 instead. A full 48 hours later.
From what I can tell, TAP canceled all LIS–SFO flights between 1/25 and 1/27. They’re framing it as a schedule change, but pushing someone two days later feels pretty extreme.
All I’m asking for is to arrive on the same day as originally booked, 1/26. I don’t care if it’s an extra connection or a partner airline. A refund isn’t useful to me. I’m US based, don’t really want TAP miles back, and replacement tickets on other airlines are now insanely expensive.
Here’s where it gets frustrating. I can clearly see Star Alliance options arriving on 1/26 when I search:
Swiss nonstop ZRH–SFO
Lufthansa via FRA
Lufthansa via MUC
There’s even a TAP + United option via LIS and EWR that arrives 1/27.
I’ve now called TAP three times. Every agent says some version of:
Award tickets must be rebooked only on TAP operated flights
Partner availability I see is “ghost space”
Their system shows no options at all
Changes to routing aren’t allowed on miles
One agent even told me I couldn’t speak to a supervisor because they “don’t speak English.”
I’ve pointed out that under EC261, award tickets are covered and TAP is obligated to reroute me to my final destination at the earliest opportunity, even if that means putting me on another carrier. Their own conditions of carriage seem to back this up. None of that seems to matter to them.
They’re acting like moving my flight by two full days, six weeks out, is totally reasonable.
Has anyone successfully forced TAP to rebook an award on a partner after a cancellation like this? Or escalated EC261 issues beyond frontline agents? I’m running out of patience and not sure what the next lever to pull is.
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