As British Airways cuts frills on short haul flights, this airline offers full service for budget prices

Porto airport in northern Portugal is surely one of the most civilised places in Europe to begin or end a journey. Francisco Sa Carneiro airport, serving the second Portuguese city, is bright and modern, which makes it easy to navigate and use. It is connected to the city by a fast, frequent and cheap tram/metro line. And a tiny dodgem-like vehicle buzzes around the concourse, changing money: a bureau de change that comes to you.

Better still, Porto airport goes beyond functionality. On Tuesday evening, a pianist and violinist soothed stressed or anxious travellers by turning the airside area into a concert hall. The acoustics inside this glass palace were questionable, but the concept was sensational.

They provided the overture for the nightly competition: will TP338 or FR8348 get away first?

Every night of the week except Sunday, an intriguing contest is held at Gates 11 and 12. TAP Portugal and Ryanair both schedule their London flights to leave at 6.05pm. The prize is only modest — a time advantage of a few minutes while the loser waits for clearance — but in my experience pilots like a challenge.

I happened to be aboard the TAP Portugal flight, and was secretly delighted when the plane pushed back for Gatwick a few minutes early and was lining up for take-off while the Ryanair service to Stansted had barely started to move.

Even more delightful was the plane I was on: a very comfortable Embraer E195 jet. If you have not had the pleasure of travelling aboard these planes, I commend the experience. The two-by-two seating restores a touch of the glamour of flying, with a more intimate and — dare I say it? — exclusive ambience.

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Don’t get me wrong: I spend much of my travelling life aboard Ryanair’s Boeing 737s, and am a (usually) happy customer. But in a world where frills are eroding, TAP's business-jet-like experience was an unexpected treat.

I stretched out my legs to enjoy the extra legroom afforded by the emergency exit. Since easyJet and Ryanair started charging extra for additional space — a perfectly reasonable practice — I have found my knees in uncomfortably close proximity to the seat in front. Again, no complaints: I choose not to take up the option.

But when I checked in online for the TAP flight, I was offered an exit row free of charge. I also availed of the friendly, helpful and cost-free counter staff, who sorted out an issue with my boarding pass in a jiffy.

Once aloft, life in row 13 became even more fortunate. It was only a week ago that British Airways abandoned its decades-old practice of providing free food and drink for every passenger: you now pay to eat and imbibe in economy class in Europe.

Yet for a two-hour flight, the innately hospitable Portuguese had evidently concluded you’ll be needing a sandwich. A trolley laden with coffee, water and red wine (and, as far as I could tell, nothing else) followed up, patrolling the aisle and dishing out free drinks. And then the pilots delivered a perfectly on-time arrival at Gatwick, at the very closest gate to passport control.

In future my choice of flights will be influenced by this benign, full-service experience. Perhaps there is, after all, a market for a superior product: aboard a more agreeable plane, with abundant frills, to an airport that is 15 minutes closer to central London?

Certainly the passengers on my flight seemed overwhelmingly to be business types, who had presumably opted for premium TAP ahead of the more proletarian Ryanair. One thing troubles me: I paid too little. When I bought my ticket just three days ahead, TAP was actually £20 cheaper than the £80 Ryanair demanded. I paid less, and got more, than I expected, on a plane whose operating costs per seat were at least 50 per cent higher than the no-frills giant.

Every airline is having a horrid time on short European routes this winter, and I hope that when times are good, TAP more than makes up for selling at below cost. But just in case I’m wrong, enjoy the free frills while they last.