TAAG Angola Airlines

TAAG Angola Airlines E.P. () is a state-owned airline and flag carrier of Angola. and the African Airlines Association. The airline uses Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport as its hub.

| During 2008, TAAG launched a new route to Beijing. An updated version of the list of airlines banned in the EU released in early still included part of TAAG's fleet; however, five Boeing 777s and four Boeing 737-700s were allowed to operate into the EU; there were little or no changes in the list regarding the aircraft the airline was allowed to fly into the EU, following the release of the 11 latest versions of the list in ,

Emirates management agreement (2014–2017)

In late , a ten-year management concession agreement between Emirates and the Government of Angola was signed; the deal also covered flight codesharing and the coordination of frequent flier programmes. Initial flights were flown using a pair of newly delivered De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprops which were the first from an order of 6 to eventually join the fleet, with long-haul flights being operated by the airline's 777s. The Dash 8 deliveries were followed in 2023 by an order for 15 Airbus A220s which would replace the carrier's fleet of 737-700s as well as allow for regional expansion. The long-haul fleet also had an overhaul with the announcement later that year of orders for four Boeing 787 aircraft, consisting of a pair of -9s in addition to a pair of larger -10s which would make TAAG the first African airline to operate the 787-10.

In April 2023, the airline signed a codeshare agreement with Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol Linhas Aéreas which added TAAG's airline code to 13 Gol routes, while Gol's code was added to the São Paulo to Luanda route enabling further connections to TAAG's African destinations. During May 2023 the airline released its financial performance for the previous year, stating a profit of 460,000,000 kwanzas, or roughly US$800,000.

2024 marked the start of a new era for the airline as it began operations from the new Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport in February, initially operating cargo flights to Lagos, Brazzaville and Johannesburg. The new airport is reported to have cost over $3 billion and will become the airline's hub for both passenger and cargo traffic, the first passenger flights launched on November 10, 2024, to Cabinda using the Dash 8-Q400s with further domestic rotations transferring in December. The first flights from the new airport were operated using a Boeing 737-800BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter) cargo aircraft which was delivered to the airline in December 2023, followed soon after by the addition of a larger Boeing 747-400F on a long-term lease from Network Airline Management with a capacity of 120,000 kg. The cargo division has been very successful for TAAG and an area which has contributed greatly to the airline's recent profitability, with CEO Eduardo Fairen Soria saying "We have very strong traffic in the cargo space... we want to develop this service with larger aircraft". This strength was reflected in the airline's 2022 financial report citing a revenue of US$67 million and has the potential to grow even further once the airline moves to the new airport which has the capacity to accommodate 50,000 tons of cargo each year. This was planned as the first step in doubling the fleet to more than 40 aircraft. The airline is looking to boost its foreign exchange income as it does so due to its heavy reliance on foreign currency. In November 2025, the airline phased in its first Boeing 787-10;

, Eduardo Fairen holds chief executive officer position.

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Head office

thumb|The TAAG office in [[Beijing]]

TAAG has its corporate headquarters in Luanda, Angola. The airline also has offices in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America, and opened an office in Chaoyang District, Beijing, in 2010.

Air France
British Airways
Brussels Airlines
Cabo Verde Airlines
Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes
Iberia
Kenya Airways
KLM
LAM Mozambique Airlines
Lufthansa
Royal Air Maroc

Fleet

Current fleet

thumb|A TAAG [[Boeing 777#777-300ER|Boeing 777-300ER taking off from Lisbon Portela Airport (2012)]]

thumb|A TAAG [[Boeing 737-700 (2007)]]

, TAAG Angola Airlines operates the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto;text-align:center"

|+ TAAG Angola Airlines fleet

! rowspan="2" | Aircraft

! rowspan="2" | In service

! rowspan="2" | Orders

! colspan="5" | Passengers

! rowspan="2" | Notes

!<abbr title="First Class">F</abbr>

!<abbr title="Business Class">J</abbr>

!<abbr title="Premium Economy Class">W</abbr>

!<abbr title="Economy Class">Y</abbr>

!Total

|Airbus A220-300

|11

|—

|12

|—

|125

|137

|Replacing Boeing 737-700.

|Boeing 737-700

|—

|12

|—

|108

|120

|To be retired and replaced by Airbus A220-300.

|Boeing 777-200ER

|—

|14

|51

|—

|170

|235

|Boeing 777-300ER

|—

|12

|56

|—

|225

|293

|Boeing 787-9

|Boeing 787-10

|—

|10

|—

|64

|74

|—

| colspan="5" |<abbr title="Cargo Configuration">Cargo</abbr>

!Total

!31

!12

! colspan="6" |

Historical fleet

The company previously operated the following aircraft:

Boeing 737-200C

;Business Class

Business Class, known as Executiva Class, is found on all TAAG aircraft. On the Boeing 777 fleet, the seats are angled lie-flat with AVOD in-flight entertainment in each seat. Amenity kits, pillows, and blankets are given to all Business Class passengers. Additionally, they are entitled to priority check-in and also have access to TAAG's Welwitchia Lounge in Luanda Airport.

Accidents and incidents

Accidents involving fatalities

29 November 1982: An Antonov 26, registration D2-TAB, that operated a non-scheduled passenger service, flew into mountainous terrain and crashed. All 15 occupants of the aircraft perished in the accident.
14 April 1997: A Fokker F-27-600, tail number D2-TFP, operating a Brazzaville–Luanda cargo service, rolled right following rotation from Maya-Maya Airport, fell onto the runway it took off from and skidded until it came to rest past the end of it, breaking in two and bursting into flames. There were three reported fatalities.
28 June 2007: A Boeing 737-200 crashed in northern Angola. Portuguese news agency Lusa said the aircraft had taken off from the Angolan capital, Luanda, and was trying to land at M'banza-Kongo in the province of Zaire, which is in northern Angola near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least five people were killed and 66 injured. Among those killed in the accident was the municipal administrator of M'banza-Kongo and a senior Roman Catholic priest from Italy. Initial press reports indicated that the aircraft touched down about halfway along the runway while attempting to land at M'banza-Kongo.

Incidents involving fatalities

8 June 1980: A Yakovlev Yak-40K, registration D2-TYC, was shot down by a MiG-19 near Matala, Angola. There were 19 reported fatalities.
16 May 1981: A Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules, tail number D2-EAS, that was operating a freighter service, was shot down by a missile on approach to Menongue Airport. All four occupants of the aircraft perished in the incident.
8 November 1983: A Boeing 737-2M2, registration D2-TBN, crashed immediately after takeoff from Lubango Airport bound for Quatro de Fevereiro Airport; all 130 occupants of the aircraft —of whom 126 were passengers— died. UNITA guerrillas claimed to have shot down the airliner.

Incidents involving no fatalities

thumb|D2-TBD, a TAAG Angola Airlines Boeing 737-200 Advanced, was involved in a mid-air collision with another aeroplane over Namibia on 26 December 2002. The aircraft is seen here at [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in 1986.]]

26 December 2002: A Boeing 737-2M2, registration D2-TBD, that had departed from Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport bound for Luanda operating as Flight 572, was involved in a mid-air collision over Namibian airspace with a Cessna 404, registration V5-WAA, that took off from Windhoek Eros Airport. The collision occurred some north of Hosea Kutako Airport. The Boeing sustained minor damage to one of its wings, but continued its flight to Luanda; the pilot of the Cessna —the only occupant of the light aircraft— managed to land it safely despite the damage it sustained in the incident. All occupants from both aircraft survived unharmed.
4 November 1980: A Boeing 737-2M2C, tail number D2-TAA, that landed short of the runway at Benguela Airport, slid some 900 m following the collapse of the gear; a fire broke out on the right wing but there were no reported fatalities. The aircraft caught fire during recovery operations on 10 November, and was written off.
9 February 1984: A Boeing 737-2M2, registration D2-TBV, that departed from Albano Machado Airport operating a scheduled passenger service, suffered hydraulic problems following an explosion in the rear of the aircraft and returned to the airport of departure for an emergency landing. The plane touched down fast and overran the runway.
8 January 1988: A Yakovlev Yak-40K, tail number D2-TYD, ran off the runway upon landing at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport.
8 February 1988: A Boeing 707-349C, registration D2-TOI, had its hydraulic and control lines broken after it hit an antenna on approach to Quatro de Fevereiro Airport; the nosegear collapsed when it overran the runway.
20 February 1992: A Boeing 707-349C, tail number D2-TOJ, experienced a nosegear failure during taxiing at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport.

References

Bibliography

External links

TAAG Angola Airlines (Brazil Website)