TAAG Angola Airlines

DTA: 1938–1973

The origins of the carrier trace back to 1937, when the president of Portugal Óscar Carmona commended Joaquim de Almedia Baltazar to create an airline in Angola. In September 1938, DTA – Divisão dos Transportes Aéreos was formed as a division of the Administration of Railways, Harbours, and Air Transport of Portuguese West Africa. It was owned and run by the government, which authorised the acquisition of three Dragons and two Junkers Ju 52s, yet the latter two aircraft were not delivered due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Operations began on 17 July 1940, using De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplanes. First routes to be operated were founded by the Aero Club of Angola and included two main lines: one running between Luanda and Pointe Noire, having connections with Aeromaritime services to Europe, and the other being Luanda–Benguela–Lobito that was later extended to Moçâmedes. Flights were intermittently discontinued during World War II due to the scarcity of spare parts, but by the end of the war the airline resumed operations. Two Stinson Reliants bought from the Belgian Congo in 1944 permitted the carrier to resume coastal services.

The DC-3 and the Beech 18 joined the fleet in 1946. In March that year, a new route to Leopoldville was launched. The airline joined the International Air Transport Association in 1951. Also this year, the company extended the Leopoldville route far east, serving Lourenço Marques, but this destination was later abandoned due to poor financial performance. DTA also operated a route linking Luanda with Lourenço Marques via Livingstone between 1951 and 1952; poor occupation prompted the airline to terminate the service. A 700-mile (1,100 km) long route to São Tomé was launched in 1956.

By April 1960 (1960-04), the fleet was composed of four Beech 18s, seven DC-3s and three DH.89s. A year later, DTA became the third African airline in ordering the Fokker F-27, with two aircraft acquired. At this time, the company had a route network that was 3,300 miles (5,300 km) long. The F-27s were incorporated into the fleet in 1962. Served with these brand new aircraft, Windhoek was added to the route network that year.

TAAG Angola Airlines

Following renaming to TAAG – Transportes Aéreos de Angola on 1 October 1973, the airline was reorganised and reconstituted. The company's shareholders at the time were the Angolan government (51%), TAP Air Portugal (29%) and ex-DTA employees (20%). Four Boeing 737-200s were ordered in 1974. The same year, a new livery including the Palança Negra was unveiled. Three F-27s and six DC-3s comprised the fleet by March 1975 (1975-03). Following the rise to power of the communists, that year the country gained independence from Portugal; the airline became Angola's flag carrier in October. In November, the company took delivery of the first Boeing 737-200. In January 1976 (1976-01), the delivery of two Boeing 737-200Cs was blocked by the US State Department; the embargo was lifted two months later following the end of the civil war in the country. Valued at around US$18 million, these two aircraft were finally delivered by late April that year. In February the same year, an ex-Allegheny Airlines Fairchild FH-227 on delivery flight to Suidwes Lugdiens was forced to land at Luanda while flying over Angolan territory. The country seized control of the aircraft, which was later reported to be in service with TAAG, along with an ex-Argentine Air Force Caravelle and two ex-THY Turkish Airlines F-27s. Three Yak-40s entered the fleet in 1977, along with other Soviet-built aircraft; late this year, an ex-British Caledonian Airways Boeing 707-320C was sold to TAAG. In 1978, TAAG acquired two used F27s from Fokker, and another Boeing 737 was ordered a year later. A Lockheed L-100-20, registration D2-FAF, was involved in an accident while landing at São Tomé.

By March 1980 (1980-03), the carrier had a fleet of three Boeing 707-320Cs, three Boeing 737-200Cs, six Fokker F27s —four -600s and two -200s—, three L-100s —two -20s and one -30— and four Yakovlev Yak-40s to serve a number of domestic destinations, plus Brazzaville, São Tome, Lagos, Maputo, Lisbon, Moscow, Paris and Rome. The company was reorganised again during the year. On 8 June, a Yak-40 registration D2-TYC crashed near Matala killing all 19 occupants on board. On 16 May 1981, the crew of four on board a Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules, registration D2-EAS, lost their lives in an accident at Mongua. During the early 1980s the fleet also included a small number of Antonov An-26s that started being phased out. One of these examples (D2-TAB) was involved in an accident at Monte Bibala on 29 November 1982; 15 people lost their lives. Another fatal accident took place almost a year later, on 8 November 1983, when the crash of a Boeing 737-200 (D2-TBN) at Lubango resulted in 130 fatalities. Serious financial difficulties were uncovered during 1984. In the mid-1980s, an L-100 Hercules was withdrawn from service and two Ilyushin Il-62Ms were acquired for operations to Cuba. The carrier phased in the first of these two aircraft in 1988. On 21 July 1988, a Boeing 707 freighter owned by the airline crashed 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from Murtala Muhammed International Airport; six crewmembers lost their lives in the accident.

At March 1990 (1990-03), TAAG Angola Airlines had TAAG-Air Charter and TAAG Aviacao Ligeira as associated companies; the number of employees was 5,770. At this time, the fleet consisted of six Boeing 707-320s (one -320B and five -320Cs), four Boeing 737-200s, one Boeing 737-200C, one Lockheed L100-200, six Fokker F.27s (one -100, one -400M, one -500 and three -600s) and two Yakovlev Yak-40s. The carrier's network comprised 18 domestic points in Angola served from Luanda plus international flights to Berlin-Schonefeld, Brazaville, Havana, Kinshasa, Lisbon, Lusaka, Maputo, Moscow, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sal and Sao Tome. TAAG bought a Boeing 747-300 Combi from Singapore Airlines in 1997.

In July 2005 (2005-07), TAAG Angola Airlines informed that it firmed up an order for three Boeing 777-200ERs and four Boeing 737-700s, it also took options on one and two more of these aircraft, respectively. The firm-ordered aircraft were initially scheduled for delivery in July 2006 (2006-07). The new aircraft were aimed at replacing the ageing Boeing 747-300s and Boeing 737-200s. The order was partially fulfilled in November 2006, when two Boeing 777-200ERs and three 737-700s were delivered. One of these Boeing 777-200ERs established a record-breaking distance for the delivery of the type, when it flew 12,860 kilometres (6,940 nmi; 7,990 mi) between Seattle and Luanda in 16 hours and 47 minutes.

European Union ban 2007 and subsequent restructuring

In June 2007 (2007-06), the European Union (EU) banned TAAG aircraft from entering into European airspace because of safety concerns, effective early July 2007 (2007-07). At the same time, the United Kingdom barred TAAG from flying into its territory, just before the airline was about to start services to London-Gatwick; in retaliation, Angola banned British Airways from landing in Angola. The carrier announced it was losing US$5 million a month owing to the ban. To continue operating flights to Europe, TAAG wet-leased a Boeing 747-400 from South African Airways (SAA). Following the EU ban, in November 2008 the entire TAAG board was replaced and a new board was appointed with the objective of turning the carrier round, and in particular getting it removed from the EU blacklist. At the time, according to the Transport Minister, Augusto da Silva Tomás, in 14 months the company lost about US$70 million (€55.6 million). The turn-round plan included staff reductions – before the action was taken, there were about 5,000 staff. During 2008, TAAG launched a new route to Beijing.

On 29 May 2009, it was announced that TAAG had passed IATA inspections. In November the same year, TAAG restarted services to Havana; many Cuban doctors and teachers reside in Angola and the flight exists to help transport them.

On 29 April 2010, it was announced that TAAG had ordered two Boeing 777-300ERs, with an option for two more.

In January 2011, there were concerns over inadequate maintenance on its aircraft once again, after a series of incidents involving the Boeing 777-200ER fleet. However, it was determined that the company was still complying with international safety requirements after an IATA inspection in Luanda.

In July 2009 (2009-07), TAAG received permission to operate flights to Europe under restricted conditions; it was allowed to fly only into Portugal, and could only use its three Boeing 777-200ERs to operate these flights. The permission was extended to its four Boeing 737-700s in late 2009. The maximum number of flights was set at ten per week. On 1 August 2009, TAAG's first flight departed from Luanda to Lisbon, after nearly two years of being banned from EU airspace. TAAG then returned the Boeing 747–400 to South African Airways.

In March 2011 (2011-03), the Boeing 747-300 fleet was retired from service. In June the same year, the airline received its first newly acquired Boeing 777-300ER, out of two ordered in October 2009; TAAG became the first African carrier in purchasing and operating this type of aircraft. Three additional 293-seater Boeing 777-300ERs were ordered in April 2012 (2012-04), in a deal worth US$895 million.

In late March 2010, restrictions over TAAG operations were relented again following the announcement the airline could fly their Boeing 777-200ERs and 737-700s to all European airports. In April 2012 (2012-04), the ban was partially lifted, but some aircraft were still prevented to fly the European Air Space. An updated version of the list of airlines banned in the EU released in early December 2012 (2012-12) 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 four latest versions of the list in July 2013 (2013-07), December 2013 (2013-12), April 2014 (2014-04), and December 2014 (2014-12).

In late September 2014 (2014-09), a ten-year management agreement was signed with Emirates; the deal also covers flight codesharing and the coordination of frequent flier programmes. The agreement is subject to government approval; it is not contemplated that Emirates will take any stake in TAAG.

Head office

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.

Ownership and structure

Originally set up within a government department, TAAG Angola Airlines remains 100% owned by the government of Angola. As of March 2017, Peter Hill holds the chairman and chief executive officer position. Hill joined TAAG in October 2015 (2015-10). He held the CEO position at Oman Air and SriLankan Airlines in the past. TAAG is itself the sole owner of Angola Air Charter, also based in Luanda, that operates cargo charters in Africa.

Business trends

Annual reports for the airline do not appear to be published. In the absence of these, the main sources for trends are press reports, and industry reports of the fleet size; even these are only indicative, because it is not always clear whether the aircraft recorded are actually in service:

Destinations

As of October 2014, TAAG Angola Airlines serves 31 destinations, including 13 domestic, 11 in Africa, three in Latin America, two in Schengen Europe, and three in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

Codeshare agreements

TAAG Angola Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Current fleet

The TAAG fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2016):

Historical fleet

The company previously operated the following equipment:

In-flight service

TAAG Angola Airlines became OnAir's first Sub-Saharan customer. The carrier plans to offer inflight connectivity on board the Boeing 777-300ER fleet starting May 2014 (2014-05).

First Class, branded as Diamond First Class, is available only on TAAG's Boeing 777 aircraft. First class features fully flat-bed seats with AVOD in-flight entertainment. Additionally, amenity kits, pillows, and blankets are given to first class passengers. Passengers also have designated check-in desks and have access to TAAG's Welwitchia Lounge in Luanda Airport.

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.

Branded as HighFly Economic Class, TAAG's long-haul economy class cabin is equipped with AVOD in-flight entertainment. The seats feature footrests and winged headrests for extra comfort. Pillows and blankets are given to all economy class passengers, and hot meals are served on all international flights.

All TAAG long-haul aircraft are equipped with AVOD entertainment throughout all cabins. Known as Palanca, there are two variations throughout the Boeing 777 fleet. Rockwell Collins' dTES system is installed on the B777-200ERs, while the newer B777-300ERs possess the Thales TopSeries™ Audio Video On-demand System. The B737-700 fleet features drop-down LCD screens, used to show cabin-wide movies and a moving map display. Additionally, TAAG has an in-flight magazine and an in-flight entertainment guide, both known as austral.

Accidents involving fatalities

Incidents involving fatalities

Incidents involving no fatalities

Non-fatal hull-losses