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TAAG Angola Airlines

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TAAG Angola Airlines
TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola
File:TAAG logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
DT DTA ANGOLA
Founded1938 (as DTA)
HubsQuatro de Fevereiro Airport
Fleet size11 (+2 orders)
Destinations33
Parent companyAngolan Government
HeadquartersLuanda, Angola
Key peoplePimentel Araújo (CEO) [1]
Websitewww.taag.com

TAAG Angola Airlines (Portuguese: Linhas Aéreas de Angola) is the national flag carrier of Angola. “TAAG” is an acronym for ‘Transportadora Aérea Angolana’. The airline is based in Luanda. It operates domestic services within Angola, as well as medium-haul services in Africa and long-haul services to Brazil, Cuba and Portugal. Like Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways, TAAG has been one of the few profitable sub-Saharan African carriers and one of the few to recently purchase newly built aircraft as opposed to second-hand aircraft. It is 100% state-owned by the Angolan government and itself owns 100% of subsidiary Angola Air Charter.

History

Colonial era

The airline was originally formed in September 1938 as DTA– Divisão dos Transportes Aéreos, by the Portuguese Colonial Government as a division of the Administration of Railways, Harbours and Air Transport. Operations began on 17 July 1940 using De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplanes.

In 1940, the airline was renamed DTA– Linhas Aéreas de Angola. In February 1974, the airline was renamed TAAG – Linhas Aéreas de Angola.

Post-independence

After independence from Portugal in 1975 the airline was named Angola's national flag carrier. During the 1970s the airline acquired several Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft along with Boeing 707 long-haul jets and Boeing 737s arriving in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fokker F-27s were introduced on domestic routes at this time.

The Angolan government formed TAAG Air Angola for domestic operations. The airline relied on smaller jets, such as the Boeing 727 and Boeing 737s, for these local flights. It also used the larger, but older, Boeing 707s, as well as two examples of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in the 1990s, who was leased from TAP Air Portugal.

TAAG began flights to six other African countries, as well as to Lisbon, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Moscow.

TAAG bought a Boeing 747 with these longhaul routes in mind. Flights to Havana, via Sal Island, were operated for many years to transport Cuban advisors and other personnel, often on a fortnightly schedule. When granted rights to fly to Cuba, TAAG gained the distinction of being the only African airline to fly to José Martí International Airport in Havana.

In 2005, it was announced that TAAG was ordering three Boeing 777-200ERs and four Boeing 737-700s with the intention that these aircraft replace TAAG's ageing fleet of Boeing 747-300s and Boeing 737-200s. However, these new aircraft ended up simply adding to TAAG's fleet.

On 11 November 2006, two Boeing 777s and three 737s were delivered to TAAG. They immediately placed the 777s on the Luanda – Lisbon, Johannesburg, and Paris routes. Because the 777s were originally unable to fly from Angola to Brazil due to ETOPS restrictions, TAAG was forced to continue using the Boeing 747–300 on flights to Brazil.

Airline reconstruction

In November 2008, the TAAG board was ousted and a new board was appointed in an effort to get the airline removed from the EU blacklist. On 29 May 2009, it was announced that TAAG had passed IATA inspections.[2]

In October 2009, TAAG began Boeing 777 flights to Rio de Janeiro from Luanda. This occurred after TAAG acquired the necessary ETOPS certification to operate these flights.

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

In January 2011, after a series of incidents involving TAAG's Boeing 777 fleet, there was concern that TAAG was performing insufficient maintenance on their aircraft once again. However, after an IATA inspection in Luanda, it was determined that TAAG is still complying with international safety requirements.

Destinations

Main article: TAAG Angola Airlines destinations

Codeshare agreements

As of June 2011, TAAG Angola Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[3]

Fleet

The TAAG fleet includes the following aircraft (at 30 April 2010):[4][5]

TAAG Angola Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Options Passengers Notes
F C Y Total
Boeing 737-200 Advanced 3 — — 0 16 86 102 One operated by cargo division
Boeing 737-700 4 — — 0 12 108 120 Equipped with winglets
Boeing 777-200ER 3 — — 14 51 190 255
Boeing 777-300ER 1 1[6] 2 12 56 225 293 Delivery Date: June 1 & July 1
Total 12 1 2

The Boeing customer code for TAAG is M2. This code appears in Boeing aircraft model numbers (such as 777-2M2/ER). The code appears only on newly and directly acquired Boeing aircraft, such as Boeings the 737-200's, 737-700's and 777-200/ER's.

European Union flight ban

A TAAG Boeing 777-200ER at Lisbon Portela Airport after the lifting of the EU flight ban.

On 28 June 2007, the European Union banned TAAG from flying within the EU over safety concerns, effective 4 July.[7] This left TAAG with two 777s sitting in Luanda, unable to fly to any of TAAG's long-haul destinations. To increase aircraft usage and minimize losses, TAAG initiated flights to Dubai and Beijing. To continue operating flights to Europe, TAAG wet-leased a Boeing 747–400 from South African Airways. This aircraft was flown with a South African flight crew and a mixture of TAAG and South African cabin crew. In August 2008, TAAG took delivery of its third 777, resgistered as D2-TEF.

On 3 July 2009 TAAG received permission to operate flights to Europe with very strict operating conditions, in which it was only permitted to fly into Lisbon and could only use its three Boeing 777-200ERs to operate these flights. However this stipulation was later (November 2009) extended to its four Boeing 737-700s as well. 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 2 years of being banned from EU airspace. TAAG then returned the Boeing 747–400 to South African Airways. Finally, on 30 March 2010, further restrictions were lifted on TAAG when the EU announced that TAAG could fly their Boeing 777s and 737-700s to all European airports.[8]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 28 June 2007, a TAAG 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.[10] The airplane was carrying 78 passengers when it crashed at 1330 local time (12.30 GMT). The agency said control of the aircraft was lost upon landing and it crashed into a building, destroying it. The director of Aeroportos de Angola (the Angolan airport authority) told national radio the pilot had missed the runway for an unknown reason while attempting an emergency landing. According to aviation sources in Luanda, the aircraft apparently punctured two tires upon landing, causing one wing to dip and touch the runway. The aircraft then veered out of control and crashed into the building.[11] Initial press reports indicated that the aircraft touched down about halfway along the runway while attempting to land at M'banza-Kongo.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Board of Directors of TAAG (Portuguese) Retrieved 18. June 2011
  2. ^ TAAG Angola Airlines passes IATA inspection
  3. ^ "TAAG: International Flights". TAAG Angola Airlines. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  4. ^ TAAG Angola Airlines Fleet
  5. ^ TAAG Fleet – Official Website
  6. ^ TAAG Angola order 2 Boeing 777-300ER's
  7. ^ EU bans TAAG Angola's fleet
  8. ^ EUROPA – Press Releases – Commission updates the list of airlines banned from the European airspace. Europa.eu (2010-03-30). Retrieved on 2010-12-16.
  9. ^ 1983 TAAG crash at Aviation Safety Network
  10. ^ "Angolan plane crash 'kills five'". BBC News. 28 June 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  11. ^ TAAG crash at news.com.au
  12. ^ 2007 TAAG crash at Aviation Safety Network
  13. ^ Victoria Moores (28 June 2007). "TAAG Angola 737-200 crashes in northwest Angola". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
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