TAAG Angola Airlines

I used to fly TAAG back and forth to Paris. What a shambles - delays were the norm with no explanation from anyone. A delay at Luanda airport we could handle (just) as long as the bar was kept open but when they shut the bar at 10 with no warning that was it! As for the flights meals on the plane were practically thrown at the passengers and I can honestly say that the staff were often quite rude and in no way helpful to anyone. Why they were there I can only guess and I think it may have something to do with the drinks trolley. The planes until very recently were more suited to sitting in a museum. Thankfully our company have now refused to allow us to fly with this mickey- mouse airline and given the choice I would never fly with them again.

Lisboa-Luanda Luanda-Rio de Janeiro. First leg of the trip on Boeing 777. Very nice confortable seats. PTV's with AVOD ok. Food normal. The breakfast was tiny. Second leg of the trip on Boeing 747 Mixed. Seats more confortable than the 777 but the inflight entertainment was disappointing.

Boeing 777 configuration was 3-4-3 in economy class. The flight was almost completely full in Economy class not sure about Business or First class. Seat was comfortable legroom was okay and had a foot rest and a normal size PTV. Oddly enough the jack for the head set was straight in front instead of in the armrest. They had big pillows and blanket at every seat. I was seated towards the back in row 32; last row was 38 on TAAG’s 777. The seat also had the “winged” headrest to make for easier sleeping. Candy (honey) was given out - a nice gesture. Fairly soon after take off dinner was served. During dinner the crew came around again with a second round of drinks including wine. The crew in general was a bit reserved but friendly. There was the new mood lighting but only in F and C class. I tried their inflight entertainment system which is AVOD and it was okay. Water was offered once during the flight by the flight attendants. Breakfast was served about 1.5 hours before arrival and was very small; smallest I have ever seen but very good. To sum it up TAAG was a very pleasant surprise having heard of horror stories and also since they don’t have a functioning website. TAAG was just as modern comfortable as European carriers and it was a great experience.

TAAG Angola Airlines are a complete shambles. Our flight out to Luanda from Windhoek was delayed 18hrs. We are currently (2 November 2006) still waiting for our return flight after our flight was today cancelled for the third successive day. The worst part is that they tell you the flight will leave early and then end up stringing you along all day at the airport before you finally find out there is no plane. I have now wasted 3 days at the airport. No one seems to have a clue what is going on there is no information provided on delays or reasons and it has proved impossible to identify a ´responsible´person. I could go on an on about the problems we have experienced. Avoid using them at all costs!