TAAG Angola Airlines

Not Verified | We flew with TAAG from Cape Town. As of a few days ago, passengers in transit no longer need to do the mandatory rapid covid test at airport in Luanda. Cape Town to Luanda is 3.5 hours in an older 737-700. Food was ok, not bad. Service was friendly even with a full flight. No inflight entertainment system. Arriving in Luanda we had to take the rapid test in a hanger. The process takes around 30-60 minutes depending how full flights are. For our return flight (2 weeks later) they thankfully stopped this mandatory testing. You just need to show your negative RT-PCR test (not older than 72 hours of flight). It does not matter if you’re vaccinated or not, the PCR test is all they want to see. Rapid covid tests are not permitted for leaving SA or Portugal. Ground staff are well informed. The wait at Luanda airport was long around 5 hours before boarding the next flight close to midnight. We flew TAAG 5 years ago so coming back to Luanda we had an idea what to expect. In short it’s a chaotic basic airport with little to offer except expensive drinks and food. There are even strange flea market type stalls selling traditional African items. Admittedly the airport has been upgraded a bit, now offering a duty free store and more open seating. This time we stayed in the Pall lounge using our Lounge Key Visa benefit. The lounge is basic but comfortable. They give you a few vouchers to exchange for drinks or toasted sandwiches. At least it is airconditioned. The flight to Lisbon was on a modern 777-300ER with a 3-3-3 seating with some of the best leg room I’ve experienced. At 1.86m tall, I still had plenty room in front of my knees. At present their inflight entertainment system has been turned off. This did not bother us, as at midnight you don’t really want to watch movies…the flight is only 7 hours to Lisbon so sleep comes in handy for a full day ahead. Shortly after take off, they bring you dinner. We had a choice of beef or bacalhau (fish) which was actually quite tasty. The toilets were clean on all flights. Breakfast was also served around 90 minutes before landing in Lisbon. Coming back to Cape Town was only a 2.5 hours transit at Luanda so quite convenient. To go back to SA you don’t need a PCR test if you are vaccinated. If not vaccinated then you have to do the test which is quite expensive around 80euros. All 4 flights there and back were perfectly on time, some even landed earlier than stated. Luggage allowance. Most tickets now cover you for 2 x 23kg bags in economy. Masks have to be worn on all flights except when eating but not heavily enforced. TAAG does not come close to Middle East airlines in terms of inflight entertainment, but the short overall flying time combined with a lower airfare works well for us, especially compared to options on other airlines which take much longer and cost a lot more.

✅ Trip Verified | Our inbound and outbound TAAG airline flights, i.e. Lison to South Africa on the 4th December to South Africa to Lisbon on the 16th January 2020 was an awful experience. We will definitely not be flying with this airline in the near future. Our outbound flight was not full and there were a fair amount of empty seats on requesting if we could move to an empty three-seater, he showed no interest in assisting us at all. The food option was terrible and our wine was past its sell-by date. Not once after the meal had been served did we get asked if we required any further drinks etc. Once the meal was served the staff disappeared. Our TV screens did not work 100% and had poor sound. When we arrived in JHB my husband's luggage had been left behind in Luanda which he then received a full two days later. On querying this with Menzies Aviation missing baggage we got absolutely nowhere, in fact, we still waiting for their response! Our inbound flight on the JHB to Luanda leg, two of the toilets were not working just behind us so we had to use the toilets at the extreme back of the plane. On the Luanda to Lisbon's leg the TV screens in the middle section of the plane where we sat were not working at all, on querying this with the steward in our section he said he could move us only to ignore us once the plane had taken off. We sat for 7 hours watching the passengers in the section of the plane in front of us watching their TV screens. I like to watch movies and my husband likes to listen to music.

✅ Trip Verified | Cape Town to Sao Paulo via Luanda. It's a shame to see new, well-spaced between seats airplanes being treated so badly and so poorly maintained. The staff are rude, a On this flight the entertainment system did not work and despite complaints the staff did not even restart the system. The seats are dirty and it's obvious that no maintenance is done. Will not recommend this airline. Will not use them again.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Rio de Janeiro via Luanda. This was my worst airline experience ever. It started a few weeks before the flight with out flight being cancelled. Travelstart confirmed that this happens quite often. The layover in Luanda was dreadful and the airline staff were rude. The ground staff in Rio were exceptionally rude and refused to speak English even though we heard them speak English to an elderly passenger in the queue before us. Our return flight was on an ancient plane. When i asked for a second drink on the eight hour flight, I was told that they did not serve more than one alcoholic drink. Neither my partner nor I had on-board screens that worked.

Not Verified | Our worst flight experience in 40 years. Maintenance on the cabin area are completely neglected. We were sitting in row 15 and when you switch the reading lights on for row 15 then the lights in row 16 came on. The entertainment systems on all our legs were not working. The seats are dirty and damaged. To top all of this is that the airport building in Luanda is in a terrible state and a true reflection of the rest of the African continent. The ground staff cannot communicate in English and a simple boarding procedure is apart from always late absolutely chaos. I would never fly TAAG again.

✅ Trip Verified | Cape Town to Porto via Luanda. Must have been the worst flight ever. On departure in Cape Town i had such a bad headache. At take off my seat fell down to the back and we not get it up at all. Customer behind me was so upset as I was on her lap. I reported it and all that I got was they will report it. Toilet not working on the plane and no Screens was working. No crew check safety belts. In Luanda you have to pay $7 to have a cigarette which is insane. On our return flight no screens working, my husband seat was broken and 2 toilets not working. Yes its much quicker flying with them but where is the safety on this flights. I have been trying to contact the airline but with no luck.

Not Verified | Johannesburg to Rio via Luanda. I traveled to Rio on TAAG airlines via Luanda 24/05-31/05. Had the worst experience of my life. The vegetarian meal was awful. My husband, who’s not vegetarian was also subjected to their awful meals. We were served rock hard rolls with jam. On such a long flight, no inflight entertainment was available. On my return flight the air hostess insisted that I place my small sling bag (A5 book size) in the overhead compartment. I’m a seasoned traveler and despite me letting her know that it was a small bag that I kept under the seat, she’d insisted. This was definitely my worst flight ever!

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Sao Paulo via Luanda. I just returned from a lovely holiday in Rio. Sadly I have to comment on the airline. I was really surprised to find the plane in such a bad state the armrests where broken the foot rests broken the pockets on the seat torn. It gets better on an 8.5 hour flight we were not given a vanity bag like other airlines do on an overnight flight. I did carry my own though. There was no inflight entertainment which was really bad on such a long trip. No alcoholic beverages besides beer and wine was served of inferior quality. The air hostess did not understand English! Worst flights ever. Will definitely not use this airline or recommend it.

Not Verified | Johannesburg to Luanda. My initial scans of reviews made me comfortable to fly with Angolan airlines. However, two weeks before our flight there were some horrific reports and reviews. All these fears were allayed on our first leg of our journey from Johannesburg to Luanda. What surprised me was the leg room space. Flight attendants were friendly and toilets were clean. Food was very satisfactory. Compliments to the pilots, all take offs and landings were smooth. Yes we would travel TAAG Angola Airlines again.

✅ Trip Verified | Cape Town to Luanda. It's a shame to see new, well-spaced between seats airplanes being treated so badly and so poorly maintained. The staff are rude and the movies in the entertainment system are the same since 2014. On this flight the entertainment system did not work and despite complaints the staff did not even restart the system. I only travel with them because there is no alternative from Luanda.