TAAG Angola Airlines

✅ Trip Verified | My family flew from Jo'burg to Sao Paolo via Luanda during Dec '22/Jan '23. We were nervous to fly after reading all the bad reviews, but really it was great. Going this route was shorter and a lot cheaper than the available alternatives. All the flights departed on time and arrived on time. Check in, etc. was smooth. We used their Whatsapp enquiry service at some point and got a fairly prompt response. Food was fine (though no veg option), service was fine, Luanda airport was fine (great coffee!). There is no entertainment on most flights (bring a book!), but we had absolutely no problems during any of the flights (six flights in total between different family members).

✅ Trip Verified | Terrible booking management service, horrible airport, bad airconditioned flight. This is the worst airline I have ever flown. I had to change my flights to a week later and after contacting the airline by phone, Whatsapp, Messenger, Instagram and Email, nobody helped me for 4 days. When someone eventually decided to assist me then they keep on requesting information that i had sent them more than 5 times within the same chat/conversation. Then continued to tell me this was my error when after i made the payment to change my flight through TAAGs online platform, an error page popped up and i heard nothing else in return. The airline took my money and I heard nothing back from them. Tthe aircraft was incredibly stuffy and hot and the airconditioning did not work. Will never be flying this airline again after my return flight. Absolute disappointment and definitely not worth the little money you save compared to other airlines.

✅ Trip Verified | I booked a ticket for November, and in October they had a pilot strike. I decided to cancel the flight at the time and rebook it be on a different airline, and what followed was an entire month of trying to reach them via phone, email and finally Whatsapp messenger. The phone call center assured me that I would be refunded for my ticket and to email an address that always returned the messages; the email never responded; the Whatsapp usually responded hours late and didn't give me a chance to respond. Finally on November 3, just nine days before my flight, they cancelled via WhatsApp but refused to refund it, and in addition imposed a $200 fine for cancellation. This is not an airline, it's a money grabbing scheme.

✅ Trip Verified | Both flights were 3 hours delayed without communication. First flight delay was because of a fuel stop which apparently happens regularly. The return flights were then even cancelled and there was no alternative route offered via other airlines so that I was stranded 4 days (at the moment 4 days at least) in a shabby hotel in Lisbon. I have checked with real estate agents and am aware of alternative routes with other airlines which TAAG isn't willing to consider. Communication is horrible also. Aircrafts are also poor. Just to give a quick example: there is no TV on any of the flights I've been on - not even in business class. Not that this matters that much but it explains the quality in general. Overall experience 0/10 and I will never fly with them again. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Not Verified | TAAG Angola is the worst airline. We didn’t even receive headphones to enjoy the entertainment, a pillow or a blanket for our flight. Not to mention how disappointing the airport is in Luanda, there is no toilet paper & no soap. The disabled bathroom and changing room for babies is an absolute disgrace. I will never do this.

Not Verified | We travelled to Lisbon in business class and were horrified that airlines still use such old aircraft. The flights from and to Jnb were despicable to say the least. The seats arm rests glued to keep them together, seats torn. We couldn't believe our eyes. The crew were unprofessional with no customer care. On the flights from Luanda to Lisbon and back they had new aircraft but the crew couldn't even operate the TV so no entertainment throughout. No complimentary toiletries for business class. Worse still our baggage was lost. We called Lisbon lost and found office everyday and sent endless emails to no avail as no calls got answered and emails got no response. Out of the blue we received an email at the very end of our 17 day holiday telling us our luggage was in Lisbon. We collected our luggage and checked it in again immediately to return home. At least we should be grateful that although we had no clothing, toiletries, shoes, medication our luggage was found. TAAG need to get a face lift by upgrading your equipment, retire your ancient staff, train the new staff and provide better customer care and better lost and found service. Very disappointed customers.

✅ Trip Verified | Hesitant to have booked with this airline due to some unfavorable reviews I’ve read. And I can now confirm I will recommend TAAG. The Airbus and the Boeing were both clean, and had much more space than competitors. Food was served efficiently, and the drinks were provided in excess. The transfer in Angola was a bit of a challenge due to the language barrier, so make sure you listen to announcements and your watchful of movings. Inflight entertainment is limited to other competitors, but this wasn’t a make or break for us. Everyone we made contact with in this trip were proud Africans, and after being in Europe for 6 weeks flying with TAAG was the most warming and welcoming experience.

✅ Trip Verified | An hilarious mixed bag. The aircraft from Cape Town to Luanda was so old, I was expecting it to flap its wings. The service, mediocre. The business class lounge at the Luanda airport was a pleasant surprise The aircraft from Luanda to Lisbon was a most impressive very wide comfortable one As soon as we were air born, the half empty business class filled up with guests from economy class. This was a first from my many years of flying. No menus, nor in flight magazine or entertainment of any kind, and obviously no ear phones or amenity kits. The meal served was tasty, but the tray arrived with paper serviettes and plastic knives forks cups and "glasses", if you believe it! If you decide to fly TAG business class, best you have a sense of humor and realize they have a long way to go, as it is beyond comprehension!

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.