The Angolan airline TAAG is to operate two flights a week between Maputo and the Angola capital Luanda, with guaranteed onward connections from Luanda to Lisbon and to Latin America, according to a report carried by the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
Mozambique Airlines (LAM) used to operate the Maputo-Luanda route, but found it was not profitable. LAM flights to Luanda began in November 2009, using an Embraer-90 aircraft, with a capacity for 98 passengers. LAM suspended the route as from 1 July this year, because of the heavy losses it was making.
Yet TAAG says it will now fly a Boeing 737-700 between the two cities on Wednesdays and Fridays as from 2 November.
TAAG spokesperson Carlos Vicente guaranteed that passengers from Maputo will be able to make easy connections to the two largest Portuguese cities, Lisbon and Oporto, and to Havana, Sao Paulo and Rio e Janeiro.
TAAG is continuing to expand its fleet, with the help of a loan contracted by the Angolan state for 153.6 million dollars, to ensure the delivery this year of a third Boeing 777-300ER. TAAG signed a contract with Boeing for three of these aircraft in 2012. When this plane arrives TAAG will be operating with eight Boeing 777s and five 737s.
Now managed by the Emirates Airline, TAAG has been cutting out unprofitable routes, and concentrating on its routes to Portugal where it is guaranteed to make money. Apparently TAAG also believes it is possible to spin a profit on the Maputo-Luanda route.
Source: AllAfrica
