► ANGOLA: TAAG to resume flights to Soyo with Dundo to come following opening of upgraded airports.

After a 3 year hiatus due to USD43million renovation works which resulted in the completion of a 30m x 2'090m long runway and a 2 storey terminal covering over 5'000 square metres, Angolan national carrier Transportes Aéreos Angolanos better known as TAAG (DT), is beginning 29 October, set to return to Soyo in northern Zaire Province, Angola.

■ ANGOLA: See Pics of Luanda Airport's New Domestic Terminal.

After the recent opening of the newly renovated Catumbela International Airport in the coastal city of Catumbela in Benguela Province, Angola’s airport and air traffic authority Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ENANA), on Wednesday 29 August, marked yet another milestone in its infrastructural renovation programme with the opening by Angolan Minister of Transport, Augusto da SilvaTomás, of the new Domestic Terminal at Luanda's 4 de Fevereiro Airport, following extensive refurbishment and expansion by Portuguese contractors, Somague Engenharia.

► ANGOLA: TAP Portugal and TAAG considering flights to Catumbela?

Built by Brazilian contractors Oderbrecht International with finishing touches applied by Portuguese firm, Somague at a total cost of US$250 million and consisting of a new passenger terminal capable of handling 900 passengers/hour, 16 check-in counters, 18 immigration booths, two boarding bridges that can handle four aircraft simultaneously, a 3'500 metre long runway and an apron that can hold four Boeing 777-300 or Boeing 767 aircraft or 22 small/medium sized aircraft at the same time, Angola's new Catumbela Airport, in Benguela Province was on Monday, officially opened by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.

● 3 Truly amazing Aviation Videos shot in Africa.

No, not 3 dopey videos some nerd sent you on Facebook or 3 videos we mooched off of Discovery Channel's Air Crash Investigations but rather 3 truly mind blowing aviation videos we found on Youtube, all shot in Africa! (And excuse the crappy dance music in the first one - we would have preferred some Kenny G but hey, you can't have it all...)

• The Belly of the Beast - A cam was attached to the belly of a 747 on a ferry flight from Johannesburg to Maputo, Mozambique.

 

• Ilyushin IL76 (Nose Cam) Landing 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, Luanda, Angola - Ever wonder what the navigator in the nose of those enormous Ilyushin 76s sees on landing? 

• Stowaway Wheel-well View 747 flight from Lusaka, Zambia to Nairobi, Kenya - Pretty crazy video shot from the wheel well of an MK Airlines 747 Cargo flight.

 

Now how awesome was that huh?

► ANGOLA: TAAG boosts Dubai; looks to expand greatly in coming years.

Angola's flag carrier TAAG Angolan Airlines (DT) has announced, that effective 10 September 2012, it will add a third weekly Wednesday frequency to Dubai from Luanda and it is also looking to further increase its international presence by opening new international routes to Frankfurt, Germany, Paris, France and an as yet undisclosed destinations in the US.

With Angola's growing regional importance, both as a trade route and as an economic hub - with its vast oil wealth to boot - so the need to establish a direct air link between the US and Angola has grown ever more crucial. At this time, the only airlink between the two countries is that of SonAir Angola operates the 3x weekly "Houston Express" from Luanda to Houston, USA using a leased Atlas Air Boeing 747-400  which caters more for the oil industry's needs than anything.

Recently, Angola signed bilateral agreements with Argentina amongst which saw the Angolan airline opening a ticket office in Buenos Aires, that some see as being the first step in the opening of a future Luanda - Buenos Aires route.

TAAG Angolan Airlines: Luanda - Dubai
-Effective 10 September 2012

• DT550 LAD2100 – 0800+1DXB 772 135
• DT551 DXB1020 – 1520LAD 772 246

From 28 October 2012, Day 1/2 service operates with Boeing 777-300ER instead of -200ER.

Read More Here [Airline Route]

TAAG Angolan Airlines Africa Network

Meanwhile, ATWOnline reports that chairman and CEO of TAAG, Pimentel Araujo, disclosed that it plans to phase out its last three 737-200s and is considering acquiring either additional 737-700s, of which five are already in service, “or a lighter aircraft for some domestic routes,” he said. In January 2011, the airline retired its fleet of Boeing 747-300s to make way for the first of their Boeing 777-300ERs, of which another three are due for delivery in 2016.

TAAG, in keeping up with international trends, also launched its own Frequent Flyer Programme called the "Umbi Umbi Club" which it will use to build a customer loyalty base.

► KENYA: FastJet shows off livery (Pics); Fly540 brand to go.

Following on from this week's acquisition of Lonrho Aviation (t/a Fly540), FastJet Ghana's parent company Rubicon Investments, of which Stelios Haji-Ioannou of EasyJet fame is a 5% shareholder, has outlined its plans and future prospects for the transformation of and integration of Fly540 into a Pan-African LCC giant.

A Low Cost Carrier headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Fly540 has franchises in Angola, Ghana, Tanzania and Ghana, and operates ATR 72s, CRJ-100s, DHC 8-100s and McDonnell Douglas DC 9s. Collectively, its route network includes various cities in Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Burundi, Liberia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Uganda.

A FastJet Airbus A319 rendering

In its beginning stages, FastJet will coexist with Fly540, whilst the former moves to build a fleet using either Airbus A319s, Boeing 737-700s and/or Embraer EMB-190s. Once fleet consolidation is achieved as per the classic LCC model (a uniform fleet keeps maintenance costs down), Fly540's current aircraft leases are to be allowed to expire, before the brand itself is phased out, leaving FastJet as the main driving force.

Ultimately, FastJet aims to carry more than 12 million passengers a year, by focussing on Africa's burgeoning middle class - a phenomenon that is fast becoming a reality in Angola, Kenya and Nigeria, where substantial economic growth in recent years has meant more money in the pocket for the ordinary man on the street.

""If you take the four countries, they have a total population of 100 million people. If you estimate that all our customers come from just those countries alone, you could see three million of them becoming customers with us, flying a couple of times a year. That would generate something like 12.8 million passengers [annually]." "

Read More Here [GhanaWeb]

At the helm of FastJet will be many of Haji-Ioannou's colleagues from his days at EasyJet: Richard Boden, a former Contracts Manager at EasyJet, Ed Winter, FastJet's new CEO and formerly easyJet's Chief Operating Officer, whilst Haji-Ioannou himself, will be a consultant.

► ANGOLA: TAAG to get more 777s in 2016; starts ticket sales in Argentina.

As previously reported by The African Aviation Tribune, Angolan national carrier TAAG (DT) is to commence sales of its tickets in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires through AVIAREPS, who will also act as their agents in other member states of the MERCOSUR: Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. No mention however, has been made of a potential Luanda - Buenos Aires service.

"The information was released by Luis de Almeida, TAAG's general representative to the Americas, having said that negotiations are underway for the signing of agreements with Argentine carrier Aerolineas Argentinas. The accords will then enable the passengers to get the single ticket from the origin to destination (ex: Buenos Aires / Luanda / Buenos Aires)."

Read More Here [AngolaPress]  

 

TAAG 777-300ER (Paulo Santos)

Argentina's President, Cristina Kirchner, in the company of a high power business/governmental delegation, is to pay a 3 day official state visit to the Angolan capital, Luanda on May 17, in what is seen as a courting of this rising African economic power.

Meanwhile, TAAG has also announced the delivery of 3 Boeing 777-300ER, in addition to its current 2, from 2016 onwards, in part of a major expansion drive.

"The information was released on Tuesday in Luanda by TAAG CEO, Pimentel Araujo, while speaking about the development of the company, during a cycle of workshops called “Empresa Feliz”."

Read More Here [AngolanPress]

► ANGOLA: TAAG to start Buenos Aires? Aerolineas Argentinas to start Luanda?

According to press reports from Argentina, President Kirchner is to lead a large delegation of bureaucrats and businessmen to the Angolan capital Luanda, to negotiate energy deals and if possible the opening of TAAG and Aerolineas Argentinas offices in each other's respective countries.

► ANGOLA: AirJet Angola adds Jetstream 41 to its fleet.

Angolan outfit AirJet, based in Luanda, has announced it is adding an ex-Angola Air Services Jetstream 41 aircraft to its current fleet of four Embraer-120s.