ACW - Air Cargo Week
12/07/2011
TAAG reforms to boost profit
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TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola, also known as TAAG Angola Airlines, is making adjustments to its route network as it seeks to cancel less profitable routes and open up new connections where sufficient demand exists.
As board member Rui Carreira notes, the Luanda-based carrier now has more than 70 weekly flights a week inside Angola operated by its B737 fleet, numerous B737 and B777 links within Africa, and intercontinental services to Europe (Lisbon and Oporto), the Americas (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Cuba), the Middle East and Asia.
Carreira observed that some of those connections were initiated only recently - such as Oporto this year and Cape Town last year, as well as direct routes to Havana and Beijing - as a result of the airline's network development programme.
"Today, we can say that TAAG truly connects Angola to the world," he remarked, adding that particular priorities for network development in the future will be Portugal, South Africa and China.
Meanwhile, fleet changes will also boost TAAG's offering. Two new B777-300ERs were received in June and July of this year, replacing B747-300s that have now been removed from the airline's inventory.
According to Carreira: "Angola is one of the fastest-growing nations in the world and remains an importer of many products, including perishables and high value goods. This means that the air cargo business continues to play a very relevant role for the country and also for TAAG.
"While our regular operations are driven mainly by passenger traffic, cargo is always taken in consideration in our planning and operations. We may introduce a TAAG-operated freight operation once demand justifies it," he added.
This year, TAAG expects to carry about US$25-30 million worth of cargo, a value 10-15 percent below that of 2012's.
"This reduction is mainly explained by poor market performance,: Carreira informed.
"In the future, we expect TAAG to expand its cargo business ... by taking our cargo offer further in order to satisfy our customers' demands," he concluded.
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