Africa-Press – Angola. TAAG will have six new Airbus 220-300 aircraft on a ‘leasing’ basis from 2023, under a contract signed with the Air Lease Corporation (ALC), the Angolan air carrier announced this Monday in a statement.
The planes will be made available in phased deliveries, starting in 2023 and during 2024, in line with the orders placed by ALC to the Airbus construction, with five of them due to be delivered between January and July 2023.
According to the company’s statement, the Angolan air carrier continues to implement its fleet growth plan, which for the first time incorporates Airbus into the operation and provides for savings of around 30 percent in fuel (compared to Boeing 737 models on routes long-haul) – and a 20 percent reduction in operating cost globally.
“Within the scope of ‘Angolanization’ and transfer of ‘know-how’, the Airbus A220-300 aircraft will be piloted by Angolan staff, as well as the maintenance management will be done by local teams”, he assumes.
Last month, TAAG had entered into a wet lease agreement with the airline HiFly to lease an Airbus A330 that will operate on the Luanda – Lisbon – Luanda route for a period of three months, with effect from 15 of June.
A ‘wet lease’ is a contract in which an airline makes the aircraft and crew available, carries out the maintenance and supports the insurance of the aircraft, in exchange for payment for the hours operated by the company.
This decision coincides with the ongoing maintenance work that TAAG is carrying out on part of the international fleet, namely the Boeing 777-300ER model, allowing the continuity and regularity of the operation on the Luanda – Lisbon connection, a preferential route and of those with the highest volume of traffic.
Currently, the TAAG fleet comprises 21 aircraft, namely the Dash 8-Q400 (six aircraft), Boeing 737-700 (seven aircraft), Boeing 777-200 (three aircraft) and Boeing 777-300 (five aircraft).
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