TAAG - Linhas Aéreas de Angola Reviews 26

I flew from Lisbon to Cape Town with TAAG in Business Class. Without a doubt, the worst travel experience I've ever had. I don't know what it's like in Economy, but definitely don't even think about flying Business Class

Let me explain: 1) The planes are old; 2) There's no difference between boarding and using Economy Class; you have to wait in the same lines and wait the same amount of time; 3) The seats are in terrible condition, and some don't even work. On my return flight, I had to try five different seats before I finally found one that reclined so I could sleep; 4) My luggage was the last to come out in both destinations (I waited an hour), even though I was traveling in Business Class and had a luggage tag; 5) When landing in Lisbon, the pilot landed the plane sideways… we almost crashed

So, the only difference between Economy and Business Class is the seats, but since half of them don't work, even that's not worth it

A joke of an airline — stay away.
If you decide to book a flight with TAAG, make absolutely sure you double-check the return month before proceeding with payment. The system can switch to the following month on the return leg without making it clear, which can easily be missed during booking.
This leads to costly changes and additional fees to correct the dates. Very disappointing experience.

After hearing horror stories about TAAG I came ready for the worst. And then I had a perfect flying experience. Before that, the purchase and check-in process were perfect, smooth, fast and easy. Good preflight communication.

The company did its share to guarantee an on time departure and if that happened it was thanks to the legendary inneficiency of Lisbon’s airport.

The flight was perfect. Good breakfast, perfect lunch. Fine staff, plenty of space, plenty of toilettes, good entertainment system, quiet atmosphere. Loved it all.

I wanted to change my reservation and I lost years of my life talking to their support.
It's worthless. A complete waste of time.

They are always saying different stuff, there's always something missing and they can't help in anything that you want.

Stay away from this company!

Pleasantly Surprised by TAAG Airlines

I recently flew with TAAG Airlines from Cape Town to Lisbon via Luanda with my daughter and despite all the negative reviews I had read before, our experience was actually very pleasant.

Our initial flight out of Cape Town was cancelled, but TAAG accommodated us in a hotel overnight and arranged for shuttles to collect us the next day to take us back to the airport. That was really nice and considerate.

The layover in Luanda was around 3 hours. While the airport itself doesn’t offer much in terms of amenities or things to do, but with the launch of the new airport building, hopefully that will improve the transit experience in future.

As for the flights themselves, the planes were neat, new and very clean. On the long-haul leg to Lisbon, the in-flight entertainment system was working well, and the food was decent. Our luggage arrived safely, the staff were friendly and helpful throughout.

All in all, TAAG Airlines turned out to be a cost-effective and reliable option. I’d definitely recommend them and wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again. Great value for money.

Had booked flights Cape Town to Lisbon. When booked flight 3 hour stop over in Luanda. TAAG cancelled the onward flight sir had to spend 9 hours at Luanda airport. Very uncomfortable. Seats on ne flight were very different to those booked previously.No in flight entertainment nor lights above seats. Staff were sullen. Food poor. In Lisbon could not exit airline through business class area even after all business class passengers had to disembark. Had to wait to exist from rear door despite the fact we were at front of economy. While marginally cheaper will not use again.

I was travelling from Johannesburg to Nigeria. When we get to Angola our connection flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the next day. No prior notice, and no arrangements for food or where to sleep. Every one on that flight slept inside the airport in a very very bad condition. Please don’t use this airline except if you like this type of treatment. Horrible people!!!!

I flew TAAG from Cape Town to Lisbon via Luanda. Worst mistake ever. AVOID AVOID AVOID! Firstly, Luanda is HELL on heart. The airport staff are aggressive and mock and laugh at the passengers. You cannot use contactless payment anywhere in the airport and so I was stuck for 5 hours without anything to eat or drink, and it was almost 40 degrees and no aircon in the airport. It is an absolute nightmare and I will never book them again no matter how much cheaper they are.

Never use Taag, I repeat never use Taag.
You will end up spending the same amount for a much better airline anyway due to flight delays, cancellations or passport control delays at Lisbon. There’s no inflight entertainment, seats don’t always recline and the food is sub standard. Some of their aero planes air pressure and air conditioning was absolutely atrocious.
I was stuck at passport control for 1hr at the Lisbon airport subsequently missing my flight, I’ve had to pay a €176 for a flight change plus hotel accommodation.
A number of us missed the flight and were not made aware of the expected delays at passport control which only had 2 working counters for 100’s of passengers.
Portugal is a beautiful country but I won’t be visiting again due to the airport snd Taag airline.
Worst travel mistake I’ve ever made!

TL;DR: AVOID TAAG Angola Airlines! Save yourself the headache and avoid this airline at all costs unless you're okay with arriving a day or two late.

The tickets may seem cheaper, but you'll pay in frustration, delays, and a possible detour into madness.

I'm not usually one to leave reviews, but my experience with TAAG Angola Airlines was so disastrous that I felt compelled to warn others. My family and I were travelling from South Africa to Lisbon via Luanda, and what should have been a straightforward journey turned into a nightmare.

Checking In: During check-in, one of our bags was overweight, and we had to pay an additional fee. Little did we know, this was only the beginning of our troubles.

The "Technical": We sat at the gate with no sign of the plane. Right at the time we were supposed to board, staff arrived to announce there was "A Technical." Yes, just "A Technical." Passengers asked, "A technical what?" but the answer remained the same. It was like speaking to a malfunctioning robot; it felt as if this gentleman was experiencing a "Technical" himself. Instead of providing flight information, they handed out meal vouchers, completely disregarding our concerns and questions about the delay.

Waiting and More Waiting: After three hours, the staff reappeared—not to update us but to order food for themselves. When I approached one staff member, he casually informed me that the flight was cancelled due to "Crew Rest," replacing the earlier excuse of a "Technical." Without even looking up at me, he remained engrossed in the menu in his hands.

The timing seemed suspicious, as I understood the three-hour mark is when airlines are typically required to provide meals for passengers and staff. It felt like the flight was doomed from the start, but they strung us along. Instead of being upfront, cancelling the flight and sending us to a hotel immediately, they made us wait for three hours, ensuring they got their meal compensation before finally sending us to the City Lodge hotel.

Hotel Drama: We checked into the hotel and were instructed to be at the gate by 12:00 the next day, even though our flight was originally at 17:00. After numerous frustrating calls to customer service, we confirmed the flight was at the same time the following day. This felt like a sneaky tactic to get us to check out of the hotel early. We stayed in our room until 13:30, much to the hotel's annoyance, but we were beyond caring at this point. At 12:00, a manager knocked on our door and instructed us to either leave or request a late checkout via customer service. We explained that this was not our problem and told her to take it up with the airline. We were supposed to be in Lisbon by then, and we were not about to spend five hours waiting at the gate or another second trying to get through to TAAG customer service, physically or mentally.

Check-In Round Two: We went through the check-in ordeal again. One staff member, in his Arsenal football jersey (because why wear a uniform?), insisted one bag was overweight at 23.5kg. Even though we had now distributed weight evenly this time around. Here’s why this was infuriating:

1. Four staff members (doing the job of one person) were enforcing passengers to weigh their bags at the beginning of the line before allowing them to queue. They had already cleared us, confirming that all our bags were now within the weight limit.

2. The scale at the counter started at 0.3kg, which he ignored when we pointed this out.

3. Airlines typically don't round up; 23.9kg should be under.

4. We had ALREADY paid for overweight baggage on a flight that they cancelled, so why was this even an issue??

Finally Flying: We eventually boarded 24 hours late, now with a 5-hour layover in Luanda instead of 3. My seat was stuck in a reclined position, making me explain this to multiple flight attendants as they aggressively instructed me to put my seat up, at takeoff and landing. On top of this, some of our group had broken TVs, adding to the misery.

In Conclusion: While TAAG Angola Airlines might offer cheaper tickets, you're likely paying for a high risk of delays, cancellations, and a frustrating experience. When you do eventually fly, it will probably be on an old, rundown plane. However, if you still choose to fly with them, remember if you encounter any issues or deviate from their exact process—including when THEY cancel flights—expect to explain everything multiple times and face an uphill battle with their customer service.

I have also since learnt that TAAG has a habit of cancelling half-empty flights at the last minute to reschedule them for the next day, presumably to fill the plane. This experience certainly reinforced that notion.

Bottom Line: Spend the extra €100 or €200 for a more reliable airline. Trust me, your sanity is worth it.

DON'T BOOK THIS AIRLINE
There is good reason this airlines has such bad reviews and unfortunately I can not say my experience was any better.
The airline moved my flight by 24h which meant I was stuck in Sao Paulo and had to book a hotel. They never offered to put me on a different flight or carry the costs caused by the delay.
I have since sent dozens of emails to customer services without any response to a refund for the hotel costs. And then generally the Planes are old and look really gross, with the seating padding moving around and many of the screens not working. I would not recommend this airline to anyone because the user experience is just terrible.

Terrible experience. I booked flights on TAAG airlines for my parents and myself, and it was a huge mistake.

The entertainment system does not work at all. The planes are extremely old and the seats are in very bad condition. Aircraft was not properly cleaned. The staff from the customer service, ground team and air team are extremely rude and unhelpful in every aspect.

We paid extra for a flexible ticket, yet we still had to pay many charges for changing the ticket, which we were not suppose to pay after we purchased the special flexible ticket for more money.

Honestly, it is not worth it to buy a ticket from this airline even though it may seem a lot cheaper than other airlines.

The Luanda airport is not great either to be travelling through with not many facilities available. The food on TAAG was also terrible and we had to carry our own food and meals on the return flight. There was also no blankets for the long haul flight from Luanda to Lisbon.

Finally, the air pressure in the cabin did not seem normal. I have flown over 10 different airlines and after this flight with TAAG, even a few days after the flight, the pressure in my ears is still being affected. Which is totally not normal and it seems the pressure in the cabin was not regulated properly as other passengers complained about this too.

WOULD NOT USE THEM AGAIN AND WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO USE THEM

this airline is really sub standard, there is no other word to describe it. i flew from jhb to luanda and then from luanda to lisbon . connected to porto then on TAP
upon check in they put my luggage all the way to end destination porto. but no bag arrived. now they blame tap and tap blames taag. realy grow a pair and take accountability and find the flipping bag and have it delivered

Never use taag, it’s a racist airline. They have been keep blacks at their useless airline for over 3 days now.

Taag cancelled a flight during Lockdown in 2020. We claimed a refund but have not yet been reimbursed almost two years later. Nobody answers the phone or responds to emails. We are owed EUR3000.