Well this is developing in a rather unfortunate way. We're flying from Lisbon to Luanda to Sao Paulo tonight. We were supposed to have a roughly five hour layover, and we don't have visas to enter Angola (since they're not required for transit). Our flight was scheduled to board at 9:45PM... we sat there for…
Continue reading: Uh Oh: Our TAAG Flight Has A “Technical Fault” And We Can’t Enter The Country
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Perhaps you'll have time to update this page; it could benefit from some additions:
https://www.sleepinginairports.net/africa/luanda-airport.htm
PS Lisbon airport isn't a very pleasant place to sleep either
Usually in these African countries the immigration officer will let you through without a visa if you provide him "un cadeau" or "un jus" . Buy the man "un jus" and then get a real hotel room.
Bad luck...It seems like they are loosening visa requirements for 60+ countries from Mar 30th and travelers from these countries will be able to get 30-day visa on arrival since then.
Makes you wonder why you make these pointless trips in the first place. Hope they have a cot for you at the airport
It probably won't be a disaster if it is indeed canceled since I've just seen they have 10 (!!!!) 777s and I cannot conceive them all being airborne tonight.
I'm curious to know if they will allow you entry in the event of a protracted delay? Surely they wouldn't have a FCL passenger sleep in the lounge overnight.
Welcome to travel in Africa. If you really wanna fly Air Algerie you can expect a much worse delay. In five years I spent travelling with them only one flight left on time, 4-12hr delays were usual, with zero information.
Not so sure all TAAG's 777s are TCO certified for Brazil, meaning due to poor maintenance standards they're prohibited entry into Brazil's airspace. Their service is equivalent to Arik Air out of Lagos. Next you should try to fit LAM Mozambique into your itinerary.
I flew TAAG from Lubango to Windhoek a decade ago. Really nice new 737s back then. Also 2 hours delayed out and back - never even heard a reason why. Got the feeling you get there when they want to get there. Good luck, Lucky!
While this could be an amusing report, what actually do you expect in terms of service? Also, how many readers will ever take a flight from LIS to LAD? And I am not even talking about LAD to GRU. I am sorry but what is the point to fly through LAD when you didn't even enter the country? There are certainly better/easier/and more mile-rewarding ways to get from LIS to GRU.
Air algiers is fine
Had 4 domestic flights recently
And everything on time
And service better than america domestic.
The staff attentive and snacks and drinks in abundance.
The pilots are ex military.
For those who want to see Lucky's flight for a few hours:
https://fr24.com/DTA745/10af3f9b
Don't forget to include the bribe as one of the expenses when you file your trip delay claim with the credit card company.
I lived in Angola for about 2 years. This is what I call the "Angolan factor". There is always some sort of event screwing up the most perfectly crafted plans, and even after several frustating tries and creative inventions that would resolve the problem in any normal country... something else will happen to your solution that will screw you again.
Anyone who has lived in Angola knows what I'm talking about.
Lucky that you didn't have to spend the night. Hotels and Luanda are some of the most expensive in the world!
Well...Lucky is either somewhere over the Atlantic, curled up in a ball in an isolated corner of LAD (while the others stand guard), or in an Angolan jail.
This is certainly going to be the mother of all trip reports.
The flight was scheduled 11:15pm and departed 1:42am local time.
Almost 2h30m delay.
Apparently starting March 30th Angola will issue visas on arrival to many nationalities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Angola
You should think about your future and if doing these “fun trips” for no reason is really something you still want to do at 30
Oh well. Luckily, you'll be able to relax in whatever fantastic first class lounge Luanda airport has to offer...
Someone please explain this to me.
Why do people read a blog about airlines and air travel, and then go to the comments section to complain that the blogger posts about his experience with airlines and air travel?
I think posting experiences is fine.
"this was more adventure than I had bargained for"
Oh cmon! Overly dramatic and general writing style in this article makes me roll eyes. And honestly I would prefer the post content being part of the review rather than a separate topic. How many people would go to Angola or fly Taag. Does it need 4-5 topics? Which btw is probably a Portugese speaking nation? For those who want to bribe in French.
Oyyyyyyyyyy
Since you love saying that 'word' so much....that's my reaction to this innane post.
OY!
And, OMG...if you're gonna have a meltdown then just shut up and fly Cathay First....but you started to complain about that recently too....
So this entire post is click bait considering your flight actually took off? #notevenfakenews