Review: TAAG Angola First Class 777 Lisbon To Luanda

Bar soap was very common up to the mid-1980's. I have a bar of unopened Japan Air Lines and TWA soap.

Great review!

Great trip report, but haven't I read this before??

Just love your reports and photos. The paltry blanket on the first class bed was so tiny - like a postage stamp on an envelope. LOL

I have no photos, just the descriptions.

What a review! And what an airline! I was delighted to actually see one of these 777s at Havana Airport back in February, waiting for my AA flight. A very old school livery and logo. Part of me wanted to jump aboard that flight to Luanda...

The catering, probably loaded in Lisbon, looks very African and very third world, which of course is appropriate. No menus... lol And the description you give of the flight attendants is very accurate when I think back to many of my experiences with the service industry in Africa.

Are bars of soap really such an oddity? Even Air Berlin had them, and I managed to snag a couple as a souvenir from my last AB flight some weeks before they stopped flying.

In black Africa, you can't photograph anything suspicious. And anything can be regarded as suspicious. So taking photos of anything but yourself and your friends could prove difficult.

I can only imagine what you guys went through transiting in Luanda. The most beautiful thing about that city must be its name... But on a plus side, it has real buildings, even highrises, and streets with sidewalks. That's not self-evident in the area. I've never been to Angola, but I have visited a handful of countries in black Africa. It's a fascinatingly different world, one where nothing seems to work, everything is broken but still, somehow, people get by, and after the initial shock, somehow you learn to get by, too.

I got a kick out of the plane models - I hope those are in your home office

ok, now I have photos.... the side salad was "decent"?! those tomatoes are barely pink and look like they've been frozen. Most of the food looks pretty bad, to be honest.

I love the notes for those "written off" planes:
1 - Hit by a missile...naturally.
2- Crashed after takeoff
3- Crashed after landing

so be it taking off, landing or just flying they manage to have planes get damaged beyond repair. Though I do have to say they should get some points for actually landing the plane that was hit by the missile.

“not sure if their linens are shrinking, or…” LOL

It kind of seems like a proper F product to me.. if you ignore LX F from JNB. The F seats look awesome, except in bed mode, that really needs an update. I think adding a $10 pad or proper $15 down comforter would not be hard

I am curious how these flights were paid for, I’m assuming cash.

@ Lucky

I waited long for this review. Such a great and well written report.
Not a good start when a check in agent thinking you are crazy enough to fly TAAG, probaby he/she knows how bad the airline is and you are even flying First with them.
I am just disappointed how bad and dreadful the soft products are. They have a nice suite and they can only offer the worst and cheapest pillow and blanket I have seen in a internat. First cabin. It hurts to see the photos. Forget the headphones also bad. Have you got at least a decent choice in the entertainment system?
The food and the service are just vile! Pls. do not try to defend it..it is just plain bad..Running out of choices and probably losing them to the crew..just unbearable to hear. Did I understand it right, you are only allowed one of the dessert options? The crew with or without good intentions are just disappointing.
I am speechless and shock that such an airline could dare to sell such a product as First class. And pls. to others here in OMAAT do not you dare try to defend this airline. There is just no excuse at all! This First product make BA First like the epitome of luxurious First class..
Thanks Lucky for offering your time and money in showing us how good we have with our conventional airlines in our part of the world.

Luanda to Havana. Such an interesting city pair. Just goes to show how little I know about O&D and bilaterals even after reading about it all the time.

@ cs -- Mind trying to clear your browser cache? We were having some issues with our hosting company awhile back, but everything should be loading properly now.

Great report lucky couldn't wait to read it; even writing about it its clear you had a deep passion for trying out this product even more than any other product recently maybe other than qSuites.

Great report!

Re: "I think TAAG might just be the only airline to offer a three cabin first class product to Cuba?" Air China flies a 3 cabin product from Montreal to Havana.

Re: I think TAAG might just be the only airline to offer a three cabin first class product to Cuba?

Isn't Air China flying a three cabin plane PEK-YUL-HAV with first class?

It looks like that salad with corn was served without cilantro. Thank goodness. Because as everyone knows, cilantro is actually the devil's doo doo, and unfit for human (or anything's) consumption. It is an evil spice that causes flatulence and suicidal thoughts. Some people consume cilantro and resort to self-mutilation, while others who consume it drive at dangerous speeds on the interstate highways.

And yet others have only a few microns of cilantro and then have blood dribble out of their eye sockets; others get tapeworms. And yet others see their skin turn purple. Others rip out their own tongues after accidentally ingesting cilantro, to avoid the risk of ever tasting cilantro again.

In conclusion, cilantro is evil and that is why all good people hate cilantro, and when you meet someone who says they love cilantro, they are really saying "I am the worst person in the world."

Q.E.D.

At the beginning, when you say "We had a friendly Uber driver for Angola, who couldn’t wrap his head..." do you mean "...a friendly Uber driver FROM Angola..."?

Cuba invaded Angola once. Fun fact.

@Myles
Please remember that our part of the world has not been enslaved and abused for the last 600 years. Also they just got out of a very messy civil conflict, which still does much damage to its population. Just managing to get permission to fly to Europe again is a great deal, the luxury details they'll figure out eventually.

the situation with the security officer at LIS seems quite bizarre to me...to be frank, i think most of ppl don't travel with a printed copy of itinerary anymore...in any event, the check-in agent would be able to pull out your reservation. i dont see any point of checking your reservation before you even reach the check-on counter

Loved this TAAG review!

Lucky, you mentioned São Tomé and Príncipe.
Check out the NYT 52 Places to Go in 2018.

Highlighted as "Underrated gem gets new luxe lodging"
"This former Portuguese colony is called Africa’s Galápagos by naturalists"

I will definitely be staying at: http://www.sundyprincipe.com/

Trying to to combine Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on the AF CDG-SSA flight
which continues on to Douala, Cameroon ~ cool flights!

While reserving the seats selections for you, Tiffany should have pre- reserved the Cod..as one does

@ Bitzer

“Please remember that our part of the world has not been enslaved and abused for the last 600 years.”

Indigenous people don’t count, then?

I recommend a dose of Eduardo Galeano, as a gentle way of starting to address your history deficit.

@Myles, people like you really sicken me. You spoilt entitled individual. Honestly, who do you think you using such strong words and complete outrage over a First class product?. I can’t imagine you being satisfied with anything. Ever. What is wrong with people like you??

Rich white American kids traveling for no reason first class for a lot of money in a dirt poor country's horrible airline. Couldn't be more cliché if you tried.

Amazing review!

I will go to Sao Tome this august and will fly with Taag first class from JNB.

LOVED the report and worth the wait . Can’t wait to read the rest of the journey. How will you top this trip Ben ?...

Cuba used to have preferred status in Angola as they fought alongside the then-ruling MPLA against forces backed by South Africa and US during the Angolan Civil War. Cubans had sent thousands of doctors, teachers, and volunteers alongside 50,000 soldiers into Angola during that time. However nowadays Cuban influence in Angola has been declining, as Angolans discovered oil and start exporting to South Africa and other Western countries for cash.

Also thanks for the report Lucky! Flying TAAG next month from MPM to LAD on a 777. Do not know if it'd be one of these 77Ws or actually a 772ER, although it seems like they don’t sell first on that route tho...

I don't understand the obsession of adding 'first class' prefix to everything. In future maybe you can add you took a first class dump at the first class toilet bowl

@john, ze pretty much summed up the Havana flight. A product of their history as communist allies.

@andy

..and you are??..pls. stop being a hypocrit!.. I use these words which I mind to be appropriate..If you choose to talk down over this appalling First product, I would definitely not sugar coat it! I will certainly not waste my money and symphathy for such inferior product..it does not matter if its a third world airline or country. So before you judge me do look yourself in the mirror and see what kind of a person you are!..Do not crack the mirror though!

Great and entertaining review Lucky. Always been fascinated by TAAG.

What I was more perturbed by was the comments made by Daniel from Finland. And I was suprised that none of your readers called him out on it.

“The catering, probably loaded in Lisbon, looks very African and very third world, which of course is appropriate.
In black Africa, you can’t photograph anything suspicious.
But on a plus side, it has real buildings, even highrises, and streets with sidewalks. That’s not self-evident in the area. I’ve never been to Angola, but I have visited a handful of countries in black Africa. It’s a fascinatingly different world, one where nothing seems to work, everything is broken but still, somehow, people get by, and after the initial shock, somehow you learn to get by, too.”

Not sure if this was just a language issue, but to read such comments that reak of white European privilege in 2018 is absolutely disgusting. He does come across as a seasoned traveller who has certainly been to “ black Africa “numerous times. One would think that travel to the region would at least give him a bit of insight
Into the culture and challenges that ‘black Africa ‘ has to deal with today as a result of centuries of colonial oppression and exploitation.
SMH. Blackfromblackafrica

cmas -

The early security check of the reservation/ticket may be to prevent anyone other than passengers from entering the airport. I returned home recently from 4 weeks in India, where that is commonplace.

I liked it because otherwise the check-in area can get awfully chaotic. The Mumbai check-in area was delightful.

Is it me or does the first picture of the snack (2nd meal) look like a spread-out dead mouse? Are you SURE it was chicken? (Having been catered in Lisbon seems to back that).

So exactly similar to the old African airlines, mostly dead by now, Cameroon Airlines, Air Gabon, Air Madagascar (actually still alive, barely though...) and the like. When you have reviewed one, you've reviewed them all.

@Cornel

I realise you are unhappy with the term Black Africa. Collins Dictionary (which spells it with a capital B) tells me it's used rarely, but they don't label it as offensive. However, maybe everything that contains the word 'black' is offensive in the English language today... Finnish is different that way, and we speak of 'musta Afrikka' without problems.

However, Sub-Saharan Africa carries the same meaning, so if you find it more neutral, I'll be happy to use this term since I'd hate to be offensive, especially without even realising it myself.

Finland, by the way, has no colonial history (apart from being colonized by Sweden in the 12th century), so many of the stigmas associated with colonialism go mostly unnoticed here, which might lead to misunderstandings in an international context.

I also had trouble with the pictures loading, no matter how many times i refreshed the page only half of the photos would load... 🙁

I am absolutely positive I have read some of this before, and not just in the preview "swiping left". I remember 'no photos' and taking the selfie was okay, and I even remember the next installment when things went south and the (entitled) crew didn't provide much in the way of service, at all. Am I taking crazy pills?

“Within a couple of minutes of settling in, the primary first class flight attendant approached us to offer drinks. I think she was friendly, well intentioned, and genuine. She certainly wasn’t smiling, or polished, or trained in how to provide service in international first class, but I feel like she had the right idea, and wanted us to have an enjoyable flight.”

Why am I increasingly getting irked when reading these nasty “I’m privileged first Class” postings? I’m no longer able to stomach reading this pathetic nancy girl stuff.

Lilly Ming, your incessant sniping and irksome comments are proving to be an unwanted distraction. If you can't stomach reading this 'pathetic nancy girl' stuff, then do yourself a huge favor and stop reading this blog! Leave the rest of us poor folk to suffer through Lucky's privileged posts. Sheesh.

One of my favorites reviews! Well done! I been wanting to go to Luanda.....

Flying from/into Lisbon airport is frequently tricky because of the wind. I've had some of the scariest takeoffs and landings in my life at LIS.

Great review.

what an ethnocentric report. ya the first is mediocre but you're on angola air, not singapore, not the corrupt me3, not tap which is even more mediocre than this. so dramatic.