After signing a codeshare agreement in April to foster passenger traffic, TAAG Angola Airlines has announced it has signed a Special Prorate Agreement (SPA) with GOL, the leading airline in the Brazilian market.
This partnership and agreement will allow Angola's flagship carrier TAAG to incorporate GOL’s destinations in Brazil and Latin America into its cargo network and portfolio.
According to TAAG, GOL has a deep capillarity in the Americas, with more than 200 geographies covered in 72 domestic bases in Brazil and 11 internationals.
“Within this partnership, TAAG is expanding cargo routes, assuring wider geographic coverage, and becoming more competitive overall. Through this agreement, TAAG is expected to increase the volume of cargo transported yearly while leveraging the company standards to capture new customers and contracts,” said the Angolan airline.
TAAG also said that this partnership was especially relevant regarding the current cargo stream between Europe and Latin America via Luanda for documents, small cargo, courier, e-commerce orders etc.
The airline’s cargo segment currently covers multiple destinations in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, São Tomé, Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya), Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Italy) and the Americas (Brazil and Cuba).
TAAG can also incorporate GOL's destinations under this SPA agreement while it is also eligible to use hold baggage space on GOL's commercial flights and freighters, aircraft exclusively for cargo, operated by the Brazilian airline on its domestic and regional routes as per availability.
TAAG CEO Eduardo Fairen said the cargo business was essential for TAAG's competitiveness and sustainability while it was also strategic to position Luanda as an important hub in the region.
“The partnership with GOL is a window of opportunity to reach new destinations in Brazil and Latin America; aside from that, many economies throughout the southern hemisphere will benefit from the TAAG/GOL collaborative approach,” said Fairen.
Currently, TAAG has five weekly flights connecting São Paulo and Luanda, with the sixth frequency to be added in August 2023.