TAAG Angola is preparing to accept its first Airbus A220s into service…but is having to put in place contingency plans to cope with potential late deliveries.
The Angolan flag-carrier has a total of 15 A220-300s on order from four lessors, with the intention of using them for intra-African flights. The aim is to make use of the crossover jets’ lower costs both to open up new routes and to increase frequencies on existing ones, as part of the airline’s growth strategy.
Having signed a leasing deal for six at the 2022 Farnborough airshow, followed by three separate deals with lessors at this year’s Paris airshow, TAAG’s latest estimate is that the first aircraft will arrive in April 2024, but this date remains uncertain.
The crossover jets are expected to deliver 20% lower costs than the Boeing 737-700s they will replace, but the two types are now expected to co-exist for some time, said a TAAG spokesman, with the Boeings being gradually phased out.
At June’s IATA AGM in Istanbul, TAAG CEO Eduardo Fairen said that not only would the A220s’ delivery delays mean that the 737s would have to remain in service longer than anticipated, but that more might have to be acquired in the short term to meet capacity demands.
And in late September, TAAG agreed to lease two ex-FlyEgypt 737-700s from Air Lease Corporation. Fairen has said that another two 737-700s may have to be acquired on short-term leases if the A220s’ delivery delays drag on.
