On 8 June 2023, TAP Air Portugal announced the launch of direct flights from Porto to Luanda, marking the Star Alliance carrier’s second service to the Angolan capital. The airline will connect the 2 cities twice-weekly using the brand new Airbus A330neo.
The airline already serves Luanda from Lisbon, having commenced the service in 1957. In that era, such intercontinental flights served to attach Portugal with its distant colony on the west coast of Southern Africa. Now an independent nation with a thriving oil industry, travel and interconnectivity is more alive than ever.
The brand new flights will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays, departing from Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport at 13:30 and arriving at Luanda’s Quatro de Fevereiro Airport at 21:35. The services will depart Angola at 23:20 and arrive back in Porto at 07:45 the next day after a red-eye flight. The brand new route will proceed the carrier’s recent expansion of intercontinental operations from Porto.
Moreover, the launch of the Porto-Luanda flight comes on the heels of a period of executive turmoil for the state-owned carrier, with the Portuguese government firing the CEO of the airline back in March amid a financial scandal.
The right aircraft for the job
With its spacious interior, relaxing cabin design, and number of upgrades, the A330neo is the perfect aircraft to cater to all of TAP’s needs on this route. Serving as the kind’s launch customer back in November 2019, TAP is well accustomed to the aircraft and its operations.
Photo: TAP Air Portugal
With 264 economy class seats and 34 lie-flat seats in Executive Class, the aircraft will have the ability to service all key demographics on this route. Moreover, compared to previous generations of the aircraft, the brand new A330neo comes with a virtually 20% reduction in fuel burn and carbon emissions and cuts the plane’s noise footprint in half.
Attributable to the aircraft’s increased operating efficiency, the airline will have the ability to supply extremely competitive prices for this latest nonstop itinerary. Roundtrip economy class fares start as little as £549 ($686) with Executive Class seats starting at £2,365 ($2,956).
A route with immense potential
In relation to service between Angola and Portugal, there are a selection of various markets that the airline will select to focus on. There are unique groups of travelers in each directions that the carrier must cater to with a view to achieve a profitable load factor on this flight. As Ricardo Dinis, a route manager at TAP said in an announcement:
We’ve got flown to Luanda from Lisbon since 1957 and have seen the potential for greater opportunities on this market, so we all know customers will welcome the launch of our latest twice-weekly service from Porto.
From Angola to Porto, the important thing demographic of traveler is Angolan residents who will seek to go to family and friends in and around Portugal’s second-largest city. With a thriving Angolan diaspora within the European nation, this group will likely provide a gradual source of passengers for TAP.
In the opposite direction, there may also be members of the Angolan-Portuguese community aiming to go to their homeland. Moreover, tourism to Angola has risen in recent times, with sites akin to the Camela National Park and the Iona National Park becoming especially popular.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Nevertheless, neither of those groups explains how TAP will consistently fill their 34 Executive Class seats on this route. As previously mentioned, the rapidly expanding oil industry within the nation has led to an increase in business travel. Likely, these premium seats might be stuffed with the variability of consultants, executives, and energy industry professionals traveling to the African nation.
With two dynamic markets to attach and the proper aircraft to get the job done, TAP has launched a formidable latest service with immense potential.