TAAG, in a statement sent to Lusa, the day before the announced protest march by cabin crew, in Luanda, refers that per diem allowances are available on the "Visa Camba" credit card, assigned to the crew.
In the communiqué, dated 23 February, in which the carrier quotes statements from its financial manager, Gabriela Bastos, the company recognizes that when the aforementioned model of cards was introduced, legitimate complaints were signaled, mainly by seafarers.
Complaints related to "delays in loading cards" and "impossibility of accessing card statement inquiries (only with availability of balance inquiries)".
In order to "immediately resolve" the problem of delays in loading cards, he stresses, the company presented, at a meeting on January 21st with the Provincial Union of Cabin Navigators (SINPROPNC) and the Union of Pilots, a proposal to availability of funds.
"Thus, with the consent of all parties, the aforementioned meeting established the adoption of this new method of payment applicable to sailing personnel (pilots and cabin crew), which began to be implemented from February 1, 2023", refers in the document.
Gabriela Bastos, quoted in the note, explains that the "revolving" top-up carried out by the company corresponds to a credit/advance made on the card, "that is, a payment of allowances as a reserve that aims to cover the needs of month average cost".
At the end of each month, he adds, TAAG pays the full amount of allowances arising from "flights actually performed" by each of the crew. The value of the credit/advance made with reference to the 1st of the current month, not being deducted at the end of each month, "carries over to the following month, allowing the crew member to always have an advanced amount available".
The advance payment of allowances to flying personnel is a forecast of the average number of days spent traveling by each crew member for the corresponding month, i.e., in the case of a pilot, 15 days of flight were estimated, while for the flying personnel, eight days were estimated. of flight, says Gabriela Bastos.
The Provincial Union of Cabin Navigators (SINPROPNC) of the air carrier will hold a protest march on Saturday against the "mismanagement" of the company.
Lusa contacted TAAG's management and, in response, sent two communiqués, one signed by its financial administrator, Gabriela Bastos, and the other signed by Eduardo Fairen Soria, chairman of the executive committee.
Last year, Linhas Aéreas de Angola contracted an Airbus A330 aircraft from the Portuguese airline HiFly for the Luanda-Lisbon-Luanda connection, under a 'wet lease' regime, a type of contract that guarantees, in addition to the plane, the availability of the full crew. , maintenance and insurance of the device.
Regarding aircraft rental, Eduardo Fairen, in a statement dated February 22, explains that the partnerships with HiFly and FlyAO "should remain for longer periods than desired", due, above all, to "external factors , such as the effects of the post-covid phase and the war in Ukraine".
"The challenges posed by the war in Ukraine are also felt in the price of fuel and in all production and supply chains, impacting deliveries of parts, equipment and material, affecting the entire aviation sector, including major partners of ours such as Boeing, Airbus and others", he pointed out.
These factors "have seriously jeopardized plans to improve our maintenance and fleet, forcing us to reassess and change solutions such as the arrival of the B777 (Royal Alfa) and causing some temporary partnerships such as HiFly or specific ones such as FlyAO to remain for longer periods than desired", stressed the president of TAAG.
Eduardo Fairen added: "We are aware that these challenges will continue and we will continue to look and seek ingenious solutions so that our company continues to survive and grow. Thus, we will soon have two of our B777-300s back in operation and we are aggressively seeking 'retrofit' solutions (interior renovation) for our aircraft".
Financial administrator Gabriela Bastos also underlines that it is the intention of TAAG's board of directors "to design and implement transformative and inclusive policies for the entire workforce".
