According to a press release from the company, the signing took place in the Spanish capital, within the framework of the new TAAG route, which opens next June 27, with the aim of establishing connections to dozens of countries between the African and European continents.
The "codeshare and interline" agreement allows TAAG passengers from Luanda and arriving in Madrid to access, with a single ticket, the entire Iberia network, namely in Europe and the Americas (south and north), to 143 destinations from 43 countries.
The note also adds that passengers of the Spanish company, leaving Europe and Madrid, arriving in Luanda, will also have access to TAAG's network of national and international destinations.
Codeshare is an agreement in which two or more airlines share the same flight, the same service standards and the same sales channels, the same routes and the same airspace.
Thus, Luanda becomes a "hub" - a hub for connections to multiple geographies, and TAAG now offers 10 international destinations, and in Africa it will fly to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek, Maputo, Kinshasa, Lagos and São Tomé, for Europe, Lisbon and Madrid, and in South America, the city of São Paulo.
The operator also clarifies that Iberia and TAAG passengers will mutually benefit from the network of international destinations, and from Spain's perspective, (re)entry into the African market is strategic, as the Spanish company flies to 134 destinations from 43 countries.
TAAG will have two weekly flights between Luanda and Madrid, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER with a capacity of 293 seats, 12 in "business plus" class, 56 seats in "standard business" class and 225 seats in economy class.
On the occasion, the document highlights, the chairman of the Executive Committee, Eduardo Fairen Soria, said that the TAAG-IBERIA partnership will strengthen ties, encourage opportunities and exchanges in the economic, cultural and tourism fields.
From the PCE's perspective, this partnership will make it possible to leverage the Africa-Europe connection and expand TAAG's portfolio of routes and destinations, positioning Luanda as a relevant hub in the Southern Africa region.
On the other hand, Javier Sánchez-Prieto, PCE of Iberia, considered that the "codeshare and interline" agreement will not only unite the two countries even more, but also open several windows of opportunity for the trade and tourism sector.
The document highlights that despite the pandemic context, which profoundly affected the aviation sector on a global scale, this TAAG initiative reveals great resilience and a sense of opportunity.
The act was witnessed by the Minister of Transport, Ricardo D'Abreu, and by the Ambassador of Angola to the Kingdom of Spain, José Luís de Matos, among others responsible for the aeronautical sector of the two States.
