South African Airways & TAAG Partner To Unlock New Africa-Portugal-Brazil Links
South African Airways (SAA) has signed a new codeshare agreement with TAAG Angola Airlines, aiming to boost regional and intercontinental connectivity while making it easier for travelers to move around Southern Africa, Europe, and South America. The deal effectively links SAA’s Johannesburg and Cape Town hubs with TAAG’s Luanda hub, creating more one-stop options across the combined networks.
Both airlines say the partnership is designed to support growing trade, tourism, and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic, and to simplify travel across multiple countries on a single ticket.
SAA Group CEO John Lamola called the agreement “a significant milestone in African aviation,” emphasizing that it will expand reach, improve the passenger experience, and “unlock vital commercial pathways” across the continent and beyond.
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What routes are included in the codeshare?
Under the new agreement, SAA will place its “SA” code on a number of TAAG-operated routes:
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Johannesburg – Luanda
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Cape Town – Luanda
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Luanda – Lisbon (Portugal)
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Luanda – São Paulo (Brazil)
This means travelers can book these TAAG flights as if they were SAA services, under a single SAA-issued ticket.
In the other direction, TAAG will gain better access to SAA’s regional network. TAAG’s “DT” code will be added to selected SAA routes from South Africa to:
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Durban
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Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
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Cape Town
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Harare (Zimbabwe)
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Lusaka (Zambia)
Together, this effectively turns Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Luanda into key connecting hubs for passengers traveling within Southern Africa and onward to Europe and South America.
Why this matters for travelers
For passengers, a codeshare brings three big benefits:
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More one-stop options
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South African travelers can now reach Lisbon or São Paulo on a single SAA-branded ticket via Luanda.
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Angolan and regional passengers can more easily connect via Johannesburg or Cape Town to secondary cities like Durban, Gqeberha, Harare, and Lusaka without having to book separate tickets.
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Simplified booking and check-in
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One ticket, one PNR, and the ability to pay in local currency.
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Through check-in for passengers and bags, so luggage is tagged through to the final destination instead of being re-checked mid-journey.
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Improved connectivity across Africa
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Many African city pairs still lack nonstop flights; this partnership fills some of those gaps with more logical one-stop itineraries through the three hubs.
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How the deal supports both airlines’ strategies
For South African Airways, the TAAG partnership:
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Strengthens its position as a regional connector out of Johannesburg and Cape Town, even as it rebuilds its international network post-restructuring.
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Adds long-haul reach to Portugal and Brazil without immediately deploying its own aircraft on those routes.
For TAAG Angola Airlines, the deal:
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Deepens its presence in Southern Africa by tapping into SAA’s network to cities where TAAG does not currently fly nonstop.
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Increases feed into its long-haul services from Luanda to Europe and South America, helping to support better loads and yields on flights to Lisbon and São Paulo.
Strategically, it also fits a broader pattern: both carriers have been leaning more heavily on partnerships and codeshares to compensate for limited fleets and to extend their reach without heavy upfront capital spending.
What this means for Africa–Europe–Brazil travel
The SAA–TAAG tie-up is especially interesting for the South Africa–Portugal–Brazil corridor:
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South African travelers get new one-stop options to Lisbon and São Paulo via Luanda, which can be competitive against routings via the Gulf or Western Europe.
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Passengers from Portugal and Brazil gain simpler access to multiple Southern African cities on a single ticket, which should support tourism, corporate travel, and Lusophone links.
If schedules are coordinated well, Luanda could emerge as a more meaningful connecting point between Southern Africa, Europe, and Brazil, complementing rather than replacing existing routings via hubs like Johannesburg, Doha, or Dubai.
Bottom Line
South African Airways and TAAG Angola Airlines have signed a new codeshare agreement that links Johannesburg and Cape Town with Luanda, and onward from Angola to Lisbon and São Paulo, while giving TAAG access to SAA’s regional network in Southern Africa.
For travelers, the partnership delivers more one-stop options, simpler ticketing, and smoother connections. For the airlines, it’s a relatively low-risk way to expand reach and shore up long-haul services without immediately adding new aircraft or launching entirely new routes on their own metal.
