TAAG Angola Airlines and LATAM Brasil have signed a new codeshare agreement that significantly expands the Angolan carrier’s reach into Brazil, giving passengers access to 57 domestic destinations beyond São Paulo through a single integrated network.
Announced on September 1, the agreement allows passengers travelling on TAAG to connect at São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) onto LATAM’s domestic network. The destinations include major cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Salvador, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Curitiba, as well as leisure markets including Foz do Iguaçu, Fernando de Noronha, Bonito and Porto Seguro.
For travellers, the significance is not simply the number of destinations added. The codeshare enables the two airlines to integrate their networks, allowing eligible itineraries to be sold as a single journey, with integrated check-in, baggage handling and passenger assistance during connections.
The agreement strengthens Luanda’s position as a potential bridge between Africa and South America, allowing TAAG to expand its commercial reach without having to operate each additional Brazilian route itself. The airlines are also considering expanding the partnership to include LATAM’s international services in South and North America.
What does it mean for Nairobi?
The development is particularly interesting for Kenya’s travel trade because TAAG already operates a direct Nairobi–Luanda service. Current schedules show nonstop TAAG services between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Luanda’s Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport, creating the first leg of a potential Nairobi–Luanda–São Paulo journey.
That gives Nairobi-based travel agents another routing option when selling Brazil and potentially other South American markets.
Rather than routing passengers through traditional European or Middle Eastern gateways, agents could construct itineraries via Luanda and São Paulo, depending on schedules, fares, and availability. The TAAG network already lists Nairobi among its destinations, alongside São Paulo and several other African and international markets.
For the Kenyan market, this could be particularly relevant for business travel, leisure travel, students, diaspora traffic and travellers visiting multiple destinations in Brazil. A passenger travelling from Nairobi to Rio de Janeiro, for example, could potentially travel Nairobi–Luanda–São Paulo and then connect onward to Rio under the expanded TAAG-LATAM network.
The commercial opportunity for agents is therefore broader than simply selling a new airline connection. Codeshare agreements give travel agents more combinations to work with when building itineraries, particularly where direct services between two markets do not exist.
It also places greater emphasis on Luanda as a hub connecting East Africa and Latin America. With TAAG operating the Nairobi–Luanda link and its international operations consolidated at Luanda’s new airport, the Angolan capital is positioning itself as an alternative African gateway for long-haul traffic.
For Nairobi’s travel industry, the immediate takeaway is to watch the TAAG-LATAM partnership as a potential new routing option to Brazil, particularly once fares, schedules and booking availability across the combined network become clearer.
Source: TAAG official press release
