Angolan air carrier Transportadora Aérea de Angola (TAAG) plans to buy three new Boeing 777 300 ER aircraft by 2016, the chairman of the board of the airline said Friday in Luanda.

According to Angolan news agency Angop, Araújo Pimentel said that the contract signed with Boeing Corp, in March 2011, includes the purchase of three more aircraft, the first of which will be delivered in May 2014, the second in December 2015 and the third in March 2016.

At the end of meeting that Angola’s Transport Minister Augusto da Silva Tomás, had with the President of US group General Electric (GE), Jeff Immelt, Araújo Pimentel added that the Angolan airline also planned to acquire three more aircraft which are scheduled to be delivered in 2019/2020, but which may be received before then, if the company’s growth requires it.

The chairman of TAAG also said that the company had carried 1.2 million passengers in 2012, compared to 1.05 million in 2011 and noted that the company expected to carry an additional 14 percent this year. (macauhub)