NAMIBIA: Air Namibia Sells US Tickets Via Codeshare Understanding

Air Namibia is planning on selling tickets to the United States (US) via codeshare agreements with partner airlines.

This comes after the airline won approval to carry passengers into and out of the US from the US Department of Transport in April.

Xavier Masule, General Manager of Commercial Services of Air Namibia, says that the airline doesn’t have any immediate plans to introduce a US route.

“Right now, we are simply looking at selling tickets into and out of the US via codeshare agreements with partner airlines like Condor,” says Xavier.

He adds that discussions with other partner airlines are still underway.

Air Namibia is pleased to announce that we will be increasing flight frequencies and capacity on some of our domestic routes.

Routes on which flight frequency and capacity increases will be offered are the following; ·

Ondangwa: We will launch an additional flight frequency on the Eros – Ondangwa route on Mondays, from the current two flights per day to three flight per day. We will also launch an additional flight frequency on Saturdays, from the current single flight per day to two flights. ·

Rundu/Katima Mulilo: Flights to Rundu and Katima Mulilo will be separated, meaning that flights to Rundu will no longer go via Katima Mulilo, and flights to Katima Mulilo will no longer go via Rundu.

We will introduce direct and non-stop flights between Eros and Rundu, three times per week to be operated on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The new service of direct and non-stop flights between Eros and Katima Mulilo will remain on 4 flights per week, to be operated on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In addition to the frequency and capacity increases, we are happy to also announce that we have revised our fares and ticket prices on domestic routes downwards, by an aggregate of 20%.

This reduction in fares will ensure that all fares payable on domestic routes, including taxes, will be well below N$ 3,990.00 return.

The decision taken to increase flight frequencies and capacity on domestic routes is in line with our strategic objective of making air travel affordable, and this is just the beginning of it all, says Paul Nakawa, Corporate Communications Manager of Air Namibia.

As opportunities for fixed cost reduction from increased aircraft utilization are realized, the more the benefit in cost reduction will be passed onto the end user, our esteemed flying public, Nakawa said.

We are grateful to Namibia Airports Company, for the decision to allow us to increase flights into Eros Airport, which has made it possible for us to increase frequencies on specified routes, which ultimately reduces our fixed costs per seat.

It is our wish that this level of cooperation and alignment will continue going forward, which will help us create a situation whereby every Namibia will afford to fly, removing pressure from our roads, added Xavier Masule General Manager for Commercial Services at Air Namibia

Barely six months after introducing the Windhoek – Gaborone – Durban flights, Air Namibia is proud to announce that the route has been performing well and the national airliner plans to increase capacity on this route.

Effective 26 March 2017, Air Namibia will now service the Windhoek-Gaborone- Durban route with Airbus A319 which offers 112 seats, with 16 seats for business class and 96 seats for economy class.

Airbus A319 replaces Embraer ERJ 135 which only offered 37 economy seats on that route.

Mr Xavier Masule, Air Namibia’s General Manager for Commercial Services described this development as a strategic move in the right direction.

We are proud of this development because it reflects growth and sustainability.

The increment in capacity for the two destinations will meet the growing demand of passengers flying with Air Namibia, while setting new standards for comfort on single-aisle jetliners, he proudly said.

Air Namibia will continue to service the destination to Gaborone and Durban four times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using the Airbus A319.

Apart from offering more seats and business class, the Airbus A319 also provides a fresh new look, more space in the overhead compartments, more leg room and cargo.

Due to the bigger capacity, baggage allowance has increased from one piece (1 of 23kg) to two pieces of 23 kg in economy class and two pieces of 32kg for business class passengers.

As part of welcoming the Airbus A319 to the Windhoek – Gaborone – Durban route, Air Namibia will have return promo fare specials for our passengers travelling on that route.

A return ticket from Windhoek to Durban via Gaborone will start from N$ 3,600 in economy class and N$ 5,900 in business class. The same fare structure applies to the Windhoek – Gaborone – Windhoek route.