Its all systems go – National airline ready to commence flights to West Africa
Air Namibia this week said it was all systems go for the launch of the Windhoek-Lagos-Accra route which will commence on 29 June.
According to a statement released by the airline, the new route will connect West Africa via Windhoek to and from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Luanda, Harare, Lusaka, Victoria Falls, Gaborone, Walvis Bay, Durban and beyond. The route will be operating four times a week; Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Windhoek.
Air Namibia anticipates closing a gap in the market by competitively connecting Southern Africa to West Africa within less than 6 hours. The route will be serviced with the Airbus A319, offering a seat configuration of 16 Business Class and 96 Economy Class seats and offer two tons of cargo space.
“This much needed service gives our passengers a better alternative travel option, reducing travel times between Namibia and West Africa by more than 60%. We are happy to introduce our Award Winning Service in this market and we are already receiving positive feedback on the launch of this new route,” said Mandi Samson, Air Namibia’s Acting Managing Director.
The routing will be Windhoek-Lagos-Accra, and the return will be Accra- Lagos-Windhoek. The operation will further transport passengers and cargo on the Lagos-Accra-Lagos leg, utilising the fifth freedom traffic rights granted by the Ghanaian and Nigerian Governments, as contained in the existing Bilateral Air Service Agreements.
“The operation fits within our existing capacity in terms of aircraft and crew, improving the utilization rates of these resources while increasing revenue generating opportunities. Especially as it means we are entering Africa’s largest regional air travel market,” Samson added.
Meanwhile, Air Namibia recently appointed APG Network as sales representatives in both Nigeria and Ghana to provide full sales and marketing services, as well as call centre and customer care services on behalf of Air Namibia in the two countries.
Juanita Klassen, Air Namibia’s Manager for GSA and Offline Markets at the time said they are happy for having established this relationship with the APG Network, as they can use their extensive experience in the field of aviation as a key global player in the airline distribution environment, offering outsourced services such as passenger sales and marketing, reservations.
The move by Air Namibia to breathe new life into these two new routes is welcomed by both the Ghanaian and Nigeria communities.
“Namibia is a great meat-eating nation. I know Ghanaians also love meat and with Air Namibia now coming back, they can hop over and visit Namibia. Namibian beef is exported to Europe and other parts of the world. But that is not to say sea food is scant. With such an extensive access to the sea, fish and other edible creatures of the salty waters are in plentiful supply,” said Former High Commissioner of Ghana to Namibia and Botswana, Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah.
