FlyNamibia withdraws objection to FlyEtosha apllication

FlyNamibia has withdrawn its objection to the application submitted by FlyEtosha for scheduled passenger carrier status, filed by William Ekandjo.

Managing Director of FlyNambia Andre Compion said it is practice and process in the aviation industry, as with most regulated industries in Namibia, for a proposed undertaking, such as the launch of a new airline, to be gazetted and thus allowing for public comment or objection. “for the management of FlyNamibia, such an objection was deemed standard operating procedure and we ourselves have endured many objections to our own applications in the past,” he added.

Compion said one of their foundational values at FlyNamibia and Westair Aviation is to contribute to the sustainable development of the Namibian aviation sector and their intentions never were to pass judgement on the applicant nor to pre-empt any outcome, but purely to provide comment on the limitations of the application.

“Having deemed our objection ‘business as usual’ within the aviation industry, we were surprised by the vehement negative response from the public and have reflected on our approach. Moreover we have taken into consideration the public sentiment on our objection and being cognisant of the fact that the Namibian public is a key stakeholder in the our company,” emphasised Compion. He further said that when consumer sentiment does not align with decisions within the company they have accepted the responsibility to take a pragmatic approach, reflect and reassess.

Clarifying the trademark issue that they have, the Trade Mark Management said regarding the time lines, they registered and received the trade name ‘FlyNamibia Aviation’ as a defensive name with BIPA on 23 July 2020 and also in July they commenced the process to register the trademark ‘FlyNamibia’.

“The trade mark was officially registered on 5 July 2021 with the entitlement date being the date of the initial application, 16 July 2020. We launched the brand in November 2022 and subsequently changed the company name after the requisite approvals from relevant governing bodies,” they explained.

“They highlighted that during October 2022, through his attorneys, Ekandjo alleged that we had infringed on his company name and we responded with the above detailed information and supporting documents detailing that we had in fact obtained the trademark and rights to the name more than 12 months prior to his registration and he changed his company’s name.”

“As the country’s first privately-owned scheduled passenger airline, we are committed to the development of the aviation sector and the broader Namibian Economy. We are in the business of aviation and as business operators we embrace competition and believe that it has an influence on good businesses practices and enhances customer choice,” according to the Trade Mark Management team.

“We foresee and welcome more competition on the horizon with the imminent arrival of other regional airlines, such as FlySafari to Namibia.”