Air Namibia welcomes Condor competition

While FlyAfrica.com eyes near future entrance into market

With the recent announcement of the entrance of the German airliner, Condor onto the Windhoek – Frankfurt route, with flights set to commence on 10 November, the national carrier, Air Namibia said they welcomed the competition posed by the low cost airline onto the market.
The Economist spoke to Air Namibia’s Corporate Communication Officer, Oneka Sitali who said, “Air Namibia welcomes the competition; competition is competition. On the other hand it brings opportunities and we are happy to be in this environment where there is competition, because more often than not you will find that our services complement each other, for the benefit of all. This will also allow Namibian people more options of service and afford more flying experience.”
“As for the operations of Condor, as our major contributor to revenue, the long haul route will always be attractive to competition. However, Air Namibia has remained resilient in the face of negativity where operators on various routes have come and gone,” she added.
In terms of protecting their market share, the national airline said,“ Air Namibia will continue with business as usual ensuring that we meet the expectations of our market by offering the best services in class; While adopting the best business practices in the industry such as forming strong strategic alliances to remain relevant and competitive alongside major international airlines.”
“We will continue to work hard and are optimistic about the future,” the airliner added.

In order to ensure and maintain their clients Air Namibia said, “We are in a process of fine tuning all areas of its services in order to achieve the best in class. We can proudly say that those choosing to fly with Air Namibia are choosing one of the best Airlines in the world.”
“However we can only be sustained in the long run with the cooperation of our flying public in terms of keeping to scheduled times. As we move forward to give the best services we also expect our customers to work together with us to ensure no one is inconvenienced,” Air Namibia added. Said Oneka,“We have managed, for the third month in a row to attain operational financial break-even; this is historic for Air Namibia. Such results mean that, in the long run, Air Namibia will be able to offer a great service at a great price for our customers.”
Meanwhile the plans by Flyafrica.com, Africa’s low fare airline as announced last week of making Namibia their next step in its Pan Africa low fare strategy, Air Namibia said, “As for FlyAfrica.com they have decided to suspend their plans to enter the Namibia market for the near future (refer to FlyAfrica.com for further information).”
Flyafrica.com, Africa’s low fare airline had announced that it would enter the Namibian market with flights between Windhoek and Johannesburg with the fares starting at a very competitive N$799.