AIR Namibia gears up to launch the Windhoek-Lagos-Accra route, commencing on 29 June 2018, a new route which will provide a direct link between Namibia and West African countries.
This convenient new service operates four times a week – Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Windhoek – providing smooth and convenient connections inbound and outbound to the airline’s regional flights, connecting West Africa via Windhoek to and from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Luanda, Harare, Lusaka, Vic Falls, Gaborone, Walvis Bay, Durban and beyond.
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.
Air Namibia anticipates closing the gap in the market by competitively connecting Southern Africa to West Africa in less than six hours. “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 to 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.
She added: “The operation fits within our existing capacity in terms of aircraft and crew, improving the utilisation rates of these resources, while increasing revenue generating opportunities; especially as it means we are entering Africa’s largest regional air travel market.”
Air Namibia recently appointed APG Network as its sales representatives in both Nigeria and Ghana to provide full sales and marketing services, as well as call centre and customer care services in the two countries.
Juanita Klassen, Air Namibia’s manager for GSA and offline markets, at the time said: “We are happy for having established this relationship with the APG Network, as we 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, marketing and reservations. Air Namibia can benefit, and is positioned to make its West Africa operations a success.”
The move by Air Namibia to breathe new life into these two new routes is welcomed by both the Ghanaian and Nigerian communities. Former high commissioner of Ghana to Namibia and Botswana, Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Harruna Attah, had the following to say: “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 seafood is scant. With such an extensive access to the sea, fish and other edible creatures of the salty waters are in plentiful supply.”
Air Namibia will service this new route with the Airbus A319, offering a seat configuration of 16 business class and 96 economy class seats, and offer two tonnes of cargo space.
Air Namibia brings to West Africa its award winning service, which is recognised by many, and having led to the company winning the “Feather Awards” as the best regional airline of southern Africa more than 10 times over the past 15 years. The airline also scooped second place as Africa’s best regional airline in 2016 and 2017 through the Skytrax airline awards.
The airline operates a fleet carefully selected to meet performance dependability and comfort. All its 10 aircraft (2 x Airbus A330-200, 4 x Airbus A319-100, 4 x Embraer ERJ 135) provide immense comfort offered by generous legroom and modern interiors.
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