Boeing farewell on track for next week

PREPARATIONS for the final handover of one of the country’s single most expensive purchases since Independence – Air Namibia’s Boeing 747-400 Combi – are said to be well on track.

The aircraft will take off from Namibian soil for the last time on Tuesday and become the property of its new royal owner on September… The Boeing aircraft, which has cost taxpayers millions since it was bought almost five years ago, was sold last month for VIP use to a Middle Eastern royal family. Air Namibia’s Technical and Operations General Manager Andre Compion said this week that the Welwitschia would leave Namibia for good on Tuesday morning when it will fly its last load of passengers to Frankfurt.Compion said he expected a smooth transition to the deployment of a newly leased aircraft to fly the overseas route.The MD 11 aircraft, which will be hired for 15 months from Swiss Air, will make its first flight for Air Namibia from Frankfurt on Tuesday night.The Boeing Jumbo will arrive in Amsterdam for its final maintenance check by KLM next Wednesday, before returning to Germany where it will be handed over to its new owners in Hamburg.Air Namibia’s cockpit crew are scheduled to start training next week to fly the MD… During their six to eight week training period, the aircraft will be flown by Swiss Air pilots.Compion said Air Namibia’s cabin crew had already done the necessary training to serve on the flight as from next week.He said the airline was only able to secure an Airbus A340 for long-term lease to operate the Germany route in October, carrying the same number of passengers as the Jumbo, but at a 40 per cent reduction in operational costs.The sale of the Boeing is a central tenet of a Government-approved business plan aimed at the financial recovery of the national air carrier.Air Namibia’s Technical and Operations General Manager Andre Compion said this week that the Welwitschia would leave Namibia for good on Tuesday morning when it will fly its last load of passengers to Frankfurt.Compion said he expected a smooth transition to the deployment of a newly leased aircraft to fly the overseas route.The MD 11 aircraft, which will be hired for 15 months from Swiss Air, will make its first flight for Air Namibia from Frankfurt on Tuesday night.The Boeing Jumbo will arrive in Amsterdam for its final maintenance check by KLM next Wednesday, before returning to Germany where it will be handed over to its new owners in Hamburg.Air Namibia’s cockpit crew are scheduled to start training next week to fly the MD… During their six to eight week training period, the aircraft will be flown by Swiss Air pilots.Compion said Air Namibia’s cabin crew had already done the necessary training to serve on the flight as from next week.He said the airline was only able to secure an Airbus A340 for long-term lease to operate the Germany route in October, carrying the same number of passengers as the Jumbo, but at a 40 per cent reduction in operational costs.The sale of the Boeing is a central tenet of a Government-approved business plan aimed at the financial recovery of the national air carrier.