WINDHOEK – Late last week, Air Namibia confirmed that after a temporary three-month suspension, it has re-introduced the Windhoek to Luanda route back to its schedule. The Windhoek to Luanda flights were scheduled to re-commence its Angolan operation yesterday.
Air Namibia said it will service this route three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays using the Airbus A319, offering a seat configuration of 16 Business Class and 96 Economy Class seats, and two tons of cargo space. The operation will transport passengers and cargo promoting intra-Africa trade and supporting the existing bilateral air service agreements.
Air Namibia initially commenced operations from Windhoek to Luanda during 1992, shortly after independence. The operation was initially two flights per week and through the years the numbers steadily went up to seven flights per week by 2014/15.
Wimpie van Vuuren, Air Namibia’s Acting Commercial General Manager said that the Windhoek to Luanda route was Air Namibia’s most profitable route from 1998 to 2015. “The situation changed when the Angolan economy weakened and passenger demand for air travel declined,” Van Vuuren said. He added: “To adapt to these economic changes, from 2016/17 Air Namibia reduced the number of flights from seven to six per week, then to five and by 2018/19 the number of flights was reduced to four per week.”
After some market analysis, a decision was taken to temporarily suspend operations during the low season (June to September) to reduce losses of the airline.
“With the high season for this market looming and holidaymakers planning to visit our neighbouring country and vice versa, Air Namibia restructured the operation to meet the current demand with the resumption of this route.
We would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to all our corporate, leisure customers and passengers for their continued business support during this most challenging time. We also thank sincerely the travel agents and tour operators for their continuous support.
As Air Namibia, our main area of focus is ensuring that we meet and exceed our customers’ expectations,” reads the statement from Air Namibia.