WINDHOEK – The first of the two brand new Airbus A330-200 aircraft that Air Namibia has procured would be delivered later this month, while the second aircraft is to be delivered sometime in November, the national airline announced yesterday. The aircraft were procured through a 12-month lease agreement with an American based aviation company, Interpid Aviation.
The national airline says the introduction of the two A330-200 aircraft would realise a saving of up to a whopping N$510 million over 60 months on operating costs alone. The savings translate into N$8,5 million per month, a significant amount of money for an airline that is currently under financial pressure, largely due to the competitive market. Latest figures from the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) show that the air travel market has been experiencing significant deterioration in recent months, with a somewhat stabilisation only recorded in June and July, during which the number of passengers on premium seats in international markets went up 4,1 percent than a year ago. Economy class passenger travel rose 4 percent in June year-on-year, in line with the 3,9 percent rise in May.
“A look at the first six months of the year shows that growth in premium air travel has been subdued, with expansion of 3,2 percent from January to June 2013, compared to the same period in the previous year. This is below the 4,8 percent growth in premium travel seen throughout 2012,” IATA said. Global business confidence had started to increase strongly in late 2012 and into early 2013, but over the past several months, business sentiment had flat-lined. Growth in business-related premium travel has slowed accordingly, IATA said.
Air Namibia’s chief spokesperson, Paul Nakawa, nevertheless said the fleet upgrade of the two airbus aircraft “ties in with our network expansion and frequency increase plans, using aircraft which are having a combination of low operating costs, high efficiency, flexibility, customer appeal and optimised performance.”
The A330s will be used primarily on Air Namibia’s long haul route, between Windhoek and Frankfurt. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft is an economically efficient aircraft that is popular with airlines around the world. It has been deemed as ideal for Air Namibia as the airline continues to explore ways of reducing its operation costs.
The A330s will come in a seat configuration of 244 seats, of which 30 are in business class and 214 in the economy class. Business Class seats will be full flat beds (180 degrees flat), while all seats in the aircraft including economy class will have “video/audio on demand” with individual monitors for each passenger.
Air Namibia currently uses two Airbus A340-300 aircraft on the Windhoek-Frankfurt route, whose lease agreement expires in October, 2013. The new A330-200 aircraft have been built and configured in line with Air Namibia requirements and standards.
“From the range of aircraft types available, the A330-200 was found to be the most suited for our operations and conditions, given lower operating cost, high dispatch reliability, flexibility and appeal to customers,” says Air Namibia General Manager for Commercial Services, Xavier Masule.
By Staff Reporter