Lufthansa Group’s newest leisure airline, Eurowings Discover, touched down in Namibia for the very first time yesterday. The new carrier departed from Frankfurt on Tuesday, with an Airbus A330-200. Flight 4Y132 arrived at Hosea Kutako International Airport yesterday morning at 08h05.
Eurowings Discover operates five weekly connections from Frankfurt to Windhoek in 2021, with return flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. From summer 2022, the leisure carrier will even increase its service to daily flights with three weekly onward tag flights to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Captain Wolfgang Raebiger, who is also the CEO of the new airline, operated the first flight to Windhoek, which was welcomed by an airport event and special guests including the German Ambassador Herbert Beck. “This flight marks an important milestone for our new airline Eurowings Discover: starting from today, we will take over the route between Germany and Namibia, which has been served successfully over the past years by Lufthansa Group already. Windhoek has always been a popular holiday destination for travellers from all over the world and we are happy to continue offering our customers the possibility to travel to this beautiful country – even with an increased schedule. By handing over this route to its new leisure airline, the Lufthansa Group emphasises both the importance of Namibia as a destination in its touristic portfolio as well as its commitment to the Southern African region,” said Raebiger.
“In celebrating the launch of Eurowings Discover touching down for the first time on Namibian soil, not only are we making history, but also offering our Namibian customers an opportunity to reconnect with their families and friends abroad, at very competitive fares. Furthermore, our corporate travellers can look forward to an attractive and sophisticated business class product. Lufthansa Group has a long-term commitment ensuring that Namibia remains connected to Europe and the rest of the world, which is underlined by our plans to further enhance our flight services to a daily schedule between Windhoek and Frankfurt, starting from March 2022,” said Andre Schulz, General Manager Lufthansa Group, Southern and East Africa.
Esther Kaapanda, Executive Director of the Ministry of Works and Transport appreciates the launch of Eurowings Discover on the Frankfurt to Windhoek route, which has come at an opportune time. “The Lufthansa Group continues to be a strategic partner in promoting Namibia to become a logistics hub in Southern Africa and a preferred tourist destination in line with national development endeavours. The arrival of Eurowings Discover at our international airport brings renewed hope to revive tourism, generate economic development, business and trade during these challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Kaapanda.
Meanwhile, Namibia Airports Company (NAC) CEO Bisey /Uirab welcomed Eurowings Discover to Hosea Kutako International Airport. “This inaugural flight will offer wider air connectivity to the European market and the rest of the world. The continuation and expansion of the direct flight connection from Frankfurt to Windhoek will contribute to making the travel experience more convenient and seamless. This will culminate in an increase in passenger movements and revenue generation. We remain committed to providing improved customer services to our airlines at our airport currently under renovations,” /Uirab stated.
This Eurowings Discover flight connects to the heart of Europe. Passengers from Namibia are welcomed on board and can continue to rely on this nonstop flight service to Germany and beyond. Tickets can be booked via the usual channels, travel agencies and online. Return fares from Windhoek to Frankfurt start at N$8 455 booked via NDC and N$8 955 via GDS (one bag included) in economy class. In business class, fares start at N$26 413 via NDC and N$27 413 via GDS (two bags included).
As part of the Lufthansa network, travellers can benefit from direct connections and seamless transfers to and from all German and European Lufthansa destinations with just one transfer in Frankfurt, as well as an end-to-end booking process. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the airline draws on the expertise and experience of one of the world’s leading aviation companies.