Condor code share with AirNamibia –

Condor takes off with Air Namibia: Codeshare agreement begun between the two airlines

Air Namibia code sharing with CondorFrom summer 2017, lots of advantages for passengers of both airlines with daily connections and new destinations

Frankfurt am Main, 9 March 2017 – Condor and Air Namibia concluded a codeshare agreement. This agreement will allow Condor passengers to have access to daily flight connections to Windhoek from summer 2017. The twice-weekly Condor flights from Frankfurt (Mondays and Fridays) are being supplemented with flights from Air Namibia. This means that passengers can make their plans with more flexibility and chose from nine weekly connections during the summer flight plan and from seven weekly connections in the upcoming winter. From April onwards, all codeshare flights will be available with a Condor flight number and airline code “DE” through the Condor booking channels.

“With daily nonstop flights from Frankfurt to Windhoek, the cooperation between Condor and Air Namibia offers our customers additional advantages with an expanded selection of holiday destinations in Southern Africa and a continuous baggage check-in on codeshare flights,” says Ralf Teckentrup, Chairman of the Board of Condor Flugdienst GmbH. “Our existing Africa routes are being optimally complemented with the agreement so that, in addition to Zanzibar, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Windhoek and Cape Town, other parts of Southern Africa can also be explored on long haul flights.”

The Condor codeshare flight number will also be used on connecting Air Namibia flights within Southern Africa. This will result in passengers benefitting from convenient connections to Johannesburg, Cape Town Harare and Walvis Bay.

As part of the agreement, Air Namibia flight numbers with the “SW” code will also be offered on many routes in the Condor route network. The codeshare routes, such as in the Caribbean, to North America or in the Mediterranean, open up a selection of many new holiday destinations and connections for Air Namibia guests.

Press Information

“We are happy to improve the service offering to our clients through collaboration with Condor, especially the seamless travel options via Frankfurt for onward connections to North America, the Caribbean or to the many other Condor holiday destinations result in a great added value for our guests. Before our agreement, these destinations were hard to reach for our customers”, says Advocate Mandi Samson, Acting Managing Director of Air Namibia.

The code share agreement was signed by both airlines at the ITB fair in Berlin, Germany. Subject to the approval of the German Civil Aviation Authority and the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority, the code share agreement is expected to begin with the 2017 summer flight schedule.

In addition to codeshare flights, the two airlines will offer other complementary connections of the partner airline on their respective websites. Apart from daily direct connections to Windhoek, visitors to the Condor website can also choose flights to eight destinations in Southern Africa. The range on airnamibia.com is being expanded by many additional Condor destinations. In particular, destinations such as Minneapolis, Seattle, Austin and Barbados will enhance the Air Namibia route network.

Low-priced flights from Frankfurt to Windhoek in summer 2017 are available with immediate effect at a one-way complete price from EUR 349.99 in Economy Class, from EUR 499.99 in Premium Class (only available in Condor aircraft) and from EUR 799.99 in Business Class. Connecting flights, for example from Frankfurt to Johannesburg are available at a one-way complete price from EUR 499.99 in Economy Class (one-way) and EUR 649.99 in Business Class (one-way). These reasonable offers can be booked at www.condor.com or airnamibia.com or with your travel agent.

Another alternative option for booking flights covered by this code share agreement is by calling;

  •   +49 (0) 180/676 7767 (0.20 EUR/call from German landlines, mobile calls max. 0.60 EUR/call). Orby calling;
  •   +49 (0) 69 – 77 06 73 035, or +264 61 299 6111

Press Information

New codeshare routes and further connections with Air Namibia:

Departure

Destination

Flightnumber

Day of Week

Onwards connections

Frankfurt

Windhoek

Operated by Condor: DE 2292
SW 7292

Operated by Air Namibia: DE 6292
SW 286

Monday and Friday

Daily

Luanda (Angola)
Lusaka (Sambia)
Harare (Simbabwe) Capetown (South Africa) Johannesburg (South Afrika)

Cape Town

DE 2290

Tuesday; Thursday and Saturday

Walvis Bay (Namibia) Windhoek (Namibia)

About Condor

Condor Flugdienst GmbH has been flying its guests to the most beautiful holiday destinations in the world since 1956. The traditional airline is a 100 percent subsidiary of Thomas Cook GmbH. On an annual basis, more than seven million passengers fly with Condor to about 75 destinations in Europe, America, Africa and Asia. The route network of the holiday airline includes over 230 destinations through cooperations with airlines in the destination areas. Condor was merged with the airlines Thomas Cook Airlines UK, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia in October 2013, to form the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. All companies within the Thomas Cook Group plc. are united under a common symbol: The Sunny Heart. To express their common identity, the aircraft of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines show the sunny heart on their aircraft trails. The sunny heart also shows that Condor is putting its heart into every flight. The fleet of the Thomas Cook Group is comprised of 95 modern and environmentally friendly aircraft, of which 45 aircraft are from the Condor fleet: nine Airbus A320s, seven Airbus A321s, thirteen Boeing 757-300s and sixteen Boeing 767-300s. The aircraft are maintained by the airlines’ own technical companies. The holiday airline has won numerous awards in recent years, including the award for “Service Champion 2016” in the Gold Category.

More information at www.condor.com/newsroom

International Woman’s Day

Flying Forward: Increasing Women in the Namibian Aviation Industry

Windhoek, Namibia, Friday, 03 March 2017: Air Namibia’s Acting Managing Director, Advocate Mandi E.P Samson states that Air Namibia’s commitment to gender equality within aviation is a vital step towards not only creating a more gender-inclusive Namibia, but also a more prosperous one. She made these remarks in recognition of this year’s celebrations towards International Women’s Day.

“It is fitting that the theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017 is “Be Bold for Change”. The battle for a more gender inclusive world is the responsibility of every industry. IWD recognizes, as do we, that the potential women offer to economies across the world must be nurtured and developed,” Advocate Samson adds.

Tourism in Namibia is the 3rd highest contributor to GDP. The country is a popular tourist destination with tens of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly related to the tourist trade. To fully exploit the economic potential of the tourism industry, the involvement of women is critical.

“Air Namibia is keen to encourage more women to enter the aviation industry. The potential growth rewards for both their personal careers and the national forecast are impressive, with aviation being an integral part of Namibia’s future economic development. Currently, the aviation industry is perceived as predominantly a male domain. This deters women from pursuing careers in a sector which would benefit from equal representation,” states Advocate Samson

Aviation remains an elite profession in Namibia. However, it is yet to fully embrace the government’s commitment to gender parity. Across state-owned enterprises and other sectors such as banking, health, law, and the military, women are already playing pivotal roles. For the visibility of women to increase in aviation as they command aircrafts and take up other vital positions, delivers a strong message both inside and outside Namibia. It encourages young girls to see beyond traditional female roles and to utilise their own skills to play an important part in their country’s economic development. The representation of women in Namibia’s aviation industry also issues a psychological message to the world that the national carrier of Namibia is committed to equal representation.

There are several reasons why women are still underrepresented in Namibia’s aviation industry. The perception that the sector is dominated by men is one important psychological reason for the relatively few number of women pursuing aviation as a career, but there are others. For instance, there is an economic barrier to training for many women. Pilot training is an expensive endeavour and, for the purposes of career progression, it requires attendance at a reputable flight school. These economic constraints have contributed to discouraging women to pursue a career path in aviation in the past. In addition, the career trajectory naturally takes time, with a significant number of years passing between entry level and flying our largest plane at command level.

“Air Namibia has created an explicit career path for all pilots within our airline. They are first employed as First Officers and then developed into Captains. We are committed to mandatory training at all stages of a career, ensuring that pilots exceed their expected performance and consistently adhere to aviation regulations and requirements. The first female pilot was employed by Air Namibia twenty years ago, in February 1997. Currently, 17% of our 83 pilots at Air Namibia are female. We recognize that this figure is too low and are taking steps to increase representation across the airline,” adds Advocate Samson.

Training and education are vital components in encouraging female pilots of the future. Our board has already approved the Cadet Pilot Programme, creating a feeder pipeline for the airline, which will begin in 2018. Air Namibia is also in contact with current university students, keen on researching the airline for short internships or other research purposes. Beyond this, the airline intends to spend time amongst communities and local trade fairs demystifying the process of becoming a pilot.

“It is increasingly clear that girls in high school are unaware of the entry point for aviation studies and this information needs to be conveyed at career days in schools and communities. We recognize that catching potential pilots young and explaining their career trajectories and which subjects they need to study is the best way of developing young women for a future in the aviation industry,” concludes Advocate Samson.

Turkish Airlines

Air Namibia & Turkish Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement.

Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement.

Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) signed a codeshare agreement yesterday. The agreement that will be effective as from 01st March 2017, covers routes between Turkey and Namibia, and set to expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of two airlines.

The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Headquarters in İstanbul. Namibia Deputy Minister of Works & Transport honorable Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Ekşi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides.

L-R: Mandi Samson, Acting MD: Air Namibia, Deputy minister of Works, James Sankwasa, Bilal Ekşi – Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO and Dr. Ahmet Bolat – Turkish Airlines Chief Officer (Technology & Investment).

This new codeshare agreement is bound to broaden the commercial partnership between two companies and their respective countries. At the same time, passengers of both airlines will be given more travel options between Namibia and Turkey.

Under the terms of the agreement, Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines are planning to place codes on unilateral flights of SW on Windhoek – Johannesburg v.v. / Windhoek – Frankfurt v.v. and unilateral flights of TK on İstanbul – Johannesburg v.v. / İstanbul – Frankfurt v.v. Also it has been considered that, when SW introduces the Windhoek – İstanbul v.v. flights in future, this codeshare agreement will be expanded by placing the code to include beyond İstanbul flights.

Honorable Sankwasa expressed his satisfaction with this commercial partnership with a well-established and rapidly growing carrier like Turkish Airlines, which enjoys a broad route network. He also expressed that he is happy for Air Namibia to conduct this codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines and also added that the deal is a crucial experience for the national airline. Honourable Sankwasa further stated that he is confident about this cooperation which will be fruitful for both sides and will be enlarged very soon.

 

The many areas of cooperation between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia.” Honourable Sankwasa further stated.

“We are pleased to sign this codeshare agreement with Air Namibia and aim to improve our partnership to maximize the travel opportunities offered our passengers through our flight networks. Air Namibia continues its expansion successfully, and we believe that this partnership between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia will bring benefit to both carriers, not only from a commercial perspective, but also in cultural interactions between Turkey and Namibia while promoting business travel between two countries.” said Turkish Airlines’ Deputy Chairman and CEO, Mr. Bilâl Ekşi, as commenting on the agreement.

Air Namibia Carrying the Spirit of NamibiaAbout Air Namibia:

Established in 1946 and started operations in 1949. As of December 2016, the route network comprised 16 destinations and 17 airports in seven different countries in Africa and Europe, with eight of these destinations being domestic ones. The airline is positioned as a niche carrier serving domestic points within Namibia, the immediate regional markets of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The airline also serves the entire European network through Frankfurt. Air Namibia is a winner of the “Feather Awards” for Best Regional Airline for more than 11 years, including 2016. More information about Air Namibia can be found on airnamibia.com or our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

photoAbout Turkish Airlines:

Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of 334 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 296 destinations worldwide with 247 international and 49 domestic. According to Skytrax survey of 2016, Turkish Airlines was chosen “Europe’s Best Airline” for the 6th and “Best Airline in Southern Europe” for the 8th consecutive time. Turkish Airlines was awarded for the world’s “Best Onboard Catering – Economy Class” in 2010, and the world’s “Best Business Class Airline Catering” in 2013, 2014, and once again this year; and according to this year’s results, it has also been awarded the “Best Business Class Lounge Dining” award for two years in a row. More information on Turkish Airlines is available on our website www.turkishairlines.com or our Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin and Instagram accounts.

More domestic flights from September!

Air Namibia is pleased to announce that effective 4 September 2016,
we will be increasing flight frequencies and capacity on some of our domestic routes
.

Routes on which flight frequency and capacity increases will be offered are the following;   ·

Ondangwa: We will launch an additional flight frequency on the Eros – Ondangwa route on Mondays, from the current two flights per day to three flight per day. We will also launch an additional flight frequency on Saturdays, from the current single flight per day to two flights.   ·

Rundu/Katima Mulilo: Flights to Rundu and Katima Mulilo will be separated, meaning that flights to Rundu will no longer go via Katima Mulilo, and flights to Katima Mulilo will no longer go via Rundu.

We will introduce direct and non-stop flights between Eros and Rundu, three times per week to be operated on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.   The new service of direct and non-stop flights between Eros and Katima Mulilo will remain on 4 flights per week, to be operated on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In addition to the frequency and capacity increases, we are happy to also announce that we have revised our fares and ticket prices on domestic routes downwards, by an aggregate of 20%. This reduction in fares will ensure that all fares payable on domestic routes, including taxes, will be well below N$ 3,990.00 return.

“The decision taken to increase flight frequencies and capacity on domestic routes is in line with our strategic objective of making air travel affordable, and this is just the beginning of it all”, says Paul Nakawa, Corporate Communications Manager of Air Namibia.
“As opportunities for fixed cost reduction from increased aircraft utilization are realized, the more the benefit in cost reduction will be passed onto the end user, our esteemed flying public, Nakawa said.

We are grateful to Namibia Airports Company, for the decision to allow us to increase flights into Eros Airport, which has made it possible for us to increase frequencies on specified routes, which ultimately reduces our fixed costs per seat, and it is our wish that this level of cooperation and alignment will continue going forward, which will help us create a situation whereby every Namibia will afford to fly, removing pressure from our roads, added Xavier Masule General Manager for Commercial Services at Air Namibia