Namibia Air eyes N$1 300 one-way fare to Ondangwa

Namibians could pay around N$1 882 for a one-way flight between Windhoek and Johannesburg and N$1 939 to Cape Town, before taxes, if government's planned national airline takes off as envisioned.

Licence applications lodged by Namibia Air and published in the Government Gazette on 8 July, alongside an ambitious blueprint to restore a state-owned carrier, reveal the airline's planned fares, fleet, route network and phased expansion strategy over the next five years.

In addition to the South African flights, Namibia Air has proposed average one-way fares – excluding airport taxes – of N$1 327.43 between Windhoek and Ondangwa and N$2 340.40 between Windhoek and Victoria Falls.

However, the airline says it will adopt a dynamic pricing model, meaning ticket prices will fluctuate according to demand rather than remain fixed.

The fare proposals form part of Namibia Air's application to operate scheduled and non-scheduled passenger and cargo services, as government pushes ahead with efforts to re-establish a national carrier.

Tricky business

Earlier this year, transport minister Veikko Nekundi gave FlyNamibia six months to reduce ticket prices on the Ondangwa route.

Nekundi said he is concerned that a flight to Ondangwa costs more than N$9 000, while a flight to Cape Town costs about half.

He warned that if prices are not reduced, government will step in and regulate airline ticket costs.

FlyNamibia defended its pricing at the time, saying any fiscal room to manoeuvre was far tighter than policymakers suggest.

At the core of the airline’s argument is that roughly 67% of its operating costs are price-driven and effectively beyond its control.

In industry terms, that makes FlyNamibia a “price taker” on the majority of its inputs, leaving limited scope to aggressively cut fares without undermining its financial viability.

Routes, passengers and fleet

Per Namibia Air’s licence application, it intends to base its operations at Hosea Kutako International Airport and Eros Airport, serving domestic destinations such as Ondangwa, Rundu, Mpacha, Lüderitz, Oranjemund and Walvis Bay, as well as regional cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gaborone, Durban, Francistown, Victoria Falls, Harare, Livingstone, Lusaka and Lubumbashi.

It projects a potential market of 800 000 passengers across domestic and intra-African routes, targeting business and leisure travellers while also providing cargo services ranging from airmail and perishables to dangerous goods and live animals.

The application states that Namibia Air currently owns no aircraft but plans to acquire a fleet of seven Embraer aircraft comprising four ERJ-145 regional jets, estimated at US$3 million (about N$49.5 million) each, and three E-170/E-175 aircraft, estimated at US$8 million (about N$132 million) each.

Its operating schedule envisages gradual expansion over five years. Flights between Windhoek and Ondangwa are expected to grow from 12 weekly services in the first year to 21 by the fifth year, while the Windhoek-Johannesburg route is projected to operate 21 weekly flights from the second year onwards.

National revival

The licence applications come eight months after Cabinet approved Namibia Air as the country's new national airline.

Nekundi said at the time that Cabinet had approved the establishment of Namibia Air (Pty) Ltd as a wholly state-owned company following a directive from President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

A technical committee of aviation experts has been tasked with overseeing the airline's establishment and ensuring its long-term financial sustainability, while government is also engaging internationally recognised airlines as potential strategic partners.

Namibia Air is intended to fill the gap left by Air Namibia, which was liquidated in February 2021 after years of financial losses. At the time of its closure, the airline had liabilities of nearly N$5.4 billion against assets of just over N$1 billion.

[email protected]