Code-sharing connects Namibia to Kenya

WINDHOEKDENVER ISAACS Air Namibia and its sister airline, Kenya Airways, yesterday made official their new partnership agreement, under which the two are allowed to sell seats on each other's flights. Known in the industry as a 'code-share' agreement, the already active arrangement allows for Air Namibia's designator code (SW) to be used on flights operated by Kenya Airways and vice versa. The deal, the two airlines said, paves the way for daily connections between their respective Windhoek and Nairobi hubs - through Johannesburg in South Africa and Lusaka in Zambia. “Passengers who are in Nairobi will be able to see Air Namibia flights and they will be able to purchase Air Namibia tickets. When they travel, the first leg from Nairobi to either Johannesburg or Lusaka will be operated by Kenya Airways, and the second leg from either Johannesburg or Lusaka, will be operated by Air Namibia,” Air Namibia managing director, Theo Namases, said. In this way, Namases said, the arrangement benefits customers through connected flights, but also allows for the cooperating airlines to synchronise schedules and coordinate luggage handling. In addition, she said, the arrangement safeguards passengers who may miss a flight or whose luggage does not arrive them. “If the flights are not code-shared, then the second airline has no responsibility if the passenger or luggage misses the second flight due to a delay with the first. Under a code-shared flight, the second airline is unlikely to charge extra fees or deny boarding should the first, cooperating airline, cause a delay,” Namases said.