Only one Air Nam route profitable

10 others all making lossesThe national airline has been begging government to relieve it of the Windhoek-Frankfurt route, its biggest loss-making operation, but to no avail.OGONE TLHAGEAll but one of Air Namibia’s 11 routes are loss-making, a situation which public enterprises minister Leon Jooste blamed on low passenger load factors and high operating costs of some of the aircraft being operated.The aircraft’s operating costs are influenced by lease costs, maintenance, fuel and other fixed costs, Jooste told Namibian Sun yesterday.The national airline flies to 11 destinations in Europe, southern Africa and domestically. It flies from Windhoek to Frankfurt, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gaborone and Durban daily. It flies from Windhoek to Victoria Falls six times a week, as well as to Harare and Lusaka four times a week.On the local front, it flies from Windhoek to Ondangwa and Walvis Bay on a daily basis while it flies from Windhoek to Rundu, Katima Mulilo and Lüderitz four times a week.Even though certain aircraft can be operated profitably where high load factors are constantly maintained, they will generate losses on routes where their capabilities are not fully utilised.“The other related factor is aircraft utilisation, where the amount of time aircraft spend flying to generate revenue versus the amount of time they spend on the ground losing money becomes critical,” said the minister, who is leading efforts to reform the company and make it efficient.A breakeven or profitable Air Namibia will have to operate under a very different business model, says Jooste, with changes being mooted to the current fleet composition to ensure profitability.Namibian Sun understands that for a long time, the airline has been begging government to relieve it of the Windhoek-Frankfurt route, its biggest loss-making operation, but the pleas have fallen on deaf ears.Jooste did not comment on this route, but said ‘carefully selected routes’ would help the airline become profitable under a new model.“Loss-making routes cannot be sustained unless they have definite potential to become profitable within an acceptable period of time. Other than that, significant cost-cutting and restructuring will have to be implemented to address the current unsustainable levels of inefficiency,” he explained.“Even with the above measures implemented, chances of commercial profitability will remain challenging and Air Namibia will require world-class executive leadership to give it the best chance possible to operate within an acceptable margin of commercial performance.”The airline has been without a substantive head since 2014, after it parted ways with Theo Namases.Asked about the future of the national carrier in light of a recent funding request on the part of the airline, the minister said no such funding has been approved.“I want to make it clear that government has not approved any additional funding for Air Namibia. We have simply approved a government guarantee to the value of N$578 million that the company has used to source funding from a commercial financial institution,” he hastened to clarify.Air Namibia has over the years received favourable bail-out packages from government, despite never making profit in its entire history of existence.When asked if the status quo would continue infinitum, Jooste acknowledged that time would come for the airline to change or go under.He said Air Namibia’s fleet structure further exacerbated the airline’s problems. The airline currently makes use of two Airbus A330 aircraft on its Windhoek-Frankfurt route, Airbus 319 aircraft on its regional routes and Embraer ERJ 135 aircraft on its domestic routes.Jooste had last year explored the possibility of cancelling the airline’s leasing agreements for the Airbus aircraft.The airline reportedly pays N$15 million per month for the use of the Airbus A330 aircraft, and cannot exit the lease arrangement until it expires in 2025.TROUBLED SKIES: Air Namibia pays N$15 million monthly for leased aircraft.PHOTO: FILE

Only one Air Nam route profitable

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Only one Air Nam route profitable

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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