Welcome on board

TO LÜDERITZ…

On 2 August 2023, we were honoured to host the inaugural flight and official launch of FlyNamibia’s new route from Eros Airport Windhoek to Lüderitz, Namibia’s southern gem.

Lüderitz is a unique town with a fascinating history. The first European to set foot on land was back in 1487 when Bartholomeus Dias landed there and named the town Angra Pequena, which means “Small Harbour” in Portuguese. He can rightfully claim to have opened the first formal transport route to Lüderitz by sailing into the small harbour.

The town was officially established in 1883 when Angra Pequena and some surrounding land was purchased from the local Nama Chief Joseph Fredericks II of Bethanie. It was established as a small trading post where imported goods could be taken onshore safely from merchant ships.

During the construction of the railway line, which started in 1908, the first diamonds were discovered in 1909, which suddenly led to a surge in prosperity for the town. Although roads for ox wagons and horse carts had by then been established, the opening of the railway line can justifiably be reckoned as the second official transport avenue between Lüderitz and the rest of Namibia.

It was not until the 1970’s that the first scheduled air service was introduced by Suidwes Lugdiens, linking Walvis Bay and Lüderitz to Cape Town with a small 8 seater Cessna 402 B. Suidwes Lugdiens eventually became Air Namibia and Lüderitz was served by a Beechcraft 1900 until the airline ceased operations, whereafter Lüderitz was left without any scheduled air service.

It is common knowledge that Lüderitz poses many challenges and a hostile environment to any mode of transport. Both rail and road transport suffer from sandstorms which frequently cause the rail tracks and roads to be blocked by moving sand dunes. These same challenges face any air operation into Lüderitz and from a scheduled airline perspective, there are many more. Lüderitz remains a small market and to serve it on a viable and sustainable basis with scheduled flights is extremely challenging.

FlyNamibia is committed to invest in the economic development and prosperity of our country and has as such been investigating the introduction of scheduled flights to Lüderitz for quite some time.

We are therefore extremely grateful to have a partner such as TotalEnergies who have made the re-introduction of scheduled air travel to Lüderitz possible. Not only have they committed sufficient support for the flight itself, they have made it possible for FlyNamibia to offer the service at a significant discount to the general public. They even insisted on the reduced airfare in order to support the Lüderitz community. I can categorically state that without the support of TotalEnergies, this service would not have been possible and for that I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to Mr Laurent Roche, the Country Chair of TotalEnergies Namibia. TotalEnergies has committed to support this service at great expense, as a service to the community of Lüderitz, but primarily to accommodate their crews that must be flown by helicopter from Lüderitz to the rigs offshore and back. Consequently, flight delays on this service may be expected with helicopter flights being delayed occasionally. For that we apologise to our passengers but trust that everyone will see the greater picture and will realise that the benefit of having scheduled flights at a subsidised fare far outweighs the possible inconvenience that may be experienced on occasion.

I wish to invite the community to make use of our services between Lüderitz and Windhoek, and beyond. FlyNamibia is expanding aggressively and is committed to play its role as a proudly Namibian privately owned airline to develop the aviation industry, create employment and training for young Namibians and to provide the connectivity our business and tourism sectors need to see our country flourish.

We appreciate your support and hope you have a wonderful flight with us.

… AND BEYOND

We're also thrilled to share the latest chapter in FlyNamibia's journey, one that has unfolded with remarkable success over the past weeks. As part of our partnership with Airlink, the premier South African airline, we've soared to new heights. As an Airlink franchisee, FlyNamibia’s flight inventory is now available on the Global Distribution System (GDS), which proudly showcases our flights and services to global travel agents, expanding our reach across the world. Simultaneously, we have launched our new website with improved user experience. Our new booking platform is linked to Airlink and the GDS, so users can expect to see Airlink co-branding after venturing beyond the ‘search flights’ button. Your flights on our route system will still be operated by FlyNamibia, but this partnership allows us to offer our customers more options and allows our airline to tap into Airlink’s vast southern African network of route options.

This strategic collaboration, initiated after Airlink's investment last September, proved a game-changer. Our flights have gained unprecedented visibility, fueling demand for travel to and from Namibia. Maintaining our unique identity, we aim to continually thrive as an essential part of Namibia's air transport vision. This journey, driven by innovation and guided by our commitment, reiterates that the sky is not the limit - it's just the beginning.

We are also incredibly excited to announce the launch of a much-anticipated new route between Walvis Bay and Cape Town. This new offering will commence from the end of October and will be available for booking as from the start of September.

With gratitude to our passengers, partners, and the spirit of unity, we eagerly anticipate the future. Thank you for joining us on this extraordinary voyage.

Safe travels!

Andre Compion, MD of FlyNamibia