Air Namibia
Encyclopedia
Air Namibia is the national airline of Namibia
, headquartered in Windhoek
. It operates scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services under IATA airline designator SW and ICAO airline designator NMB. Its international hub
is Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport
, with a domestic hub at the smaller Windhoek Eros Airport. The carrier is wholly owned by the Namibian government
. Air Namibia is a member of both the International Air Transport Association
and the African Airlines Association
.
Namibair was set up in 1963 as a charter airline, becoming a subsidiary company of Suidwes Lugdiens in 1966. Safmarine
acquired a 50% stake in Suidwes in 1969, eventually boosting its participation to 85%. Both companies were merged into Namib Air in 1978.
The South-West African government became the major shareholder in 1982. Following the creation of the South-West Africa National Transport Corporation in 1986, Namib Air took over all air transport operations in the country. The airline was designated as the country's flag carrier
in 1987.
On , a Boeing 737-200 lease
d from South African Airways
that flew the Windhoek–Johannesburg
route inaugurated the carrier's jet era.
The company was re-christened again to the current name of Air Namibia in October 1991, after the independence of the country. The early 1990s
also saw the launch of long-haul services to Europe
; the Windhoek–Frankfurt
route started being flown in 1991 twice a week using a Boeing 747SP
, and London
was included into the route network in 1992.
It was re-absorbed into the Namibian government after a cash injection in 1998, following the precarious cash position it was led to by the Namibian state-owned holding company TransNamib
.
The airline joined the African Airlines Association
in 2000.
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, headquartered in Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
. It operates scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services under IATA airline designator SW and ICAO airline designator NMB. Its international hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
is Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport
Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport
Although Hosea Kutako International Airport is the main international airport of Namibia, yet there are no direct flights from/to this airport to/from countries other than its neighbouring countries , Zimbabwe, Ghana & Germany. Therefore most of the passengers flying into / out of Namibia must have...
, with a domestic hub at the smaller Windhoek Eros Airport. The carrier is wholly owned by the Namibian government
Government of Namibia
The Government of Namibia consists of the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches. The Cabinet is the executive organ of government, implementing the laws of the country. It consists of the President, the Prime Minister and his deputy, as well as the Ministers. The legislative organs...
. Air Namibia is a member of both the International Air Transport Association
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
and the African Airlines Association
African Airlines Association
The African Airlines Association, also known by its abbreviation AFRAA, is a trade association of airlines which hail from the nations of the African Union...
.
History
The origins of the airline trace back to 1946, when South West Air Transport was established, starting operations in 1948. On , it merged with Oryx Aviation to form South West Airways . IATA membership was gained later that year.Namibair was set up in 1963 as a charter airline, becoming a subsidiary company of Suidwes Lugdiens in 1966. Safmarine
Safmarine
Safmarine is an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide....
acquired a 50% stake in Suidwes in 1969, eventually boosting its participation to 85%. Both companies were merged into Namib Air in 1978.
The South-West African government became the major shareholder in 1982. Following the creation of the South-West Africa National Transport Corporation in 1986, Namib Air took over all air transport operations in the country. The airline was designated as the country's flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
in 1987.
On , a Boeing 737-200 lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d from South African Airways
South African Airways
South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
that flew the Windhoek–Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
route inaugurated the carrier's jet era.
The company was re-christened again to the current name of Air Namibia in October 1991, after the independence of the country. The early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
also saw the launch of long-haul services to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
; the Windhoek–Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
route started being flown in 1991 twice a week using a Boeing 747SP
Boeing 747SP
The Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...
, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
was included into the route network in 1992.
It was re-absorbed into the Namibian government after a cash injection in 1998, following the precarious cash position it was led to by the Namibian state-owned holding company TransNamib
TransNamib
TransNamib is the railway parastatal of Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides freight by rail and road as well as passenger services. Its administration is located in Windhoek.-History:...
.
The airline joined the African Airlines Association
African Airlines Association
The African Airlines Association, also known by its abbreviation AFRAA, is a trade association of airlines which hail from the nations of the African Union...
in 2000.
Destinations
, the route network comprises 15 destinations and 16 airports in 7 different countries in Africa and Europe; seven of these destinations are domestic ones.Fleet
, the Air Namibia fleet consists of the following aircraft:| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 96 | 112 | ||
| Airbus A340-300 Airbus A340 The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is... |
2 | — | 44 | 234 | 278 | Leased from Lufthansa Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating... |
|
| Boeing 737-500 | 2 | — | 20 | 88 | 108 | ||
| Embraer ERJ 135 Embraer ERJ 145 family The Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 , ERJ 140 , and ERJ 145 , as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group... |
3 | — | — | 37 | 37 | Leased from Régional | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | |||||
Retired
The company previously operated the following equipment:- Airbus A330-200
- ATR 42ATR 42-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
- Beechcraft 1900D
- Boeing 727Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
- Boeing 737-200
- Boeing 747SPBoeing 747SPThe Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...
- Boeing 747-400 CombiBoeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
- Boeing 767-300ER
- Bombardier Dash 8-314B
- Cessna 182Cessna 182The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engine, light airplane, built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats, installed in the baggage area....
- Cessna 210Cessna 210The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear single-engine general aviation aircraft which was first flown in January 1957 and produced by Cessna until 1985.-Design and development:...
- Cessna 310Cessna 310The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...
- Cessna 402Cessna 402The Cessna 401 and 402 are series of 6 to 10 place, light twin, piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner...
- Cessna 404
- Cessna 414
- Convair 580
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
- Fokker F-28
- Indonesian Aerospace CN-235
- McDonnell Douglas MD-11McDonnell Douglas MD-11The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller...
- NavajoPiper PA-31 NavajoThe Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
- SenecaPiper PA-34 SenecaThe Piper PA-34 Seneca is an American twin-engined light aircraft, produced by Piper Aircraft since 1971 and still in production in 2011.The Seneca is primarily used for personal and business flying.-Development:...