Pretoria's bungling delays FlySafair's regional expansion

FlyNamibia withdraws Fly Etosha objection after backlash

Following a public backlash over its objection to the establishment of Fly Etosha, FlyNamibia has formally withdrawn its objection against the startup's license application lodged with the Transport Commission of Namibia.

"We have taken into consideration the public sentiment towards our objection, and being cognizant of the fact that the Namibian public is a key stakeholder in our company, the FlyNamibia board has made the decision to reconsider its approach and to withdraw its objection to the Fly Etosha application, allowing the application to be duly and objectively evaluated by the Transportation Commission on its own merit," Managing Director André Compion said in a statement.

Compion said the airline's objection was a standard operating procedure. "It is practice and process in the aviation industry, as with most regulated industries in Namibia, for a proposed undertaking, such as the launch of a new airline, to be gazetted, thus allowing for public comment and/or objection." He added: "The Namibian law allows stakeholders to make objections to applications as part of the governance process to ensure that the general...

FlyNamibia objects to Fly Etosha's mooted late 2Q23 launch

Plans by Fly Etosha (Windhoek Eros) to debut around June 2023 on domestic and regional routes have hit a snag with its main competitor FlyNamibia opposing its license application, citing the startup's alleged "lack of financial resources, aircraft, maintenance facilities, ground handling services, insurance cover, and personnel".

In a statement shared with ch-aviation, FlyNamibia said it had lodged a formal objection to FlyEtosha's plans with the Transportation Commission of Namibia on February 14, 2023. In doing so, it exercised its right to object to a new license application as per the country's Air Services Act.

As first reported by ch-aviation, Fly Etosha plans to conduct domestic, regional, and international flights from Windhoek International and Windhoek Eros. It intends to operate a varied fleet of 33 aircraft, including regional turboprops and a mixture of leased narrowbodies and widebodies.

Domestic destinations would include Windhoek, Ondangwa, Rundu, Katima Mulilo/Caprivi, Walvis Bay, Luderitz and Oranjemund. The regional network would include Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls, plus Johannesburg O.R....

Editorial Comment: Added comment from Fly Etosha to FlyNamibia's objection. - 17.02.2023 - 10:24 UTC

South Africa's FlySafair rolls out regional strategy

FlySafair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is rolling out its regional expansion strategy with plans to debut daily flights from 3Q23 to Windhoek International, Namibia and Harare International, Zimbabwe, with daily flights to Zanzibar, Tanzania, to be launched earlier by 2Q23, thanks to an existing charter agreement.

This follows the recent granting of route rights to these destinations, following the airline's application to South Africa's International Air Services Council in late June 2022, the airline announced in a statement.

"We've already begun laying the groundwork in several of our target countries and are in discussions with various parties, including civil aviation authorities, to get these new routes up and running as soon as possible. Once all permissions and logistical considerations have been resolved, FlySafair will be able to offer daily flights from Johannesburg to Windhoek and Harare from Johannesburg and Cape Town, respectively," explained Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon. On the Zanzibar segment, he said: "Translating this existing chartered operation into a scheduled operation should be a fairly quick process allowing us...

New Namibian carrier looks to replace Air Namibia