Air transportation-Namibia - The national airline, Air Namibia, has signed papers to buy two brand-new aircraft, a purchase recently approved by Cabinet. The billion-dollar deal is part of yet another turnaround business plan that saw Treasury increase the injection into the airline to total N$1,191 billion under the three-year rolling budget until 2012/14. "We have signed the letter of intent with Air Namibia for the purchase of two aircraft," Hadi Akoum, Airbus vice president for sales in Africa and Indian Sub-Ocean said, adding that negotiations between the parties were ongoing. The two Airbus 319-100 planes will cost around N$620 million (US$90 million).

The national airline is implementing a new business plan that seeks to see Air Namibia turning a profit in five years time, and forecast figures made available this week by aircraft manufacturers seem to support the prospective growth stated in the ambitious turn-around plan.

Airbus' director for strategic marketing and analysis, Andrew Gordon, says it is the emerging economies that are driving the growth in the aviation industry, with more travellers in these countries compared to the developed countries.

In Namibia the average travel pattern continues to increase and is not far off the average trip travel for the entire world. "As of September this year Namibia's overall traffic is up 27 percent compared to year 2000," said Gordon.

Forecast figures from the world's revered Official Airline Guide (OAG), says Namibia's domestic traffic is up more than 80 percent, while traffic to or from Europe to Namibia is up 13 percent. Traffic with the rest of Africa is up nearly 50 percent since year 2000.

OAG provides flight information and data solutions for the passenger aviation, air cargo logistics and business travel markets.

To boost efficiency and reduce operational costs, Air Namibia's business plan suggested new routes, better scheduling and acquisition of new aircraft, which even though leased or bought at a slightly higher price, are reliable and to slash operational costs.

Air Namibia has already started leasing new aircraft - the latest of which arrived two weeks ago - and has now signed the papers to buy new ones with delivery in about two to three years.

Analysts reckon that going forward to 2030, there shall be more increases in traffic, citing the projections of increases in the country's affluent population and tourism sector which are set to fuel air travel within and from Namibia.

Gordon says the actual increases in numbers could be bigger, especially if players within tourism sector implement new innovation ideas to attract more tourists to the country.

All these augur well with Air Namibia's business plan, drawn up by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) consulting services, with focus on turning Air Namibia into "a full service carrier with a geographically focused network that services the traffic flows to and from and within Southern Africa."

Air Namibia has started executing the plan with new direct flights from Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport to Lusaka, Zambia and Accra, Ghana.

The new routes were identified along with better scheduling and purchase of new aircrafts as the core elements for boosting profitability at the airline.

Air Namibia was advised to use the strength of the Hosea Kutako International Airport to its advantage. The country's international airport is neither congested, nor does it require transit visas for passengers to other destinations.

The prospects of the national airline turning in profits are so convincing that Cabinet moved the airline to the works and transport ministry.

"We have extensively discussed this [issues around the turn around plan] that is why government decided to bite the bullet and finance the acquisitions [of new aircraft]," the government said when announcing the new business plan.

Desie Heita

New Era/19/10/2011