AIR NAMIBIA review :  7 August 2008 : by J Stringer  (UK)

Customer Rating : 2/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Just got back from a fantastic trip to Namibia, but Air Namibia provided a disappointing end to the trip. They cunningly changed the time of the flight, bringing it forward by an hour and a half, so instead of getting to the airport almost 3 hours before departure, it turned out to be leaving in an hour! Clearly no-one else had been told either as the queue was out the door - and to cap it all, they only had one check-in desk open - I couldn't believe it! We eventually checked in about 2 minutes before it was due to take off and eventually left almost an hour late. A real shambles, and what annoys me is that they clearly have all my contact details and could have contacted me via email or mobile to inform of the changes - I guess that would be too much to ask. I have traveled around the world and never re-confirmed a flight, but would strongly recommend that you do with Air Namibia - it seems that the airline can't match the service and customer experience that the rest of Namibia offers.

AIR NAMIBIA review :  17 June 2008 : by Andy Thompson  (UK)

Customer Rating : 4/5

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

WDH-CPT. The plane seemed to be an old Air France 737 as I noticed "Air France" on the seat belts and "Sortie" for exit. Although an old aircraft, it was clean and the crew were professional. I also quite enjoyed the hot meal that was served. Much better than I expected!

AIR NAMIBIA review:  31 March 2008 by Iain Strickland     (UK)

Customer Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Business

LGW to JNB in business class. I can only say what a pleasure it was - they don't have lie flat seats, but there is plenty of leg room, food and wine excellent. Service first class and would recommend them. The A340 is starting to look a little tired, but for the price I paid, I was satisfied.

AIR NAMIBIA review:  10 January 2008 by J Tuck     (UK)

Customer Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Gatwick to Windhoek return. Very pleasantly surprised by the leg room and comfort in economy. Food was nothing special and the cabin crew were not very helpful or friendly, but given the price difference between this and the alternative of going via South Africa, this direct flight is well worth the money.

AIR NAMIBIA review:  27 December 2007 by Penelope Schrywer     (South Africa)

Customer Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Travelled from CPT to Walvis Bay on 21.12.2007. Usually Air Namibia is up to standard, but was greatly disappointed on this flight. No safety talks, poor welcoming by the pilot. In addition, because of the three stops, three meals were served. As I had to be at the airport 2 hours prior to take off, I had been up since 5am. One would have expected a hearty breakfast, but all that was served was a small stale roll, a yoghurt without a spoon and juice. Next came a snack. A sorry sized muffin and juice. The next stop we were all pretty hungry and were looking forward to lunch. Instead a small bag of pretzels and juice. Most of the passengers were commenting on this one. In addition to this and to my utter disgrace, I had a half sucked sweet charmingly left in my lunch pack! Disgusting! I can only imagine how the food is prepared! Where is it sourced from? Who are Air Namibia's suppliers? I have been highly disgusted in this trip and pray that my return flight will be better. Should the air line not step up to it this time with respect to both service and hygiene, I will be sure to book on another, more competitive air line.

AIR NAMIBIA review:  31 October 2007 by Lynne Holliday     (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Premium Economy

LGW to Windhoek and back. We upgraded seats only on the way out for £150 each. We felt it was money well spent as we were able to stretch out and sleep through the night flight and enjoy a full day on arrival. We weren't trapped by the seats in front if we needed to move. Unlike Virgin Premium Economy the additional space was really significant. We also upgraded on the way back although the increased price made it barely justifiable but enabled me to work the next day. The plane was clean , the food good and staff were attentive, professional and friendly.

AIR NAMIBIA review:  28 October 2007 by Keith Hart     (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LGW to Windhoek A340-300. Cabin crew excellent, meals good and well presented, water on offer at frequent intervals throughout flight. Flight crew informative. A pleasant flight with comfortable seating and reasonable leg room in economy). Transfer at Windhoek went without problems. Windhoek to J'burg Boeing 737 about 1hour 40mins but received hot meal which was well presented. Return flights as comfortable as outward flight with excellent cabin crew. In all not a bad experience on any of the four flights we made with Air Namibia, we have experienced much worse with larger more prestigious airlines

AIR NAMIBIA review:  11 October 2007 by John Hague     (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Gatwick Windhoek and return. Excellent flights on time with good meals each time. Cabin crew polite and very efficient with a full flight. Leg room adequate with good space at row 47 window and aisle. Seats uncomfortable and hard possible due to overuse. Upgrade price of £150 is excessive for just a better seat and space. Would fly again with them.

OLDER STYLE LAYOUT BELOW

Air Namibia review by Hugh Solomon

20 September 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LGW-WDH-JNB return Economy. All flights departed and arrived on time. Cabin crew polite, efficient. Food and drinks more than adequate. Very pleasant experience overall. Will travel with Air Namibia again.

Air Namibia review by P Gough

11 September 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

Both our flights with Air Namibia were very good, there was enough legroom, the air cabin crew were friendly, very helpful and attentive. We had a few short videos and a film after our meal. The food was reasonable.

Air Namibia review by Dawie Van Heerden

7 February 2007

Air Namibia must be the joke of the airline industry! No inflight entertainment on Gatwick to Windhoek and legroom almost non-existent. No frills has sunk to a new low.

Air Namibia review by Malakia Shilimela

26 January 2007

London Gatwick to Windhoek return, travelling in economy. The seats were comfortable, with adequate legroom. In-flight entertainment could be better. The cabin crew were cheerful, helpful and competent. Food excellent and plentiful throughout. Both flights were on time, A good job.

Air Namibia review by Suretha Williams

9 January 2007

Cape Town to Windhoek, mediocre, had a 11 hours wait in airport, to fly Windhoek to London. FA spilled twice drinks over me, with no apology but a sarcastic reply, oh it's not so bad, not even handing me a napkin. For a 12hr flight there was no inflight entertainment and food was very average. Am dreading my return flight, will not be using this airline again.

Air Namibia review by L Bristow

15 December 2006

Gatwick to Cape Town via Windhoek - flights on time, food and staff were fine although the TV screens could be better, as we could not see them from our seats. Economy legroom offers plenty of room, great value for money and would use again.

Air Namibia review by Paul Dunning

7 November 2006

Business Class LGW-WDH-CPT and back Oct 2006. All 4 flights left pretty much on time and arrived on time or early. Overall good to very good value for money for space and seats. Seats in business class - are old style business for an A340, but plenty of room and good recline. WDH-CPT good for short haul. Food variable but decent if rather uninspiring. In flight entertainment spotty. Interior of A340 plane has seen better days and needs overhaul - presumably it was one of the first A340's - I believe it is a Lufthansa cast off. Service generally polite but it is ridiculous to wake passengers at 2.30am in business class for breakfast!

Air Namibia review by Andrew Marchant

5 November 2006

Gatwick - Windhoeek - Johannesburg in Business Class. Check in at Gatwick was fast, business lounge (aviance) okay but not as good as the dedicated airlines. Flight was overnight to Windhoek and left on time. Gatwick to Windhoek uses a newish Airbus A340 which was clean and the business class cabin, well laid out and spacious. Attendants were friendly and efficient with all usual Business class perks delivered well. Seats are not lie flat but recline to 160 deg and very comfortable. I thought the inflight entertainment good with an adequate choice of films. Food very good with a choice of three main courses. Lights out were not too early, so was able to finish meal in the light. Cabin crew unobtrusive and attentive throughout the night. Windhoek business lounge is simple but pleasant and able to take a shower. Forget what you read about no towels the lounge attendants supplied all towels, soaps etc. Flight to J'burg on an older 737 but plenty of room and service was friendly. Return leg much the same although cabin crew a bit less efficient, but there when you wanted them. All in all a really good flight and far better than recent BA Club World and (standard of food and drink apart) United, US Air etc. Keep it up Air Namibia, very pleasantly surprised and would fly business Air Namibia again - especially as the flight was £1500 less than an equivalent SAA or Virgin for the same dates.

Air Namibia review by Patrick Conway

1 November 2006

CPT-WDH-LGW. Check in service excellent. Given emergency row seats as we had checked in 3 hours before. request for emergency row passed though to Windhoek. Flight to Windhoek good- staff excellent. Arrived Windhoek and seat was changed to 34A & B (Excellent as I am 6'6" tall). Flight left on time, lots of turbulence so service delayed (not airlines fault). Food average and service dismal, lights turned off no mention that bar (which has an abysmal choice and served out of large bottles, much like a down market bar) would close and most of the staff departed downstairs presumably to sleep, leaving a German film showing to passengers for Gatwick. Complained but attitude of staff was that it wasn't their problem. Movie finally changed after one hour. Breakfast putrid and served at 4 am. Outward impression - Thank goodness thats over, but the seat choice made up for it. Return flight LGW-WDH 29th October arrived at Airport 4.5 hours before take off to guarantee a emergency row seat. Check in staff member extremely helpful, and when I mentioned the seat she went to check with the Supervisor, and on her return told me to speak to the Air Namibia Manager. I approached him and explained my predicament. His arrogant attitude was "It will cost you 30 pounds to get one of those seats" I then asked whether it was possible if no-one paid would I still be able to obtain one. His answer again was "No". The supervisor finally took pity on me and gave me row 19 which at least had a bit more leg room. They tell everyone that the pitch is 33" - this I doubt. The staff on this flight were tremendous, extremely helpful, and willing to go the extra mile. Drinks and food still pathetic, and the breakfast the worst I have ever had. One hour wait in Windhoek, and another uneventful flight to Cape Town. I must point out that being a former travel agent, I possibly am much fussier than others. Hopefully Management will read this and I may be surprised to receive an apology. Would I travel again with them ? Who knows, and as for their laughable rewards program, be prepared for 10 return trips before you receive one free trip. Rating 2*

Air Namibia review by Paul Frampton

1 November 2006

Gatwick - Windhoek. Departure half an hour behind schedule, then diverted to Frankfurt due to "fault with a door". Spent two hours or more circling Germany dumping fuel before landing FRA at 0315 local time. Crew must have known about fault (none of the cabin crew moved out of their seats, and were keen that we didn't either) but took off anyway as maintenance is carried out by Lufthansa at FRA. Dinner finally eaten after landing, then disembarked into terminal, with more information from flight crew than from local airline rep. No further food or drink provided. Inbound FRA flight turned round fairly quickly and we were boarded at approx 0800, but did not take off until 1000! Meanwhile the rest of our party and tour guide in Windhoek were told nothing at all about our whereabouts. Eventually landed 11 hours late, which is not too bad considering the potentially serious problem we might have had should a door suddenly open in mid-flight! A340 aircraft both times, legroom very cramped, even for someone of a modest 5'7" height. Cabin crew efficient and friendly, in-flight entertainment poor, with several headphone sockets not working. Return flight Windhoek-Gatwick. Inflight catering a farce - two trolleys serving one aisle, and none down ours until last, leaving us with no choice of meal. Fish very dry and unappetising, potatoes much the same, and bread roll so stale it crumbled, scattering crumbs everywhere. Then, having been last to get a meal, we were the first to be offered coffee, having just started eating, whilst the other side of the aircraft were long finished. Cabin crew completely unconcerned, and were surly throughout the flight. Breakfast was slightly better, though very few had much of an appetite at 3am.

Air Namibia review by Dag Thorbjornsen

27 October 2006

Being a so-called spoiled travel agent (for nearly 40 years) and having been travelling on many different airlines' business class, it was a challence to book economy class between Luanda and Windhoek and further for Johannesburg. The aircraft was an old Boeing 737-200, but the interior was extremely well kept and looked clean and tidy. The service was excellent, in fact, outstanding in all respects. A great surprise, but naturally a very pleasant experience.

Air Namibia review by Alison Millerman

12 October 2006

Flying to Windhoek was good arriving 10 minutes early (important on a short holiday!) but the return journey resulted in us arriving home a day and a half late. Although the airline paid for hotel accommodation, we are still waiting for written confirmation of the delay for our insurance claim concerning a missed connection. The chartered plane took 14 hours to get to Gatwick, including a 90 minute re-fuelling stop during which we could not leave our increasingly hot plane. No alcohol allowed either on the return flight. We would go to Namibia again, but would fly to Cape Town rather than risk Air Namibia problems again.

Air Namibia review by Angelika Harris

2 October 2006

Flying out to Windhoek, crew was great. Coming back was a different story. Entire crew were sullen and unhelpful. I was taken ill with food poisoning on the way back and had one of the worst nights of my life. Not one member of staff treated me with any compassion, kindness or offered any assistance. Not an airline I will be recommending or flying with again.

Air Namibia review by G Snow

26 August 2006

London Gatwick to Windhoek return. Both flights cabin crew extremely helpful and charming. Check-in straightforward and no queue at Gatwick. Upgrade offered for £150 although for five of us this would have been expensive. Quite cramped in Economy and same film shown both there and back. Food was fine although full cooked breakfast a bit much at 4am.On time both ways and the worst bit of the whole experience was as usual the appalling service at Gatwick where it took us 1.5 hours to get out of airport to start our journey home.

Air Namibia review by Iain Strickland

30 July 2006

LGWJNB return, with a stopover in Nambia, Business class. After reading so many negative comments on here I was apprehensive about my first flight with SW. However the MD11 , although old was comfortable, food was excellent, service first class. Inflight entertainment not brilliant, but I slept so who cares, the return flight was equally as good, this time on the A340. The regional flights again were excellent.

Air Namibia review by David White

18 July 2006

LGW-WDK return A340-300. Outbound flight, technical fault & need for replacement part (shipped in from Lufthansa) resulted in 2.5 hour delay on departure. Outbound was full - very few seats unoccupied in economy. Leg room OK (for some-one who is 6' 1" tall). Food poor, but cabin staff good and attentive. Return flight on time. Food better, (I would rate as good for economy) and staff helpful and friendly. More unoccupied seats, so some people benefited from taking up two or three seats. Overall we were pleasantly surprised, when taking into account the significant cost savings when compared with SAA and BA ticket prices. Although not new, the A340 is generally clean and the in flight entertainment functional (old style CRT monitors). Both times the crews appeared competent and took pride in their jobs. Note of caution - the departure lounge at WDK only has a bar, there is no coffee bar or restaurant!

Air Namibia review by Jill Staines

10 June 2006

Overall pleasantly surprised by Air Namibia. At Gatwick we asked about an upgrade. Full upgrade was £250 but we went for the £100 offer which was a big business class seat but with the economy service, great for an overnight flight. The airline was offering rows 10 & 11 at this price, these seats were not in the business class cabin but at the front of the economy cabin. Unfortunately, the same offer wasn't available for the return journey, an upgrade was £400 and we weren't able to negotiate any reduction on this. Rows 10 & 11 remained empty when the airline could have made valuable income by selling them off at a reasonable price. However, we were lucky enough to get extra leg room seats on the return leg on a flight which was nearly full. On the Airbus the economy cabin is very cramped & as usual not enough toilets for economy. Flights left on time from both Gatwick & Windhoek & flight into Windhoek arrived early. Evening meal was reasonably good, but usual inedible breakfast. Lots of drinks available.

Air Namibia review by Godfrey barker

18 May 2006

Air Namibia not great on longhaul flights but regional flights OK. However, i have twice now been held up at WDH on flights to CPT, reason being that because there are only two small 737's servicing regional routes, delays aoften happen because of technical and passenger problems. OK if you are on budget backpacking trip but not good enough if you have business or connections to make. I use SA Express in that case.

Air Namibia review by T Wingfield

2 May 2006

LGW-WDH-CPT Return. Outward journey was good, staff friendly, food was good. We pre-booked seats and got them no problems. Childrens meals were good. MD11 leg room good but aircraft showing signs of age. Transit in WDH for onward flight to CPT was a shambles. Return journey wasn't as good - crew not as friendly and the pre-booked child meals never arrived on the WDH-LGW leg. Aircraft old and again showing signs of age - transit at WDH a nightmare. Air Namibia are not the best, but not the worst - and they were certainly the cheapest by far.

Air Namibia review by David Beck

28 April 2006

Returned WDK-LGW Sat 22/4/06. Both journeys seats uncomfortable and cramped, but food much the same as many airlines. Reading lights didn't work and control panel not attached. On return journey main cabin lights were turned off and on repeatedly and sitting near the loo was noisy and with light disturbance. Check-in at WDK relatively painless - but we were there 3 hours prior to take-off. We found use of the Business Lounge (N$13) well worth the money, but towels aren't provided for the showers. Overall - not great, but better than many others - especially Iberia!

Air Namibia review by Arnold Gruhller

28 April 2006

JNB-WDH-LGW. Leg room was awful, seat reservations were ignored on both of these flights as well as our outbound flights. Service/food was ok but the entertainment was poor with no headphones for half the journey! The transit in WDH should be straight forward but is a shambles. Icing on the cake being accused of stealing the doubtlessly priceless Air Namibia blanket which we were never given in the first place. Lots of work to do here but a homage to you get what you pay for.

Air Namibia review by J Clift

26 April 2006

Cape Town-Windhoek-London. CPT-WDH was a great journey and staff were friendly. Windhoek - London : food was ok, staff friendly, the entertainment lacking, but there was loads of space. Quite happy although inflight entertainment could be improved.

Air Namibia review by Mark Pennell

5 March 2006

We had return overnight flights LGW / Windhoek. Impossible to sleep with regular, loud electronic dong over the PA . Infuriating! On return leg were woken at 3am GMT for inedible dried-up scrambled egg. Why not forget "breakfast" and let passengers get some meaningful sleep? Then we had loud disco music accompanying our 5am disembarkment. Also, same entertainment as on outward flight. Overnight flights should be THE way to travel - but we won't use this one again.

Air Namibia review by Detlef Hälker

15 February 2006

Frankfurt to Windhoek return. We had seat reservations booked in advance via telephone when reconfirming the outward flight. On this outward flight the aircraft was an Airbus A 340 and the legroom was very poor. The queue at the check-in in Frankfurt was very long as there was only one desk open. In Windhoek this was better and the check-in took us only a few minutes. During both flights the service was okay - but nothing special. The quality of the food was also mediocre. At least, the return flight was slightly better regarding the legroom as the aircraft was an MD 11. We had nearly an hour delay on both flights. Overall our impression is that the 3 Star ranking should be at risk.

Air Namibia review by Peter Farmer

11 January 2006

My 87 year old mother travelled by Air Namibia from London to Johannesburg via Windhoek on 14 December and returned to London on 05 January. Wheelchair assistance had been requested in advance and was provided at all points. She has the highest praise for the friendliness and the helpfulness of the Air Namibia crew and staff in both directions and was even given a totally unexpected upgrade to Business Class for the leg from London to Windhoek. She was in Economy Class for the return leg from Windhoek to London but said that it compared very favourably with her previous experiences on other airlines flying to South Africa. My wife and I will certainly be using Air Namibia for our next visit to London.

Air Namibia review by Sally Bresnahan

6 November 2005

Our entire experience was poor. We travelled from LGW via Windhoek to Cape Town and returned with an extra refuel stop in Luanda. Both legs of the journey were over sold leading to anger and frustration about seating arrangements. Offers to upgrade were made but with no negotiation on price ultimately leading to indiscriminate free allocation of business class seats. On our outward journey this meant that our party was split up - not how we wished to travel. Cabin staff on the long haul were surly and unhelpful but fine on the short leg.. Food quality was variable, vegetarian option was not available even though it had been requested in advance. The return journey was the worst when again we were not sitting together in the way we expected. No apology made for the refuel stop and no explanation given for the reason why or the impact in terms of delay etc. Catering arrangements were disrupted without explanation. Limited soft drinks available until after the refuel and then dinner served at midnight! Although time was then made up on arrival at Gatwick we waited for 2 hours for our luggage without explanation again. We will not use this airline again and will not recommend to others.

Air Namibia review by Steve Vesty

9 October 2005

LGW to Windhoek return. MD11 both ways. Punctual departure and arrived early on both sectors. Two-thirds full over both legs meant that we could find a couple of seats and at least spread out a little for the overnight flights. Seat pitch could have been improved but from a 6'3" traveller this gripe is common. Cabin crew smiling and helpful - meals generally airline economy standard and OK, loved the biltong snacks. I never pay much attention to the in-flight entertainment, but understand that it wasn't up to much. Some monitors suffered from colour balance problems & the choice of films weren't great. Still, they were overnight flights, during which the cabin crew successfully engineered the maximum sleep opportunity. Still a shock eating breakfast at 3:30 am for the 0455 arrival into LGW. Ground staff at LHR cheerful and friendly (especially trying to sell upgrades, which on reflection I was foolish not to have taken up). Windhoek check-in staff likewise - Customer Services staff at Windhoek a little more indifferent - very rigid on prices for upgrades, (which were well in excess of the amounts for the LHR-WDH leg), even when the flight was closing and business seats were spare. We weren't tryig to force a deal - we would have liked the opportunity to negotiate rather than experience the emphatic and non-negotiable price. A relatively new service to LGW which appears to be popular and is a success. Rumours are for new A340 equipment in 2006, replacing the tired ex-Swiss MD11s. Much better routing direct, than via Frankfurt or the (BA/SAA) route via Jo'burg. Windhoek airport is small and excellent for transit - and you can watch your bags!! As African airlines go, well worth the trip.

Air Namibia review by James Duckworth

24 August 2005

Frankfurt to Windhoek return. Outward (6 August), on time departure in a completely full MD11. on board experience generally good but quality of in-flight entertainment system poor with variable colour definition between monitors some of which were in lurid colour and others in near black and white. I suspect that this is down to the age of the system. Catering was adequate with a choice of main dish, chicken or beef, but with no obvious vegetarian option. Staff cheerful and helpful. Windhoek arrival was 30 minutes early, just after sunrise allowing a very pleasant walk across the apron from the plane to the terminal. It is only when you can do this that you appreciate the great size of a long haul jet. Baggage reclaim was prompt as was immigration. Return (19 August), maintenance requirements (not clear if these were planned or unplanned) resulted in replacement of the MD11 with a 767-300 hired in from ArkeFly, based in the Netherlands. Departure was 30 minutes late followed by advice from the pilot that the combination of a full load and the (relatively) high altitude at Windhoek Airport would require a re-fuelling stop in Tunisia. The friendly Dutch crew worked hard but the food looked unappealing although it tasted OK. Where the meal was sourced from was a mystery as various components had originated from Namibia, South Africa, Denmark and Germany! Legroom appeared tighter than the outbound MD11. Flight rather disturbed by the 3.00am fuel stop in Tunisia requiring all the lights to be switched on, seat belts done up, undone etc. Breakfast served before arrival 90 minutes late. Apparently Air Namibia ground staff would be on hand to sort out missed connections etc. but no sign of these. Summary - Overall impression was that Air Namibia were trying hard. The experience was nothing like as good as a similar length flight with Qatar Airways (excellent in all respects) but by no means unacceptable.

Air Namibia review by F Aldrich

9 August 2005

Johannesburg to London Gatwick return. Outward - Cabin staff good. Food average Punctuality very poor. Inward - Cabin staff very poor. Food average. In both case the ground staff and ticket sales dept was very bad. Unfriendly and not willing to assist in any way. In both cases at Windhoek the book in and passport control was a joke. Again we departed late.

Air Namibia review by Sharri Whiting

26 April 2005

We'd like to commend Air Namibia for the excellent job it did during a small crisis in March 2005 when a guinea fowl flew into an engine on take off, forced a landing and a new engine to be installed. Hundreds of passengers had to wait more than 24 hours to leave the country. Unlike many larger airlines, Air Namibia was well organized to take care of stranded passengers. Staff were patient and helpful and kept passengers up to date as events progressed. Arrangements were made at a four star hotel in Windhoek and check in went smoothly; transportation was provided to the airport when the flight was ready to leave; and, importantly, when we arrived in Frankfurt just before midnight, Air Namibia had a four star hotel waiting to take us in until our flights left the next morning. It must have cost the airlines quite a lot to provide rooms and meals -- the friendly service cost nothing, but was far more valuable.

Air Namibia review by Craig Thomas

22 July 2003

I recently flew Air Namibia Cape Town - Oranjemund - Cape Town, beware... A Beechcraft 1900D is leased from a South African charter company, and was obviously configured for passenger use in a rush. Unlike many other operators of the aircraft, Air Namibia has no toilet on their aircraft. No mention of this fact is given upon checking in, so heaven help you if you have a cup of coffee and orange juice before the 2-hour flight up the coast to Oranjemund. Aircraft is not in good condition, with carpets lifting and leather upholstery ripped. Return flight from Oranjemund to Cape Town was a joke - we were told that the flight was delayed as the aircraft was "somewhere in Northern Namibia". Turns out that Sam Nujoma, President of Namibia, had commandeered the aircraft for a personal trip. Never mind the pax delayed downroute in Luderitz and Oranjemund. Flight was delayed by an hour as a result; we were just able to depart in the fading daylight (Oranjemund has no lighting facilities). Late arrival in Cape Town meant most of us missed our connecting flights to Johannesburg. Wake up Air Namibia, your slogan is "First Class World Class" -  definitely not the case !

Air Namibia review by Martin Rinker

18 October 2002

On a recent trip to Cape Town I took Air Namibia. Even though I was booked in Economy Class I was quite surprised about the generous leg space.  The food was okay, but nothing special, however the wine served was excellent and the cabin staff always had a smile and worked with a very relaxed and comforting attitude. The airport of Windhoek is extremely small, but during my 3 hours layover I went outside and just relaxed in the nice park in front of the main building. The overall atmosphere of WDH airport was very calm and relaxed since there is almost no traffic and so no hustle at all. The short haul leg to CPT was okay, but unfortunately there the leg space was extremely disappointing. All in all Air Namibia is a good alternative to major European carriers for people travelling to Southern Africa. The big advantage is that unlike with all other airlines you don't have to go via Johannesburg and wait 1 hour and 30 minutes on board until the aircraft is refilled and new passengers have boarded.