Air Namibia

The flight from Cape Town South Africa to Windhoek Namibia in itself was pleasant. What was shocking was the bad service delivered at Cape Town airport when attempting to buy a ticket. I arrived at the airport to find that the Air Namibia office was closed within were the staff busy sorting things out. There was no sign indicating their hours so after having looked through the window I sat down on a bench outside the office. I must have sat there for about 15 minutes before some rude employee (I think she was the manager) opened the window and looked at me. Seeing as though she opened the window and was looking at me I proceeded to stand in front of her. She asked me very rudely "What? Is there an emergency or something? It is our lunch break and you are bothering me." I was well prepared to sit and wait for who knows how long as there was no sign indicating that they were indeed on a lunch break. I wanted to tell her to stick her ticket but it was the best one at the time. I have never experienced such bad service in my life.

WDH-FRA with my wife. Big mess to reconfirm the flights in WDH (computer breakdown) incompetent employees not willing to help. Checkin OK and quick very lousy lounge at WDH no priority boarding chaotic "rush" to the aircraft. Aircraft standing there the whole day and no traffic but able to depart 30 mins late. Worst cabin service ever experienced no meal choice available slow and incompetent staff. My wife went to the galley to ask gently for something to drink together with the meal the chief FA came to our seats and scold us "you have to be patient we have other things to do". Were treated like disobedient pupils no need to say after meal there was no more service and entertainment system at my seat was defective. Rude wake-up in the middle of the night 2.5 hours before landing for what they call a breakfast. Incredible and a great pity for the wonderful and friendly country of Namibia next time we fly again SAA despite of having to fly via JNB. We traveled last time in 2006 with Air Namibia and things have turned from good average to lousy.

WDH-CPT. They offer more than european airlines on a 2 hrs Flight. Aperitif Service hot meal coffee tea etc. Very professional staff good information from cabin and flightdeck. Absolutely friendly.

The nightmare of travelling with Air Namibia for our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa really overshadowed our holiday. They changed our return flight details approximately 7 times and our much planned for 10 hour direct flight from Windhoek to London (because I'm 6 months pregnant) turned into a 36 hour ordeal with no customer service to speak of certainly no apologies no alternatives offered not a care in the world from any representative we spoke to. And we certainly weren't the only ones affected. Not only had they dropped all their direct flights from London (which we had been informed of 3 weeks prior to departure) Air Namibia had also conveniently 'forgotten' their annual servicing so an entire week's worth of flights were 'rescheduled' (a kind description) which we first found out half an hour before leaving our house for the airport. Which meant our 10 days in beautiful Namibia were marred by trying to communicate with Air Namibia regarding our return flights. The whole thing was a disaster and when we finally got our BA flight home from Frankfurt the check in staff commented that this was all too usual with Air Namibia who were a well known nightmare to deal with and with whom they had no wish whatsoever to be associated. I heard since that people in the know will travel to Namibia via South Africa so as to avoid Air Namibia and use another airline. That travel tip I endorse!

Cape Town to Walvis Bay [Namibia] return in business class B737-500. This was flying as it used to be good service hot meal on a 2 hour flight and large comfortable seats. Admittedly the outbound trip was 2 hours delayed and communication was poor but this is Africa and they did their utmost to turn it around when it did arrive. No doubt my holiday spirit affected my reaction to this if you had commitments it would have been a problem. I would use them again and would do the LGW to Namibia route with them. Safe professional and customer focussed.

LGW-WDH return Business Class. Small busy lounge at Gatwick (multi-airline) much smaller and even busier lounge Windhoek (multi-airline). Seating 2x2x2 with PTV monitors but with which two attendants seemed unfamiliar - so wasted time fiddling and missed the beginning of the set. Food so/so both flights with alcohol ceasing to be served immediately after main food service. Economy passengers repeatedly used Business Class lavatories and attendants were unconcerned that we were waiting in line something I pay an extra amount to avoid! E- mailed Air Namibia upon my return. It took three months to respond despite my repeated reminders. Received seven paragraphs about the horrors of blood alcohol content and unruly drunk passengers. Such a patronising attitude towards experienced worldwide travellers will achieve no awards. I think Air Namibia is just plain mean with every aspect of its service.

LHR - WDH and back during Nov 2008. Much better than expected. The food was very good and cabin crew were friendly & attentive. Plenty of water offered. My only gripe was the seat was very uncomfortable - OK once I fixed up extra cushioning for my lower back.

WDH-CPT in Economy. B737-500 of unknown provenance but inside OK. The crew were pleasant and efficient the captain informative and a hot meal which was edible and fine. Timekeeping spot on too so a high mark. I have not experienced their single long-haul A-340 and its service but short-haul perfectly OK.

Air Namibia Jo-burg to Windhoek return. Both were excellent flights on time and with service from very good cabin crew - including meals that we used to expect but now no longer receive from major airlines including BA and Iberia. No hesitation in thanking Air Namibia commending them for the flights or recommending them to others.

LGW to Windhoek return. Flight on time outbound and return with efficient boarding at LGW although free for all at Windhoek; however crew curt to the point of being rude except for one female cabin attendant on return leg. Food barely edible especially going out. Seats have plenty of leg room but are uncomfortable as the lumber bars do not work. Some problems with the heating - cold going out and excessively hot on return. IFE very basic largely with third rate films. Business lounge in Windhoek too small as a number of largish flights to CPT and JNB all going at at same time as LGW flight. I appreciate that Air Namibia is a cheap option and a direct route from London but would think twice before using them again.