Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) signed a codeshare agreement within yesterday. The agreement that will be effective as from March 1st, covers routes between Turkey and Namibia, and set to expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of two airlines.
The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Headquarters in İstanbul. Namibia Deputy Minister of Works & Transport honorable Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Ekşi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides.
This new codeshare agreement is bound to broaden the commercial partnership between two companies and their respective countries. At the same time, passengers of both airlines will be given more travel options between Namibia and Turkey.
Under the terms of the agreement, Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines are planning to place codes on unilateral flights of SW on Windhoek – Johannesburg v.v. / Windhoek – Frankfurt v.v., and unilateral flights of TK on İstanbul – Johannesburg v.v. / İstanbul – Frankfurt v.v. Also it has been considered that, when SW introduces the Windhoek – İstanbul v.v. flights in future, this codeshare agreement will be expanded by placing the code to include beyond İstanbul flights.
Honorable Sankwasa expressed their satisfaction with this commercial partnership with a well-established and rapidly growing carrier like Turkish Airlines, which enjoys a broad route network. He also expressed that they are happy to conduct this codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines and also added that the deal will be a crucial experience for them. Honourable Sankwasa further stated that he is confident about this cooperation which will be fruitful for both sides and will be enlarged very soon.
“Air Namibia is a small airline and in order to improve its competitiveness in this high competitive industry, it is important to have a strategic partner, as Turkish Airlines who placed on the top to become a partner with. We believe that this will be just one of the many areas of cooperation between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia.” Honourable Sankwasa further stated.
“We are pleased to sign this codeshare agreement with Air Namibia and aim to improve our partnership to maximize the travel opportunities offered our passengers through our flight networks. Air Namibia continues its expanding successfully, and we believe that this partnership between Turkish Airlines and Air Namibia will bring benefit to both carriers, not only from a commercial perspective, but also in cultural interactions between Turkey and Namibia while promoting business travel between two countries.” said Turkish Airlines’ Deputy Chairman and CEO, Mr. Bilâl Ekşi, as commenting on the agreement.
About Turkish Airlines:
Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines is a 4-star airline today with a fleet of 334 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 296 destinations worldwide with 247 international and 49 domestic. According to Skytrax survey of 2016, Turkish Airlines was chosen “Europe’s Best Airline” for the 6th and “Best Airline in Southern Europe” for the 8th consecutive time. Turkish Airlines was awarded for the world’s “Best Onboard Catering – Economy Class” in 2010, and the world’s “Best Business Class Airline Catering” in 2013, 2014, and once again this year; and according to this year’s results, it has also been awarded the “Best Business Class Lounge Dining” award for two years in a row. More information on Turkish Airlines is available on our website www.turkishairlines.com or our Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin and Instagram accounts.
About Air Namibia:
Established in 1946 and started operations in 1949. As of December 2016, the route network comprised 16 destinations and 17 airports in seven different countries in Africa and Europe, with eight of these destinations being domestic ones. The airline is positioned as a niche carrier serving domestic points within Namibia, the immediate regional markets of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The airline also serves the entire European network through Frankfurt. Air Namibia is a winner of the “Feather Awards” for Best Regional Airline for more than 11 years, including 2016. More information about Air Namibia can be found on www.airnamibia.com
About Star Alliance:
Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, which provides a worldwide transportation, recognition and services for those traveling internationally, and which was established as the first global airline alliance in 1997. The airline companies, being the members of Star Alliance that is deemed worthy of numerous awards, including “Market Leadership Award” by the Air Transport World and “Best Airline Alliance” by the Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax, are as follows: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brazil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Currently, Star Alliance members operate more than 18,450 flights to 1300 airports across 190 countries daily.