AMBITIOUS: Fly Etosha representative William Ekandjo.
AMBITIOUS: Fly Etosha representative William Ekandjo.

Etosha hopes to fly by June

Other airline ‘simply competitive’
Fly Etosha plans to be up and running within a few months.
Ogone Tlhage
Ogone Tlhage

WINDHOEK

Fly Etosha says it intends to be airborne by June if all its ducks are in order.

These are the sentiments of representative William Ekandjo, who said the company has every intention of becoming operational soon, “despite an earlier bid by local aviation company FlyNamibia to challenge” its plans. FlyNamibia has since abandoned its objections.

According to Ekandjo, Fly Etosha ticks all the boxes in terms of the regulatory requirements to become an airline.

FlyNamibia’s complaint was simply due to the competitive nature of the aviation sector, he said.

Documents were submitted through FlyNamibia and Westair’s attorneys, Ellis and Partners, opposing an application by Fly Etosha for a non-scheduled air transport service licence.

According to the documents, Ekandjo failed dismally to provide sufficient proof that he will be able to render a safe, satisfactory and reliable air service in respect of continuity, frequency, punctuality, reasonable charges and general efficiency.

Focused

“We are focused on what we are doing. This is a field we know very well, so we didn’t even bother [with FlyNamibia’s opposition] because we are going in for competition,” Ekandjo said.

“We satisfy all requirements,” he added. “Funds, one could say ‘OK, it’s not enough’, maybe, but what amount [would be enough] because we could raise all the funds.”

The team behind Fly Etosha was equally up to task, he said.

“Regulatory requirements, we are top class. We have been running these requirements for so many years. We shall make sure that this airline shall fly all over the world within two years,” he added.

Ekandjo admitted that Fly Etosha may not immediately acquire all aircraft types it deemed necessary for its operations, but said this was not a concern for it to get operational approval.

“Equipment, those aeroplanes are available everywhere. Maybe the ones we are crying for the most, maybe they are difficult to get simply because of the demand for those aircraft.”

‘I coined the name’

Ekandjo further alleged that he initially coined the name FlyNamibia.

“I had the paperwork for FlyNamibia. All by surprise, I heard you have to get away from that name because that name was registered as a trademark and I foresaw that this thing is going to take long.

“If I am really aiming to have an air service licence by this year, an airline that must take off this year, I think I must give that a break,” he said.

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-22

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