FORWARD bookings on Air Namibia’s international routes have dropped 10% to 15% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period this year as foreign tourists hold back on buying long-haul trips because of the global financial crisis. This was the word from Air Namibia’s md, Kosmas Egumbo, who visited Cape Town recently to launch new routes to Walvis Bay. He said the South African rand’s recent decline against the US dollar and the dollar’s strengthening against the euro impacted negatively on Air Namibia because the Namibian dollar was pegged to the rand. While Air Namibia’s international revenue was mainly in euros, its expenses were in US dollars, such as aircraft leases that had now become more expensive.  Kosmas said the airline’s routes to Frankfurt and London Gatwick were unprofitable. “We were close to breaking even, but then the oil price plunged to unsustainable levels and had a big impact. At the current level at below US$80 per barrel, we’re looking at breaking even on our international routes, but there is so much volatility in the market. To counter this, we’re employing financial instruments such as hedging and fuel efficiency programmes. We also need to embark on cost containment, intelligent yield management, sweat our assets and look for new opportunities.” “It is a jittery time for airlines,” he said. “We are really looking forward to there being more certainty in the volatile economic situation in the world, particularly in the financial sector.” He expressed the hope that government interventions in the UK and USA would restore public confidence resulting in a positive knock-on effect for long-haul travel. He believed the Namibian government would inject capital into state-owned Air Namibia if needed because of broader economic interests. “The Namibian and the other regional economies have been quite robust, but it depends on how long the crisis continues. We need foreign investment and corporate and leisure travel to our shores,” he said.