Africa-Press – Botswana. Air Botswana is in the process of reinstating the Francistown-Johannesburg, Johannesburg-Maun, and Johannesburg-Kasane routes.
The routes were closed because they were adversely affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic.
Speaking at a stakeholder’s engagement forum in Francistown on Thursday, Air Botswana commercial director, Mr Boikanyo Ntwaagae said the new routes would be operationalised mid year, if things go according to the plan. Mr Ntwaagae explained that the airline was also in the process of negotiating to lease an aircraft to ensure seamless and undisputed service as well as to develop routes such as Gaborone-Windhoek, Francistown-Bulawayo, Durban-Nairobi as well as key tourism markets of Frankfort and USA through partnerships.
He said the initiatives would focus on value chain development for sustainability, growth and revenue diversification.
Mr Ntwaagae said some of the earmarked flagship revenue diversification projects were the expansion of the cargo business, property development, route diversification, ground handling, as well as training and maintenance opportunities.
He indicated that the air cargo market was increasingly becoming lucrative across the globe and they were therefore working on strengthening their market presence in the cargo space.
He said Air Botswana had also made efforts to have proper market representation in major cargo source markets, general sales and service agents, which were appointed in China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, South Africa and Zambia.
On other issues, Mr Ntwaagae said the airline developed a recovery and growth strategy for 2021/25, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the strategy was focused on the airline’s operational excellence, recovery and growth, as well as financial sustainability.
He said Air Botswana was fully aware that it had not been adequately addressing the needs of the northern markets, particularly Francistown and its catchment areas.
“The pain points have been schedule disruptions as well as inadequate communication with affected passengers,” he added.
He said the root cause had been lack of communication or engagement with the market, resulting in sub-optimal demand for Air Botswana’s services, thereby rendering it not commercially viable.
Mr Ntwaagae said the airline was in the process of renewing its commitment and pledging to fully service the northern market according to its needs in the most optimal and commercially sustainable manner.
He said Air Botswana remained committed to the highest operational standards and that safety remained a critical priority in every aspect of its operations.
He revealed that the airline sold all its nine old aircraft and replaced them with three new ones, with increased seating capacities, adding that it was also in the process of acquiring a new aircraft, through lease, to increase its fleet to four.
Stakeholders commended Air Botswana for considering the reinstatement of the old routes.
Dr Kgosidialwa Mompati of River Side Hospital in Francistown commended Air Botswana for being one of the safest airlines in the world, but expressed concern about its poor time-keeping and flight cancellations.
Dr Mompati suggested a double flight between Francistown and Gaborone as a matter of urgency, for the national airline to get more customers and grow the airline industry.
The former mayor of Francistown, Ms Sylvia Muzila said Air Botswana did not fully satisfy the Francistown air market and wondered how it would be able to implement its performance recovery strategy on new routes with only three aircraft.
Ms Muzila and Ms Neo Maruapula, who owns Ebat Hotel in Tatisiding, called on the airline to speed up its privatisation policy, arguing that it was the only strategy that could help attract foreign direct investment.
The purpose of the engagement was to update customers on the airline’s strategic direction for enhanced service delivery and to discuss mitigatory factors that it had put in place.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
