Participating in a discussion at the Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition in Johannesburg on 16 September, Air Botswana CEO Lulu Rasebotsa said that the airline was trying to become more appealing to investors.
Appearing on a panel alongside Airlink’s CEO Rodger Foster, RwandAir’s CCO Fouad Caunhye and other aviation experts, Rasebotsa said that Air Botswana was indeed working hard to make itself an attractive proposition for investors.
AIRLINE INVESTMENTS
Discussing aviation on the African continent, aviation journalist Mark Pilling, spoke about Qatar Airways’ investments in airlines on the continent.
He asked Rasebotsa about her airline’s efforts to make itself more attractive to investors who might be looking to make equity investments.
“We’ll be looking rather decent in the not-so-distant future,” Rasebotsa said.
INCREASING AIR BOTSWANA’S APPEAL
Botswana’s national airline, Air Botswana, has been making significant enhancements in recent months.
The airline has in fact acquired additional aircraft, resumed several routes and will launch a number of new routes within the next few weeks.
“We’ve embarked on a re-fleet project to stabilise and make our proposition more attractive,” Rasebotsa said.
AIR BOTSWANA BUILDS A PRESENCE
Rasebotsa said that re-fleeting allows Air Botswana to build a presence in the Southern African Development Community.
“Being at the heart of Africa, we are trying to make ourselves very present in the SADC region. We have numerous bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries,” she said.
The airline will reinstate services on some previously suspended routes as well as launch various new routes.
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AIR BOTSWANA ROUTE EXPANSION
This month Air Botswana re-established flights from Maun, Kasane and Francistown to Johannesburg in South Africa.
In October it will launch services from Gaborone to both Durban and Windhoek.
Then, in November Air Botswana will launch several routes. These include services from Maun to both Cape Town and Windhoek as well as from Kasane to Cape Town, Windhoek and the Kruger National Park.
CHALLENGES FOR AFRICAN AIRLINES
It is often difficult for smaller African carriers to compete or capture the share of passenger traffic that they need to remain economically sustainable.
Although Air Botswana is making significant strides in restabilising and enhancing its operations, Rasebotsa said the airline is still subject to the competitive advantage of other airlines including regional and international players.
“I think the problem with us in Africa is, rather than collaborate, we put a lot of effort into competing (between each other). I think we need to collaborate more than before,” she said.
CALLS FOR COLLABORATION
Rasebotsa said that airlines in Africa must collaborate more, to allow African airlines to earn a fair share of the market.
“If you look at the traffic across the continent, it’s so many Africans flying all over the show, all over the world. But how many of them are flying African carriers? Very few. I can say that we just don’t collaborate enough. I think the pie is there and we can all have a piece of the pie.” She said.
