Air Botswana sees Namibia as key to growth strategy

Air Botswana is optimistic about its growth prospects in the region, particularly in Namibia, following the launch of scheduled services between Gaborone and Windhoek in November 2024.

The airline has already transported over 600 passengers between the two countries since the route's inception, a milestone CEO Lulu Rasebotsa highlighted with pride.

“I think across the region everybody knows that Botswana and Namibia have a very close bromance going on and it is on the back of that that we thought it was important that we collaborate and find roots into Namibia, and for the fact that because of the proximity, there's a lot of relationships in terms of family on both sides of the border,” Rasebotsa said.

Air Botswana had identified cargo as one of its key revenue drivers following its entry into Namibia.

“There are a lot of business opportunities across, and I think also on the back of the fact that Air Botswana is trying to drive cargo hard, so I think there's an opportunity for us to participate in cargo imports out and exports into Namibia,” she said.

Another factor positioning Namibia for Air Botswana was the hordes of tourists who flock to the country on an annual basis. According to Rasebotsa, there was an opportunity for her airline to fly in tourists to popular tourist destinations in Botswana as well.

“We obviously know that Namibia is a former German colony, and a lot of Germans still want to visit Namibia, so we are looking at those airlines that are coming from Germany, and that area of the world, such that you could share with them, we pick up from Namibia, and then take them to other tourist destinations, the likes of the Okavango Delta in Botswana,” Rasebotsa said.

Air Botswana was also able to get good support from the relevant aviation authorities in Namibia, she said.

“The support has been rather overwhelming. We have been supported from day one, including getting our foreign operator permit, Namibian tourism partnering with us to promote the route, to make sure that the market knows about it,” Rasebotsa said.

“The support has been immense. And I think really it's in the spirit of growing the industry, and it also benefits Namibia that you have operators flying into Namibia,” she added.

According to Rasebotsa, Air Botswana would leverage off of its geographical location within southern Africa to drive growth.

“I think we're going to leverage off of our geographical location in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. Our strategy is really to dominate sub-Saharan Africa and make sure that we are the gateway and connect the countries across SADC, that is key for us, and I think that will give us the competitive advantage.”

“Already we are connecting Zambia, we are connecting Zimbabwe, now Namibia are connecting South Africa, and I think it just presents a great opportunity,” she added.

Touching on a national flag carrier mandate, Rasebotsa said airlines could help enable other sectors of the economy within a country.

“I think a national carrier's mandate is to enable other sectors of the economy, so perhaps if you were to say, what should Air Botswana’s one key performance indicator be, as an example, maybe one could be, Air Botswana brings us, for lack of an exact number, if you bring us 100 000 tourists in a year, you have met your objective,” she said.