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“Worst airline in Africa, possibly the world”
Review of Air Botswana


Reviewed 20 March 2024

Possibly the worst airline in the world. Over the past three years every flight I have booked with them, or others have booked for me, have been cancelled. sometimes when I have rebooked with Airlink and got to the airport, the AB flight is running, only with a time change. Other times, a curt email informs of the cancellation, but getting a refund is a huge challenge- they don't bother to seek alternatives, which other airlines do. They are the joke of African aviation, the joke of Botswana (which is a wealthy country and deserves better) and a disgrace. it woudl be better if the business was totally closed down, as then a lot of people would save time and stress.

Date of travel: March 2024
    • Cleanliness
    • Value for money
1  Thank davidtM2578IS
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (140)
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11 - 15 of 140 reviews

Reviewed 21 February 2024

Firstly I gave Air Botswana one point based purely on the friendliness of the in flight crew and quality of the aircraft. This was its saving grace. The rest is a dire tale of a company thst lacks professionslism and fails to value its customers. Our problems began with the booking process. Our flight must've changed three times since we reserved our original flight including a day change. The kick in the teeth though was the last minute nature of a schedule change when we received an email at 17.30pm the night before our 09.15am flight. No one responded to my email and despite numerous calls to the agent (both in Maun and Gaberone) no one was picking up as they'd probably sent the email then gone home so they wouldn't have to face the barrage of questions. The flight eventually left after 13.00 as it incurred yet another additional delay. We enquired about compensation or at least some complimentary food while we waited and were met with a flat no. The flight was coming from Gabarone and someone was obviously sitting in my seat prior to getting off as there was a used hanky in the seat pocket and crumbs all over my seat. I would rather have travelled the 8 hour overnight bus journey than have to endure this experience again. And, its not that I am a novice, I have travelled for over 50 years, clocking up over 1000 flights with 30 plus airlines. Never. Ever. Again.

Date of travel: February 2024
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
1  Thank Alessandro N
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 1 October 2023

Had a delay from Gaborone to kasane, the GM Mrs Mookodi the GM came in person to apologize to all passengers individually she even offered courteous accommodation to those affected. This is commendable, we appreciate you and we know that there shall be Change under your leadership

Date of travel: October 2023
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
1  Thank FarAway12171909872
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 20 April 2023

9 out of 10 flights I had, they were delayed, once I missed my connection flight and best believe I got no money back. These guys can’t respect ones the times of flying, they re useless

Date of travel: April 2023
1  Thank Andaryellupo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 2 November 2022

Air Botswana is consistent... Consistent in letting down their passengers. My family and I have had 4 encounters with Air Botswana and we were let down 4 times. First my mother received an itenerary and a payment confirmation only to arrive at the airport to be told that her ticket was not issued and that she would have to purchase another. She complained about this and Airbotswana tried to calm the situation down stating that she will be reimbursed for the purchase. The second issue was that i had a connecting flight from jhb to Gaborone with air Botswana. My initial flight was from Cape Town. 2hrs before my departure from Cape Town i get informed that the flight from jhb to gabs was cancelled. I was forced to take the flight from cpt to jhb but to purchase accommodation for the next day for when air Botswana could give me another flight. I was not reimbursed for the expenses incurred. The third issue is the same as the first which happened to my brother who experienced the same issue as my mother.

The fourth issue occurred this morning when I arrived at the check im desk after having travelled 300km on road to get to Gaborone Airport I was inform that although I have a payment confirmation from DPO Pay, Air Botswana had still not received any reflected money in their account and thus would have to purchase another ticket from the ticket sales. This resulted in me having to pay all my travel money and borrowing some to purchase this ticket. I am a student and one can only imagine the difficulty this caused.

Air Botswana is consistent in giving trouble and all 4 times my family and I have travelled with them we had problems. When you see this many negative reviews take heed.

Date of travel: November 2022
Thank Eby101
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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