Botswana’s Mack Air (MKB, Maun) is in talks with Textron Aviation about its new twin utility turboprop, the Cessna Aircraft Company SkyCourier, currently under development, according to Managing Director Michael Weyl.

"We have had very premature discussions on the aircraft type, however, with a large FedEx order we are in the queue. Textron has been extremely supportive with their products, and we look forward to one day operating the SkyCourier next to the new Cessna (single turboprop) 208 EX fleet," he told ch-aviation by email.

He had earlier told African Aerospace that the company was looking at bigger aircraft and that the new Cessna SkyCourier "could be extremely useful and could exactly fit our operation".

The SkyCourier is in its flight test programme after it made its first successful flight in May 2020. Textron will offer it in various configurations, including a 2,268 kg payload capable freighter, a 19-seat passenger version, or a mixed passenger/freight combination. It is designed for high utilisation and will have a maximum cruise speed of up to 370 km/h and a maximum range of 1,667 km. With a reduced payload of 453kg, Textron projections show the aircraft could make it as far as Cape Town International (South Africa), Ndola International (Zambia), Lilongwe International (Malawi), Maputo (Mozambique), Benguela (Angola), Swakopmund (Namibia), and the Upemba National Park in the DRC.

He told African Aerospace that Mack Air was stepping up its operations, especially to airstrips in the Okavango Delta, to meet expected increased demand from game lodges, which had been expanding after changing their strategy from high cost, low volume tourism. “The more beds in the Delta, the more visitors they need to find,” he commented.

Traditionally a passenger charter specialist, Mack Air adapted when international tourism to Botswana fell to zero in 2020 due to COVID-19. As reported, the carrier was forced to postpone its regional scheduled plans due to low travel demand in 2020 but launched twice-daily scheduled flights between Kasane in Botswana's extreme northeast, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on May 1, 2021, with Cessna (single turboprop) 208B EX Grand Caravans. “We’ve come out of 2020 extremely strong and well prepared,” Weyl said.

The airline’s fleet currently comprises 21 aircraft, including seventeen Cessna Grand Caravan EX, two GA8s, a single Cessna Aircraft Company 210, and a Cessna Citation M2 business jet, based at Johannesburg Lanseria (South Africa) for VIP and business charter.

Cessna Aircraft Company/Textron began delivering the Cessna Grand Caravan EX turboprops to Mack Air in 2017 for use on charter, cargo, and logistic services between a network of safari lodges in the Okavango Delta and Kalahari Plains regions of Botswana. The aircraft replaced Mack Air’s fleet of older Grand Caravans.