The contrast between Air Botswana and Ethiopian Airlines is stark. One is a small national carrier operating with a handful of aircraft. The other is one of Africa’s largest airlines, with a vast fleet and an ambitious expansion programme.
The contrast becomes sharper when executive pay is put alongside the scale of the two airlines.
Air Botswana’s General Manager, Bao Mosinyi, has been reported to receive a package of about P372,000 a month. The chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Tasew Bekele, has been reported to earn roughly P115,000 (about US$8,600) a month.
On those figures, Mosinyi’s monthly package is more than three times that of the Ethiopian Airlines chief executive, a difference of about P257,000 a month, or roughly P3.1m a year.
The difference extends beyond fleets. In January 2026, Ethiopia began construction of the $12.5bn Bishoftu International Airport, planned ultimately to handle 110m passengers a year, with four runways and parking for 270 aircraft.
The comparison is striking because the organisations are nowhere near the same scale. Government information reported this month put Air Botswana’s operational fleet at three aircraft, with the airline maintaining a two-aircraft schedule. Ethiopian Airlines, by contrast, reports 174 aircraft in service and 109 more on order.
The difference extends beyond fleets. In January 2026, Ethiopia began construction of the $12.5bn Bishoftu International Airport, planned ultimately to handle 110m passengers a year, with four runways and parking for 270 aircraft.
Air Botswana’s financial position is markedly different. A recent report prepared during Mosinyi’s recruitment records that the airline was loss-making and had not turned a profit for years. But the disparity in remuneration raises a straightforward question: what benchmark did Air Botswana use to arrive at a package more than three times the reported pay of the chief executive of a vastly larger airline? News&All asked Air Botswana board which organisations were used as comparators, how closely they matched the airline in revenue, workforce, complexity and financial performance, and whether the airline’s profitability, operational performance and reliance on government support were considered when determining Mosinyi’s remuneration. We also asked them to provide the remuneration studies, board resolutions and supporting documents underpinning the decision. They had no answers. How Air Botswana arrived at that figure, and how the scale and financial condition of the airline were reflected in the decision, are questions its board has yet to answer.
