Catering to your aircraft in Shakawe.
Shakawe is a dry-season strip on the Okavango Panhandle, and a small jet here needs a small, well-planned galley load. We cook and pack for FBSW so the crew can serve without a kitchen on the other end.
We know the galley, the diet card and the 5 a.m. re-plate — because we lived them. So we built the caterer we always wished we could call.
Fourteen years on VIP and head-of-state cabins. Can plate for twelve in a G650 galley and still land it hot.
The one who reads every diet card twice. If it says no cross-contact, it means no cross-contact.
Answers at 5 a.m. when the leg moved overnight. Same-day swaps are her love language.
Shakawe lies in the North West District, on the Okavango Panhandle, and the local table follows the river. A private jet menu for FBSW leans on tilapia and bream from the Okavango, usually grilled whole or filleted and packed cold; the inflight menu keeps the lemon and the sauce apart so the fish is not cooked twice. Private jet food from this region also means seswaa, the pounded beef served with pap, which reheats well in a galley oven, and morogo, the wild spinach, as a side. These local specialities travel as private jet platters of cold river fish with salads, or as gourmet inflight meals finished in the oven on board. For a short sector out of Shakawe, private jet snacks are biltong, roasted nuts and dried mango, boxed per seat, and they suit an early lodge departure when nobody wants a plated course.
Tail, pax, diets, timing. One message — no portal, no quote form. Answered at any hour, by a flight attendant.
Leak-proof boxes, marked by guest and restriction, with reheating times written on the lid.
Two minutes out of the drawer. Whatever you ordered for the crew comes in the same delivery, and one clean invoice follows.
Shakawe Airport (FBSW) serves the Okavango Panhandle, where the river, the dry season and the lodge traffic decide what a flight needs on board. Private jet catering here is built around a small galley and a short, remote apron: inflight catering for guests, cabin crew meals for whoever works the sector, and aviation catering packed so nothing depends on a kitchen at the other end. Business aviation catering and executive jet catering follow the same rule, and diplomatic flight catering is handled with protocol before anything is cooked.
Business jet catering at Shakawe is usually a short lodge or corporate sector with four to eight guests. Corporate jet catering here favours cold platters, a hot dish with its sauce apart, and a private jet chef who adjusts the bespoke menu when the passenger count shifts. VIP flight catering, charter flight catering and luxury inflight catering follow the same plan: simple to plate, easy to store.
Government flight catering and head of state flight catering at Shakawe are prepared by a named team and sealed for the aircraft. VIP aviation catering and state visit aircraft catering go through the protocol office before anything is cooked, and the handover at FBSW is arranged with your handling agent and the delegation's security.
A strip in the North West District does not have a deep supply of specialist products, so special meals at Shakawe are a procedure agreed before the flight, not something found on the day. Kosher and halal meals are sourced and sealed in their own packaging, vegan and gluten free meals are built from rice, maize and vegetables that grow in the region, and allergen free plates are prepared apart from fish, groundnuts and dairy, which show up often on local menus. Kids meals follow the passenger list: plain pap, chicken, fruit and nothing spiced.
A sheet per guest. Separate boards, separate boxes.
Sealed, certificate in the same box.
Their own menu, nothing to cut at altitude.
Vegan, low-carb, light — composed, never compromised.
At FBSW the crew often waits on the apron for hours, so crew meals are a real part of the order, requested with the flight and invoiced as a separate line. Flight crew meals come as crew meal boxes, pilot meals are simple and portable, and cockpit meals are labelled apart from the guest trays. Crew catering includes different meals for pilots on request, and cabin crew meals are packed for the attendant.
Your handling agent at FBSW decides where the food is handed over, and our job is to be ready. FBO catering is delivered to the general aviation terminal or straight to the aircraft. Ground handling catering and catering delivery to the FBO follow the slot you confirm, and handling agent catering is arranged by email or phone.
Shakawe takes light and medium business aircraft, and the galley decides what we pack. Galley catering here means smaller trays, stackable boxes and nothing that needs a second oven. Airside catering delivery is arranged with your handling agent, who opens the gate and walks the vehicle to the apron. Aircraft provisioning follows the type: a turboprop gets compact crates, a larger jet gets full carts, and we ask for the tail and the galley layout so each load fits the door and the drawers.
Mention it when you orderCertified, inspected, with cold-chain records filed against your trip.
Whichever terminal you park at, handover is at the aircraft, on your slot.
Allergen sheet per guest, halal and kosher on request, sealed and labelled.
Itemised and trip-report ready, sent after the leg.
Shakawe Airport is a small airport catering to the Okavango Panhandle, with a single runway and a modest apron. General aviation dominates the traffic, and FBO services and ground handling services are limited and arranged in advance. It works as a business aviation hub for lodge and river-bound travel in northern Botswana.
Traffic here peaks in the dry season, when the Okavango draws anglers, birders and lodge guests. Business aviation catering at Shakawe is built around that season, with inflight catering, in-flight catering and aviation catering packed for small cabins. Executive jet catering suits corporate parties, diplomatic flight catering suits official visits, and cabin crew meals are ordered the same way for any crew.
Botswana restricts some fresh meat, dairy and produce on international flights, and customs officers at Shakawe attend by arrangement. We pack to the destination, seal and list each item, and adapt the menu to what will clear on the next sector, so the order at FBSW is planned around the route.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Several practical details needed attention at FBSW, with roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables requested for 7 guests and a late menu amendment to accommodate. The Galley Girls grouped the snack boxes by service, which was more useful to us than simply receiving a list of dishes. We left the canapés stored until needed, which kept the first service manageable and reduced unnecessary handling. The written menu details stood out more than any sales pitch about flight catering services.”
“Between cabin checks at SWX, I coordinated a charcuterie board and fresh bread for 2 guests and explained our concerns about a revised passenger count. The Galley Girls suggested separate meal boxes for the salads, and that choice worked well with our storage arrangement. For airline catering, that attention to meal organisation made the order noticeably easier to manage. We placed the sandwiches in their planned storage area without first having to reorganise all the catering boxes.”
“Small packing details became important at Shakawe Airport: our 9 passengers wanted mini sandwiches and individual desserts, and we had an evening cabin service. For crew meals, that attention to portion planning made the order noticeably easier to manage. The Galley Girls prepared the side dishes for assembly in the galley, with the accompanying elements easy to locate. Keeping the crew provisions aside until service helped preserve the presentation while we dealt with the boarding tasks.”
Think of it by example: a sandwich plate for four is one price, the same plate for six is that price plus two covers, and a hot seswaa dish adds the cost of the pot and the pap. The cost of private jet catering here follows those lines, and nothing is billed that you did not order.
A local product usually goes on the menu as a single dish, such as grilled tilapia or seswaa. We confirm availability with our supplier, then lock the rest of the menu around it. Orders placed closer to departure are still taken, with a smaller pool of fresh products.
Customs and immigration at a small Botswana strip are tied to the officer's roster, so a night or very early departure needs the slot cleared first. Food packed for an international sector is sealed and listed so inspection is short. Tell your handling agent the departure window and we coordinate the delivery around it.
Passengers on a state or delegation flight may bring food, but customs and the protocol office decide what clears on an international sector. We offer a traceable option: sealed meals, a written ingredient list and a named team, so there is nothing to question at FBSW.
Charter operators sometimes assume meals are bundled, but they are not. Catering at Shakawe is arranged on its own, and cross-border food rules mean fresh animal products are checked before they are loaded. We adapt the menu to the route.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
