RwandAir to move from a continental to an intercontinental airline

COUNTDOWN STARTS IN EARNEST FOR RWANDAIR TO MOVE FROM A CONTINENTAL TO AN INTERCONTINENTAL AIRLINE

When Airbus and RwandAir hold their media briefing at the Kigali Serena Hotel on September 9, the countdown to the delivery of two Airbus A330s will begin in earnest. The two companies will make a joint presentation during which the timeframe for the delivery of the two aircraft on order will be revealed, as will the configuration and very likely the first long-haul destinations served out of Kigali.

After building up a fleet of Boeing and Bombardier aircraft, two B737-700NG, two B737-800NG, two CRJ900NextGen and two Q400NextGen, RwandAir will add a third manufacturer, Airbus, when expanding into the long-haul, wide-body market as of late next year. RwandAir had, prior to putting pen to paper with Airbus, been eying the Boeing B787 Dreamliner but ultimately settled for the proven Airbus A330, reportedly for reasons of faster delivery as well as pricing.

RwandAir has over the past several years aggressively rolled out an African route network from East to South to West Africa, besides also flying daily to Dubai. The airline serves Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Mombasa, Entebbe and Juba, effectively covering Eastern Africa, including operating fifth freedom flights from Entebbe. West Africa is equally well covered with flights to Brazzaville, Libreville, Douala, Lagos and Accra. In Southern Africa, RwandAir flies daily to Johannesburg with three of the flights presently routing via Lusaka. This has led to a sharp rise in transit passenger numbers flying via Kigali, where the airport expansion has supported the growth of the national airline.

It is generally expected that RwandAir will commence long-haul flights with at least one destination in China and one in Europe and confirmation of the cities to be served is expected soon. Most of the passengers will no doubt come from the airline’s African destinations. Travelers from AU member states require no transit visa and, when required, can get a visa for a stopover in Kigali on arrival.