RwandAir expands to West Africa

RwandAir, the national carrier of the East African country of Rwanda is set to offer five weekly flights between the Rwandan capital Kigali and Accra, Ghana as part of its West African expansion
strategy.

The carrier’s maiden flight to Accra is expected to touch down at the weekend. Accra becomes the 14th destination for the carrier and the second in West Africa after Lagos in Nigeria.

RwandAir Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Mirenge in a statement said “the new schedule allows us to expand, add new destinations and develop our airline and the base airport as transit hub. We will be welcoming many more visitors to our country.”

RwandAir has chosen to operate the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft fitted with Sky Interior cabin design (unique in Africa) and State-of-the-art in-flight entertainment, Ventures Africa reports. The 154-seat aircraft is one of two that were purchased in 2011 and makes daily flights to Dubai and Johannesburg via Kigali. It also serves the Lagos-leg with five weekly flights.
The airline began operations 10 years ago and has been dubbed one of the fastest-growing carriers on the continent, with passenger numbers growing in double-digits every year.
In December of 2012, the airline had reached over 400,000 passengers a year. Rwanda, its flag country, is also one of the Africa economies that have been recording praiseworthy growth over two decades
after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis that claimed world attention.
RwandAir is famous for conveniently connecting passengers through Kigali International Airport. Still relatively small in size, the airport and the airline are able to provide seamless transfers and a much more personalised service to Entebbe, Nairobi, Dubai, Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Bujumbura and many more.
The airline also plans to expand its network further into the sub-region, and will soon unveil Douala in Cameroon and Juba in South Sudan to bring the destination to 16.


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:Business day