RwandAir

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RwandAir
IATA
WB		 ICAO
RWD		 Callsign
RWANDAIR
Founded 1 December 2002
Commenced operations 27 April 2003
Operating bases Kigali International Airport
Fleet size 5 (+1 order)
Destinations 16
Company slogan Fly our dream to the heart of Africa
Headquarters Kigali International Airport
Kigali, Rwanda
Key people Girma Wake
Chairman[1]
John Mirenge
Chief Executive Officer[2]
Website Homepage

RwandAir is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Kigali International Airport in Kigali, Rwanda. It is the national carrier operating services to East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa and the Middle East.

Contents

[edit] History

RwandAir was established on 1 December 2002 as a joint venture between the Government of Rwanda (77%) and Silverback Cargo Freighters (23%), under the name RwandAir Express. It started operations on 27 April 2003.[3] It initially leased a Boeing 737-500 from the Danish airline Maersk Air. It was later returned to Maersk Air in May 2004. This was replaced by a leased McDonnell Douglas MD-82 from JetAfrica in June 2004. However, while on a service to the Netherlands for Acvila Air (Romania), the aircraft was grounded. The grounding was due to old navigation maps and multiple technical problems resulting in Acvila Air and JetAfrica being banned from Dutch airspace. RwandAir Express replaced the aircraft with McDonnell Douglas MD-82 leased from Acvila Air.

In the early 2000s the airline used the Telcom House as its head office.[4]

In 2006, RwandAir leased Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 from the Ethiopian airline, Trans Nation Airways (TNA).

In April 2007, RwandAir Express leased a Boeing 737-500 from Air Malawi. This aircraft was grounded at Kigali International Airport, apparently as part of a contract dispute.[5]

A RwandAir Express Boeing 737-500 at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda. (2007)

In November 2008, RwandAir agreed on terms to wet lease a Boeing 737-500 from Air Namibia, which enabled the airline to resume service to Johannesburg, which had ceased in April 2008.

RwandAir is compliant with International regulations. It is a registered IATA member, and has passed the IATA Operational Quality Standards (OQS) audit. It has interline agreements with various international carriers, who can issue RwandAir flights on their tickets. RwandAir is no longer in a code share agreement with Kenya Airways on the Nairobi/Kigali route. RwandAir has expressed the intention to resume code sharing arrangements and expand service to Nairobi.

[edit] Airline expansion

In December 2008, press reports indicated that RwandAir was planning to expand its regional route network to include Dar-es-Salaam, Addis Ababa, Mwanza, Lusaka and Kinshasa. A new domestic service to Gisenyi was also planned. New aircraft to service these new routes were reportedly being sourced.

In June 2009, the airline officially re-branded from Rwandair Express to RwandAir, because the new name implies a large, serious airline, while the "Express" in the former name implies a small regional operation.[6] In May 2010, Rene Janata became the CEO, introducing a frequent flyer program and developing the airline to become a network carrier. In October 2010, John Mirenge became the new CEO of RwandAir [7]

In July 2010 the first of RwandAir's new Boeing 737-500's arrived; the second one arrived on 20 October 2010. Both are leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and each has a two class configuration with 12 business class seats.

In August 2011 the airline took delivery of their first aircraft purchased directly from an airline manufacturer. All prior aircrafts operated by RwandAir have been either leased or bought as a second hand. The aircraft purchased is a Boeing 737-800 with Sky Interior, also known as Boeing 737 Next Generation, and is the only one operating among African air carriers. The flight departed from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, United States at 5:30 PM PST. It made its first stop in Keflavík International Airport in Iceland, then it headed for a second stop to Istanbul, Turkey. It finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, after a 20 hours flight. [8]

In October 2011 RwandAir placed an option for two Boeing 787s for delivery in 2015 or 2016. In the same month they also took delivery of their second Boeing Next-Generation 737-800. During January 2012, the airline disposed of the two CRJ200 aircraft it owned, in anticipation of acquiring two larger regional jets.[9][10]

[edit] Destinations

RwandAir serves the following destinations (excluding codeshare destinations) (as of December 2011):[11]

[edit] Codeshare agreements

RwandAir has the following codeshare agreements (at June 2010):

In April 2009, it was announced that RwandAir will code share with Brussels Airlines. All the flights operated by Brussels Airlines between Brussels and Kigali will carry both a SN and a WB flight number. The commercial deal between Brussels Airlines and RwandAir enables the Rwandan airline to sell 10 seats in economy class as a marketing carrier.[16] In September 2009, RwandAir signed a code share agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.[17] In May 2010 the airline announced a new codeshare with Air Uganda.[18]

[edit] Head office

The head office is located on the top floor of the main building of Kigali International Airport

The airline has its head office on the top floor of the main building of Kigali International Airport in Kigali, Rwanda.[19][20] The airline previously had its head office in Centenary House in Kigali.[3] The airline began moving its operations from Centenary House to the airport on Friday 14 May 2010. The airline was scheduled to be moved in by Monday 17 May 2010.[20] At one previous point the airline had its head office in the Telcom House.[21]

[edit] Fleet

RwandAir operates the following aircraft (as of Jan. 16, 2012)[22][23][24]

Aircraft Type In fleet Orders Seats Notes
Business Economy Total
Boeing 737-500 2 — 12 80 92[23] ex-LOT Polish Airlines
Boeing 737-800 2[25] — 16 138 154 Acquired new[25]
Bombardier CRJ-200LR 2 — 0 50 50 Ex-Lufthansa CityLine, sold in January 2012.[26][27]
Bombardier Dash8-100 1 — 0 37 37 ex-Air Horizon, operated by 748 Air Services
Bombardier Dash8-200 2 — 0 29 29 combi variant, 29 pax+cargo. One leased from Trans Nation Airways[23].
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 1 — undisclosed leased, converted to MD-82 from MD-81[23].

Note that neither Bombardier Dash8-200s, nor th MD-82 does not figure on company's website.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

[edit] See also

Portal icon Rwanda portal
Portal icon Aviation portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ List of Members of Board pf Directors
  2. ^ John Mirenge Appointed New CEO, Replacing Rene Janata
  3. ^ a b Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  4. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March - 5 April 2004. 61.
  5. ^ RwandAir returns leased Boeing 737 to Air Malawi
  6. ^ Rwanda's National Airline Rebrands
  7. ^ Mirenge New CEO of RwandaAir
  8. ^ Airline Reporter - RwandAir and Boeing Company 737-800 purchase
  9. ^ Rwandair Disposes of Two CRJ200 Aircraft
  10. ^ Rwandair Sells Two CRJ200 Aircraft
  11. ^ RwandAir official website / Destinations
  12. ^ Rwandair Plans Service To Abidjan In 2012
  13. ^ Rwandair Plans Service To Bombay In 2012
  14. ^ Dubai & Mombasa Flights Launched
  15. ^ Air Uganda Terminates Codeshare Agreement With RwandAir
  16. ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19316
  17. ^ "RwandAir signs codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines - 10 September 2009
  18. ^ "RwandAir and Air Uganda code share to give seamless travel advantages to clients". RwandAir. http://www.rwandair.com/index.php?c=News&i=14. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  19. ^ "All RwandAir Offices & Branches." RwandAir. Retrieved on 24 May 2011. "Kigali Head Office Kigali International Airport Main Building (top floor)"
  20. ^ a b "Announcement on RwandAir Head Office shift from Centenary House to new airport office." RwandAir. Retrieved on 16 June 2010.
  21. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March - 5 April 2004. 61.
  22. ^ Rwandair official fleet page, retrieved Jan. 16, 2012.
  23. ^ a b c d Planespotters.net page for Rwandair Express, retrieved Jan. 16, 2012.
  24. ^ CH-Aviation page for Rwandair Express, retrieved Jan. 16, 2012.
  25. ^ a b Boeing Orders and deliveres page, retrieved Jan. 16, 2012.
  26. ^ Two CRJ-200 Removed From Fleet With Immediate Effect On 02 January 2012
  27. ^ Routesonline - Rwandair to add larger jets, published Jan. 16, 2012.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rwandair Express
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