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RwandAir

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RwandAir
File:RwandAir Logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
WB RWD RWANDAIR
Founded1 December 2002
Commenced operations27 April 2003
Operating basesKigali International Airport
Fleet size5 (+2 orders)
Destinations13
HeadquartersKigali International Airport
Kigali, Rwanda
Key peopleJohn Mirenge (CEO)[1]
WebsiteHomepage

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 Southern Africa and East Africa and soon Central Africa.

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.

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.[5]

In October 2010, John Mirenge became the new CEO of RwandAir [6]

In July 2010 the first of RwandAir's new Boeing 737-500's arrived, the second arrived on 20 October 2010. Both are leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and all maintenance are for filled by South African Airways Technical till July 2013. The registrations of the new additions are 9XR-WD and 9XR-WE. Both these aircraft have a two class configuration with 12 business class seats.

Destinations

Main article: RwandAir destinations

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.[7] In September 2009, RwandAir signed a code share agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.[8] In May 2010 the airline announced a new codeshare with Air Uganda.[9]

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.[10][11] The airline previously had its head office in Centenary House in Kigali.[2] 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.[11] At one previous point the airline had its head office in the Telcom House.[12]

Fleet

RwandAir operates the following aircraft (as of March 2011):[13][14]

RwandAir Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Notes
Boeing 737-500[15] 2 0
Boeing 737-800 0 2 Entry into service: 2011 [16]
Bombardier CRJ200LR[17] 2 0
Bombardier Dash 8-102 1 0 operated by ALS [18]
Total 5 2

Incidents and accidents

References

  1. ^ Rene Janata Is CEO Rwandair
  2. ^ a b Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  3. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March - 5 April 2004. 61.
  4. ^ RwandAir returns leased Boeing 737 to Air Malawi
  5. ^ Rwanda's National Airline Rebrands
  6. ^ Mirenge new CEO of RwandaAir
  7. ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19316
  8. ^ "RwandAir signs codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines - 10 September 2009
  9. ^ "RwandAir and Air Uganda code share to give seamless travel advantages to clients". RwandAir. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  10. ^ "All RwandAir Offices & Branches." RwandAir. Retrieved on 24 May 2011. "Kigali Head Office Kigali International Airport Main Building (top floor)"
  11. ^ a b "Announcement on RwandAir Head Office shift from Centenary House to new airport office." RwandAir. Retrieved on 16 June 2010.
  12. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March - 5 April 2004. 61.
  13. ^ RwandAir Fleet
  14. ^ RwandAir Commissions New Own Jets
  15. ^ RwandAir order 2 Boeing 737-500's
  16. ^ RwandAir order 2 Boeing 737-800's
  17. ^ Rwandair Commissions Two Owns CRJ-200 Aircraft
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ RwandAir Cancels Wet Lease with Jetlink

External links

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