Business News of Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Source: B&FT

RwandAir begins flights to Accra

RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda and one of the fastest-growing carriers on the continent, is set to offer five weekly flights between the Rwandan capital Kigali and Accra.

The carrier’s maiden flight to Accra is expected to touch-down at 20:00 local time at the Kotoka International Airport on Sunday. Accra becomes the 14th destination for the carrier and the fourth in West Africa after Lagos, Libreville and Brazzaville.

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.

This 154-seat aircraft is one of two that were purchased in 2011 and serves daily flights to Dubai, Johannesburg via Kigali.

It also serves on 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, with Kigali its capital being one of the cleanest cities in Africa.

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.