RwandAir
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| Founded | 1 December 2002 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 27 April 2003 | |||
| Operating bases | Kigali International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 7 | |||
| 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 | www.rwandair.com | |||
RwandAir is the flag carrier airline of Rwanda. It operates domestic and international services to East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa and the Middle East from its main base at Kigali International Airport in Kigali.
History
RwandAir began operations on 1 December 2002 as the new national carrier for Rwanda under the name Rwandair Express (with passenger air transportation as the core activity), with a concession to carry out airport ground handling (ancillary activity) at Kigali International airport, Kanombe.
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 March 2009, the airline registered a new trademark “RwandAir ltd” which is its current operating name. 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.[3] 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 [4]
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 aircraft 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.[5]
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 CRJ-900NGs.[6][7]
In February 2013, John Mirenge announced that the airline will fly to Accra, Cape Town, Harare, Juba and Zanzibar, in 2013.
Corporate affairs
Ownership
Rwandair is 99% owned by the Government of Rwanda.[8]
The government hopes to privatise the airline after 2013, once it becomes profitable; the process had been abandoned in 2008, after it emerged that nobody at the time was willing to offer the amount expected from the sale. [9]
Business trends
RwandAir has been loss-making for a number of years. Detailed accounts do not appear to have been published, with only a few public announcements from senior management or the government giving details of the scale of the operation; available trends are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover (FRw bn) | 30 | ||
| Turnover (US$ m) | 47.2 | ||
| Net Profits/Losses after tax (FRw bn) | n/a | ||
| Net Profits/Losses after tax (US$ m) | n/a | ||
| Number of employees (at year end) | n/a | ||
| Number of passengers (m) | 0.20 | 0.36 | |
| Passenger load factor (%) | n/a | ||
| Number of aircraft (at year end) | 8 | 8 | |
| Notes/sources | [10][11] [12] |
Head office
The airline has its head office on the top floor of the main building of Kigali International Airport.[13][14] The airline previously had its head office in Centenary House in Kigali,[15] before moving its operations to the airport in May 2010.[14] At one previous point the airline had its head office in the Telcom House.[16]
Destinations
RwandAir serves the following destinations (excluding codeshare destinations) as of June 2013:[17][18]
Codeshare agreements
RwandAir has the following codeshare agreements at November 2013:
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.[20] In September 2009, RwandAir signed a code share agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.[21] In May 2010 the airline announced a new codeshare with Air Uganda.[22] That codeshare arrangement was terminated in March 2012.[23]
Fleet
As of August 2013, RwandAir operates the following aircraft:[24]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||||
| Boeing 737-700[25] | 2 | — | TBA | 120 | |||
| Boeing 737-800 | 2 | — | 16 | 138 | 154 | ||
| Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen | 2 | — | 6 | 69 | 75 | ||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 37 | ||
| Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 [26] | — | 1 | TBA | 67 | |||
| Total | 7 | 1 | |||||
References
- ↑ List of Members of Board pf Directors
- ↑ John Mirenge Appointed New CEO, Replacing Rene Janata
- ↑ Rwanda's National Airline Rebrands
- ↑ Mirenge New CEO of RwandaAir
- ↑ Airline Reporter - RwandAir and Boeing Company 737-800 purchase
- ↑ Rwandair Disposes of Two CRJ200 Aircraft
- ↑ Rwandair Sells Two CRJ200 Aircraft
- ↑ Bloomberg.com
- ↑ RwandAir to be sold after becoming profitable
- ↑ "RwandAir expands fleet as competition hots up". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ "RwandAir May Offer Shares After Returning to Profit in Two Years". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ "RwandAir targets $350m sales by 2018". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ "All RwandAir Offices & Branches." RwandAir. Retrieved on 24 May 2011. "Kigali Head Office Kigali International Airport Main Building (top floor)"
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Announcement on RwandAir Head Office shift from Centenary House to new airport office." RwandAir. Retrieved on 16 June 2010.
- ↑ Flight International 12–18 April 2005
- ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 30 March - 5 April 2004. 61. "Telcom House, Boulevard delumuganda, Kigli, Kacyiru"
- ↑
- ↑ "Rwandair flight schedule". Rwandair. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ↑ Service To Juba Effective 21 September 2013
- ↑ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19316
- ↑ "RwandAir signs codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines - 10 September 2009
- ↑ Air Uganda Terminates Codeshare With Rwwandair
- ↑ Rwandair Fleet Retrieved 29 August 2013
- ↑ Rwandair Takes Deliverly of First Boeing 737-700 NextGeneration Aircraft
- ↑ "RwandAir makes a firm order of a Q400 from Bombardier". RwandAir. RwandAir. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rwandair Express. |
- RwandAir Homepage
- Rwandair UK Website
- Rwandair Commissions Two Own Aircraft
- RwandAir Plans Expansion
- Photo of Rwandair CRJ-200LR
- RwandAir aircraft
- Overview of Rwandair In November 2013