A few weeks ago we got our first glimpse of the exterior of Uganda Airlines’ (rare) A330-800neo, and now the interior of the plane has been revealed as well.
Continue reading: Uganda Airlines’ Gorgeous New A330-800neo
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I love it and idk why but it looks 10x more amazing on the 330 than the CRJs. I'm planning a major trip to Africa and depending on timing, may have to add this to my list of reviews.
I am based out of Kuwait, so I kinda feel lucky for being able to experience the A330-800neo as soon as Kuwait Airways receives those planes! Nonetheless, I would definitely want to try out Uganda A330-800 as well! Imagine KWI-DXB on KU A330-800neo and DXB-Kampala on Uganda's A330-800!
Interesting side note: These supposed long haul routes are identical to that of Rwandair's intercontinental routes.
It's beautiful, but the stupidity of entering the African Aviation Market for Uganda was always ill considered. Mouseveni needed to "compete" with the rest of the loss making carriers in the region. East Africa now has 4 international airlines for a region with a GDP roughly equivalent to the US State of Kentucky.
Obviously they're aiming for an international market share, but there is no reason for this airline to exist and given the state of teacher salaries, roads, etc., in Uganda, it's a tragedy that it does and has sucked up a significant portion of very limited state resources . This plane was not cheap and likely benefits very few Ugandans, but is a "prestige" toy for the elite. Entebbe was already well connected before this boondoggle and very few people are coming to see the Gorillas for the next 1-2 years anyway.
Love it. Always makes me happy to see an African airline expanding its fleet and route offerings. It will be nice to see the interior, as well.
Chris, I was thinking the same! London I understand, but what makes Dubai, Canton and Bombay so attractive?
It's still Uganda, a country that harshly criminalizes homosexuality. Boycott anything out of this bigoted country.
here we go.
People: But remember Uganda is a terribly repressive regime. Extrajudicial murders and the like, not to mention...
Lucky: But the TAIL tho! It's KWORGUS KWEEEN SLAY SLAY SLAY!
People: Um
@John, "East Africa now has 4 international airlines for a region with a GDP roughly equivalent to the US State of Kentucky."
That really puts it into perspective.
I don’t care for the bird even if it is a national symbol. I would have ditched the bird and just gone with the colors. Also, I find the .com advertising on the side of the plane totally unnecessary since anyone with two active brain cells can find them on a simple web search.
I agree. The bird really detracts from the aesthetics of the tail, which would have been stunning without adornment (like Aeroflot's tail, for example). The bird looks like a cartoon character. If it's a national symbol, they should have done something like put it near the front of the plane, perhaps in the way Turkish does with the tulip.
"Canton" (more properly known as Guangzhou) is attractive due to the massive amounts of Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa.
These are photo shopped, are they? Just wondering about the French registration... Or do they all get registered (and painted?) twice?
@Matt - New aircraft are registered in the country in which they are manufactured until being delivered to the customer. These planes will be registered in France until they are turned over to the airline, at which point they will, presumably, be registered in Uganda.
@Daniel from Finland
Guangzhou is China’s trading hub with Africa, with roughly 350,000 annual visitors from Africa, and the largest African diaspora you can find in East/Southeast Asia.
Mumbai because the Indian migration to Africa under the British colonial rule. Africa now holds 3 million Indian descendants, with 300,000-500,000 residing in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Idi Amin kicked out all the Indians and now the predatory Chinese are back in Uganda. Time to give the crocs some dinner again!
So because a country is not as rich as a European country, it is not allowed to invest in an airline? A national airline is much more attractive than a bunch of different companies flying around. A national airplane is a flying billboard for the country. This is how the UAE are boxing above their weight with Emirates, Qatar with Qatar Airlines, Singapore with Singapore Airlines and so on.
Uganda is homophobic: if you would only deal with ethical countries, there won't be many countries to deal with. Isolating a country usually radicalises positions.
One issue is that many of these smaller airlines are not part of global alliance groups.
Much prefer an airline that uses a330/40s and 767s over a350 and 787. The 2 by the window is much more comfortable and fitting for most economy travellers than 3-3/4-3. Although because economy is now usually so bad with the hard slimline seats. I rarely if ever go below premium or exit row.
@John, the 5th largest airline in North America is based in Kentucky. SDF has daily flights to Bogota, Casablanca, Cologne, Dubai, Leicester, Hong Kong, Sao Paolo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Of course, the total number of passengers on those flights is 0 because it's UPS.
In the future, the 2 big airports for 747s are going to be Anchorage and Louisville. In the next few years, the only operators will be freight.
Business class looks exactly like what Garuda has on their A330neos.
Also, Singapore actually uses an evolution of the Stelia Solstys III on their 787-10s and regional A350s. It was initially widely confused with the Stelia Opal.
Uganda is a country that tortures, imprisons, and murders LGBT+ people. Nothing to celebrate here.
They chose the cheapest economy seats (the same on Ukraine International Airlines) with the cheapest entertainment system, Zodiac RAVE (which is cheap because it's a wireless system)
Nice plane. Now, if I could just think of one single reason to go to Uganda...
If you look closely, the 2-4-2 economy seats actually have two armrests in the center so the arrangement is way better than any Boeing setup.
Seems like the business class privacy shell has been redesigned to allow more space at shoulder level, and also access to outside view for window seats, much better than TK or SQ design.
For those in the comments who are criticising/questioning Uganda:
- I am a gay man. I have been to Uganda three times, with my husband (once for 6 weeks, travelling all over the country) and experienced no sort of negative issues at all. Most Ugandans have simply never (or never knowingly!) met gay people, so tend to be fascinated rather than hostile. Certainly most Ugandans are significantly less hostile to LGBT people than, say, the average person in certain parts of the southern United States... Sure, I wouldn’t walk around holding hands with my husband, but I don’t normally do that anyway!
- Uganda is a genuinely wonderful place. It has been much less spoilt by tourism than most of Southern Africa, has amazing wildlife and truly wonderful people. If you are willing to forego haute cuisine and branded hotels in favour of more “genuine” travel experiences, it’s pretty unbeatable as a destination.
- All of that said - and back on topic - I think I will stick to KLM for my future trips!
Wasn't the A330-800neo meant to be an A330-200 replacement? Or possibly even a 767 replacement?
I'm surprised it wasn't more popular for those who didn't need as much as plane as the -900/330
It's not part of one of the major alliance groups. Would be good for those going to or coming from Uganda but it's a bit out of the way for most.
No. Those Economy seats aren't cheap. They're very nice and comfortable and made by Geven. Zodiac RAVE operates on AZ, Lufthansa, and Air France. Efficient and good.