Review: RwandAir Business Class A330 Kigali To Brussels

Cabin looks great but man that food leaves a lot to be desired. Those carrot sticks on the cheese plate looks dry AF lol.

Why can’t airlines just have a toasted sandwich snack. Most things toasted taste better ha! I just flew chin eastern long haul with the family. Same thing. Cold old croissant as the “snack”. Everything else they were out of. Nonprinted menus to look at.

Cheese plate very ordinary as well.

"It’s interesting that they have separate amenity kits for men and women" for business class you mean. You should know better than anyone that LH and CX have the same in F

Thanks for the review, which comes as a bit of surprise. African airlines usually are quite strong in terms of food service ...

But obviously, they treated lunch as the main meal, which does make some sense given the schedule.

@Lucky, I’m confused. A few weeks ago you published an article about wanting LESS service in business class, especially on the soft product side of things. It looks like RwandAir delivered that in spades. And you’re still complaining.

@ derek -- You might want to read that post again. That was largely about redeyes (not daytime flights where most people are awake), and it was about the speed of service, not the quantity served. They could have put more food on each tray. C'mon...

@ Anon -- Yep, just not something I've often seen in business class.

@Lucky @Anon

I'm pretty sure Qatar Airways has male and female amenity kits in business class. I clearly remember my mother getting a different perfume scent bottle than me.

was it actually an Air Marshall or perhaps an immigration officer for the flight back to Rwanda? I've been on a flight to Bali and they stamped passports in the air prior to arrival...just a thought.

Mmmmm...... think I’ll stick with Air Zimbabwe for all my African long haul. Lol.

@Phize

yeah, but QR is considered by many to be the epitome of Business Class, whereas Rwandair is a much smaller player. You don't see separate kits on other very good airlines like CX or SQ. For that matter, SQ doesn't even supply kits in the traditional sense.

@rayray
They do these days. Not sure if it’s gendered necessarily but there is both a black and brown one.

Complaining about the quality of food on a Third World airline seems kind of, umm, First World. I mean, come on, the food looked edible. What do you expect in Rwanda?

As for the champagne. How can you write this, "RwandAir has Moet champagne in business class, which is respectable."

Moet is more than "respectable" for business-class. I don't know of any North American, First World airline serving it in business-class. Delta has been caught serving $4 Andre sparkling wine. Other times they serve cheap cava or prosecco, if catering doesn't give them Lanson champagne.

Lucky, you wrote “Usually I like to be in the very last row” - I see this quite often. Just got off a flight with an empty business class cabin, but did notice on the seat map hours before the flight, that one passenger had seated herself in the second to last row. Why do you like to sit In the back of business class? Is it to be far from the noise and light of the galley, or to view the business class service since you’re reviewing it?

Plenty of airlines offer different amenity kits to men and women in business class...KLM, AF, QR, Kenyan, etc...

On a separate topic, I was offered an amenity kit on a 2-hour KLM flight from Amsterdam to Madrid recently. Though I'm guessing this was just because they happened to have one lying around and I was the only passenger in business class. It was kind of random and strange...

Interesting that Rwandair served you bottled water considering single-use plastics are banned in Rwanda...

Just a question, Lucky; is this a Fifth Freedom Flight?

When I used to fly Emirates business class a lot a few years ago I remember they had separate amenity kids for males and females. I fly Air France and Delta more nowadays and those airlines don't differentiate gender specific amenity kits.
Anyway, thank you for this review. I first flew Rwandair back in 2010 and I remember I could make a reservation online on its website but I had to pay in USD cash at their office in Kigali airport. Odd I know but it worked.
It does look like they can improve in the food department but I am impressed they served macadamia nuts in business class.
For me, business class is all about the seat so the lackluster soft product would not have bothered me (unless I was flying in First Class.) 😉

What does it mean that the cabin was sprayed for landing? I’ve never flown out of Africa. Is this some sort of disinfectant?

@Ross,
It also happens when you fly into or out of Brazil. Anytime, for years. It is indeed an disinfectant who is used by many Airliners.

@Ross

Many countries require the spraying of a bactericide and pesticide before allowing the aircraft to park at a gate. Aircraft from certain countries landing in the US, Europe, India and the Far East require the cabin to be sprayed before allowing entry to the gates. This is a common practice for many airlines originating from regions with Zika, so as to kill any infection carrying mosquitoes.

I'd be starving after 8 hours and only getting those teeny tiny portions.

I also agree that Moët is a very good champagne to be serving in business class.

Your review of Rwandair is one review I have been waiting for; sorry that the food is underwhelming yet, the special Rwandair glassware and Salt and Pepper shakers are v cool

Though I haven’t flown with them yet, my daughter and family have several times, she was extremely impressed with them, they flew economy. I’m flying with them myself next week from Gatwick, I cannot wait. This’ll be my third visit to the beautiful country.

Tbh the service is exactly what I would have expected from an airline in East Africa, last time i flew on Kenya airways in business it was pretty similar.

Re the single set of cutlery for the meal- this is the French and Belgian custom. It always throws me a little too!