One of the airlines I've been following pretty closely is RwandAir. They're quite a small airline, but have been nicely growing their route network. The airline has two Airbus A330s with excellent staggered business class seats, which they offer on routes to Brussels and London, among other destinations. The most interesting growth aspiration for the…
Continue reading: RwandAir Orders Two A330neos (Intended For New York Flights)
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Even though they’re capable range wise, it’s still cutting it close isn’t it? Less than 500 miles from being out of range right?
The A330Neo will probably achieve the range with a slightly reduced load.
@Alex
Kigali apparently got certified on May 29th this year.
Yes close to their range but could make a technical stop in another African city should there be a weight or headwind penalty since about 40% of the flight will be over the African continent.
Ha ha. I initially mis read this and thought it said Ryanair !!! That would have been even more hilarious
Well I hope they'll finish the new Kigali Airport before this is implemented, the old one is just atrocious, even in comparison to the other airoports in the region.
In 1972 people originally thought that SQ was crazy investing in the 707 (they even thought SQ was crazy to invest in the 747-300 to fly to London nonstop in 1982). 1972 Singapore had a per capita GDP a bit higher than Rwanda today, but it demonstrates that it can be a smart investment strategy to be ahead of the curve.
It might seem counterintuitive, but supply can create its own demand. Making your country proximate to the financial center of the world isn't a harebrained development strategy, and having ET has certainly helped make Ethiopia the most vibrant economy in Africa.
Would love to try this if the route opens up as planned. Do you think there's an appetite for new additions from any of the alliances? I suspect SkyTeam is unlikely given KenyaAir is right next door and presumably has a lot of route overlap, but what about the other two?
According to Rwandair's website:
"Is the program linked to any other loyalty program of any other airline?
Not at the moment but in future, yes."