RWANDAIR EXPECTS TO TAKE DELIVERY OF FOUR NEW PLANES OVER THE NEXT TEN MONTHS
(Posted 18th July 2016)
The latest information received from Kigali suggests that three of the four new aircraft presently on order by RwandAir will be delivered before the end of this year.
The first of two Airbus A330’s will join the fleet in September, with a date still to be confirmed, while another Boeing B737-800NG will then follow in October, bringing the number of aircraft operated to 10, the first time RwandAir’s fleet will go double digit.
A second Airbus A330 is then expected to arrive in Kigali in December this year, allowing for the launch of the long anticipated flights to Mumbai and on to Guangzhou. This aircraft is a larger variant of the A330, a -300 model while the September delivery will be an A330-200 type.
In May next year is then another Boeing B737-800NG due for delivery, bringing the fleet size to 12 overall.
This will include two Bombardier Q400NG, two Bombardier CRJ900, two Boeing B737-700NG, four Boeing B737-800NG and two Airbus A330.
To cater for the increase in the number of aircraft and the anticipated additional destinations has RwandAir also accelerated their training of new and existing staff, with in particular selected flight attendants now getting ready to be type certified on the Airbus A330 while fresh recruitments are undergoing the basic training as cabin crew.
RwandAir has also stepped up the training of maintenance personnel with the first ever Rwandan, Mr. Jimmy Sekizinduka recently qualifying as a certified engineer for the Bombardier CRJ900NG. According to additional information received will RwandAir apply to the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority to be licenced to carry out its own maintenance work on the CRJ’s in Kigali. This is aimed at reducing aircraft downtime and saving the cost of ferry flights to approved AMO’s, short for Aircraft Maintenance Organizations, in other parts of Africa or even further away.
Meanwhile has RwandAir also confirmed earlier today that they will resume flights to Juba, out of Kigali and Entebbe, on Wednesday the 20th of July, after concluding that air traffic to and from the airport of South Sudan’s capital is safe again.
