Private jet company, GainJet, which is based in Athens in Greece, is set to open its Africa representative office in Kigali next month, a senior official from the company has said.

Speaking at the EBACE show in Geneva last week, Ramsey Shaban, the president of GainJet, said Kigali was a natural aviation hub, adding that the government offers investors the ‘right’ kind of incentives. 

"GainJet Africa stands to benefit from the friendly business environment in Rwanda. We want to bring to Africa the excellent service that we have been supplying to Europe and the Middle-East for over eight years.”

Shaban said they were also attracted by the market opportunities, noting that there is a lack of true VIP aircraft operators in Africa, especially in the Eastern and Central Africa.

The aircraft has a range of 6,750 nautical miles and is able to fly non-stop from Africa to the US and south-east Asia. 

GainJet mooted plans to expand into Africa in 2011 as a founding member of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA).

"One of AfBAA’s missions is to establish a unified set of regulations and create a better environment to operate across Africa. 

"We feel AfBAA has made great progress in this mission, and this is why we believe it is the right time to start GainJet Africa. It has been our plan for a while, so we have been preparing for this and are ready,” the association said.

Gainjet also has an office in London and operates a mixed fleet of VIP aircraft, including the Boeing 757, Boeing 737, Gulfstream G450 and G550, Legacy 600, Global Express XRs and Challenge 604.