Rwandair spreading its wings

Just months after suffering a setback, Rwandair has acquired its own new aircraft, a CRJ200 series which landed at the Kigali International Airport yesterday, for the first time. Rwandair’s aircrafts were run under a wet lease agreement with Kenya’s Jetlink. A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (lessor) provides an aircraft complete crew and maintenance to another airline (lessee), which pays by hours, operated and meets all the other accruing costs. It’s an uphill task for an infant airline like Rwandair, trying to build its brand, and break- even under such an arrangement. This is why Rwandans laud the move by Rwandair to begin a process of acquiring its own fleet. The newly acquired CRJ 200 from Bombardier is designed to provide superior performance and operating efficiency in the fast-growing regional airline industry. Experts say that with over 1,000 units in commercial service the aircraft has excelled, better than any other make in regional airlines operations, anywhere in the world. The acquisition of this new aircraft also bonds well with Rwanda’s ambitious vision of turning into a regional hub. This can partly be attained if our country operates an efficient air transport network that connects us to the rest of the world. With this new aircraft, and plans underway to take delivery of another one early 2010, Rwandair now joins the league of competitive airline business both in the region and continentally. The benefits of this acquisition are enormous, not least the provision of affordable air travel to Rwandans as well as the legions of visitors that annually flock to this country. For Rwandair, the sky is no longer the limit. Ends

Opinions

Rwandair spreading its wings