RwandAir plans to acquire a new Q400 NextGeneration aircraft from Canadian aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier.The aircraft will be a replacement for the airline’s Dash8 ageing aeroplane, which flies short routes from Kigali to Kamembe, Gisenyi and Bujumbura.After a flight demonstration to Kamembe by the Bombardier team yesterday, RwandAir’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), John Mirenge, said that the move is part of the carrier’s expansion plans. “This is a good aircraft with new features and enough seating capacity,” he pointed out. The Sales Director for Bombardier Aerospace, Sameer Adam, said the 74 seat capacity aircraft has the ability to operate from shorter runways and deliver the quietest and most vibration free passenger cabin of any propeller driven aircraft. He explained that the aircraft was designed to meet the requirements for high-density, short-haul services.Rwanda Bombardier last tour; they were doing on the continent as a way of promoting the aircraft. RwandAir said that the aircraft would boost the airline’s domestic and regional operations.The Q400 NextGen turboprop airline, which is built at Bombardier’s Toronto plant, is the most recent development in the evolution of the Q400 aircrafts and the advanced successor to the Dash80 series.“The aircraft is large, fast, quiet and fuel-efficient turboprop, as it provides balance of passengers comfort and operating economics. It also uses 30 to 40 per cent less fuel,” Adam explained. To increase capacity and expand its operations, the national carrier is also set to replace its two 50 seater CRJ200s aircraft it disposed of early this year with two brand new CRJ900s.
