RwandAir acquires aircraft, to start two new routes

RwandAir has acquired two Boeing 737-700NG aircraft to boost its fleet.Robert Nsinga, the RwandAir senior marketing manager, told The New Times yesterday that the two Boeing 737-700NG planes would give the airline a competitive set of four Boeing next generation series.“These planes will replace the existing two Boeing 737-500. They each have 12 business class seats and 108 seats in economy class. The Boeing 737-700NG has 28 more seats compared to the 737-500,” he said.Nsinga stated that the first of the two new aircraft would arrive on April 8 and the second one in May. “The 737-700NG travels about 6,000km that could easily serve on the direct Kigali-Dubai route,” he added. The airline has seven planes presently.He said RwandAir would also soon open new destinations to Accra, Ghana and Douala in Cameroon, making them the fourteeth and fifteenth destinations respectively. Nsinga said the Kigali International Airport has been receiving an average of 3,000 passengers per day in the last five years, thanks to the excellent ground services it offers.“RwandAir expects to grow passenger numbers to 1.2 million this year, but we plan to surpass that target by 2015. We want the airport to become one of the busiest hubs in sub-Saharan Africa.”Nsinga explained that the expansion of the airport and the construction of Bugesera Airport by 2015, the company will have grown to a fleet of about 12 aircraft with two Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with plans to fly to Asia and Europe. The national carrier currently flies to a number of countries in Africa and Dubai in the Middle East.

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RwandAir acquires aircraft, to start two new routes