Rwandair: Ambitious airline takes on East Africa to become key player in region

The East African nation of Rwanda has long been touted as one of the continent’s fastest-growing centres for business and commerce, having made impressive leaps forward over the past few decades to get to the place where it is today, writes Alexander Mitchell for Simple Flying.

Under the authoritarian rule of Paul Kagame, many have pointed out that Rwanda is aiming to follow a Singapore-esque path toward development, in which societal liberalisation and many forms of social progress have been prioritised in favour of economic growth.

Compared to many of its African neighbours, the small, landlocked country has made some impressive strides, and the nation’s capital, Kigali, has consistently been rated one of the continent’s best when it comes to ease of doing business. But despite many of the country’s most noteworthy economic achievements, there are still several places in which the country, and its capital city specifically, still have the opportunity for improvements.

A flag carrier is a key catalyst for long-term growth

One such opportunity relates to the growth of the nation’s airline industry, which in many ways is a key catalyst for economic growth.

Many developing nations that have successfully followed the Singapore-style growth model have been able to do so on the backs of strong national airlines, which have made it extremely easy and appealing for foreign companies to send their employees abroad for business.

Airlines like Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines have been key catalysts for growth and are major contributors to the rise of business hubs like Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Istanbul.

There are even examples in Africa where this kind of model has been successful. In Ethiopia and Rwanda’s neighbour Kenya, national airlines like Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways have been essential for building connectivity in the region.

If Rwanda is going to become the business hub for East Africa that the nation’s government wants it to be, the development of a strong national airline, Rwandair, is essential, and, as a result, it is unsurprising that leadership figures within the country have a bold vision for how the carrier will expand over the coming decade. Let’s take a deeper look at Rwandair’s expansion strategy and see what the future might hold for this young and ambitious airline.

Founded as small state-owned carrier

In the years following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi people, the government attempted multiple times to revive the defunct national airline Air Rwanda. Many different private companies were interested in helping launch such an airline, and ultimately a partnership was launched with Ugandan SA Alliance Air. Eventually, the government took over full operations in 2002, launching a new airline, Rwandair Express, in 2002.

During the early years of operation, the carrier primarily connected different airports within the country and also connected the nation to many of its closest neighbours in Africa. The airline soon began basing its operations out of a major hub at Kigali International Airport (KGL).

Strategic shift at turn of the decade

In 2009, the airline rebranded as RwandAir Limited, which is how the carrier remains today, and was part of an overarching transformation vision sought to help kickstart the nation’s development. According to the New Times, a Rwandan newspaper, the name shift helped the carrier portray itself as a serious multinational airline.

Starting in May 2010, the airline’s new CEO, Rene Janata, launched a frequent flyer programme and soon began ordering new aircraft, making it very clear that the once-small carrier had bold ambitions of becoming a legacy airline. By the end of that year, the airline began receiving Boeing 737-500 aircraft, which were leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).

Over the next few years, the airline began acquiring even more modern aircraft and rapidly expanding its route network. The carrier was one of the first airlines in Africa to operate Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft and began replacing its older regional fleet with modern Bombardier CRJ900NG aircraft.

Today, the aircraft’s fleet includes a combination of widebodies and narrowbodies, allowing it to serve destinations across the globe, and includes all the following passenger aircraft:

Executing first few steps of long-term vision

But RwandAir’s goal of becoming a global airline will take much more than just fleet modernisation, and over the past ten years, the airline has made a few key strides to achieve this goal. The first such move was officially joining the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which took place back in 2015.

The airline soon began operating services from Cotonou International Airport (COO) to destinations across West Africa, having been given seventh freedom rights in 2017.

In February 2020, global aviation powerhouse Qatar Airways gave RwandAir its strongest sign of international growth yet, purchasing a 49 percent stake in the company, according to The Africa Report.

In September 2022, the airline announced its intention to join the global Oneworld alliance, something which would drastically bolster the airline’s global standing.

With alliance membership on the horizon, a modern and dynamic fleet, as well as a major presence in both East and West Africa, Rwandair could certainly be on its way to becoming one of the continent’s most important carriers. We will have to wait and see what steps the airline takes next on its path towards global prominence.