Sade Williams/Business a.m.

RwandAir is going daily on its Kigali-Lagos flight scheduling starting from October, the airline said in an announcement of a planned increase in capacity on the route. The airline is one of Africa’s fastest growing airlines with the youngest fleet of eight years on average.

The airline made the disclosure recently at a sales forum in Lagos organised to provide travel agencies with product knowledge and updates on the airline’s current offerings, as well as to get feedback and support aimed at boosting sales.

Dennis Rwiliriza, the airline’s regional manager, said: “We currently operate five times weekly into Lagos and three times weekly to Abuja from our hub in Kigali. In an effort to respond to the needs of our customers, we will be increasing our capacity in the market by adding two more flights to Lagos from October 2024. This will allow our customers greater choice and flexibility with seamless daily connections to over 25 destinations in our network throughout Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia as well as to over 300 destinations globally in partnership with our 40 Interline Partners.”

Oladayo Abolaji, the airline’s sales manager, in a product presentation revealed that RwandAir has codeshare partnerships with Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Turkish Airlines to 74 destinations with more destinations due to be included before the end of 2024.

“With a reputation for delivering a premium service to its customers, RwandAir operates 14 modern and state-of-the-art aircraft including a blend of A330-300, A330-200, B737-800NG, B737-700NG, Bombardier CRJ-900 NG, and Bombardier Q400NG,” he said.

He added that Rwanda is a choice tourism destination that is visa free for all African Union, Francophone and Commonwealth citizens and issues visa on arrival for all citizens with attractions such as the Akagera National Park, Lake Kivu, Kigali Genocide Memorial, among others.

“Our A330 aircraft is fitted with a state of art Business Class with full-flat bed seats, customised menu, exceptional privacy, generous storage space and other amenities. Similarly, our Economy class cabin offers spacious and comfortable seats, personal AVOD screens, USB connectivity and in-flight connectivity,” he noted.

During the interactive session anchored by Christopher Isaiah, the chief commercial officer of GHI Assets, GSA Company for RwandAir, agents were quizzed on the airline and its product offerings with various prizes given to winners.

They include Onyegbula Israel from Quantum who won an aircraft model, Rotimi Bankole from Wakanow who went home with an economy class ticket, and Femi Osho from Adonai Travels who also won a Business Class ticket to Kigali.

Other winners include Akinnubi Bamidele from Riteways Travels who was presented with a shopping voucher for making a great first impression as the first to arrive at the forum, as well as Oloyede Ruth from Friendly Travels, and Sekirat Asifari from Avion Travels, for their performances during the quiz session.

The forum, which was highly insightful with over 100 agencies in attendance, provided a valuable opportunity for agencies to familiarise themselves with the airline’s product offerings.