The Kigali-based airline is considering new and returning long-haul destinations as additional widebody aircraft give it greater capacity to expand beyond Africa.
Reuben Mbonye, RwandAir’s acting chief commercial officer, told Aviation Week that Europe and the Far East are central to the airline’s expansion plans, although the carrier has yet to announce its next destinations.
The expansion comes alongside Rwanda’s development of the $2 billion Bugesera International Airport, a project intended to significantly increase the country’s passenger capacity and strengthen Kigali’s position as an African aviation hub.
Five Airbus A330s boost RwandAir’s long-haul ambitions
RwandAir received the first of five additional Airbus A330-200 aircraft in August, with four more expected to progressively join the fleet.
The aircraft are being acquired through leasing arrangements and can carry between 220 and 270 passengers, depending on configuration.
The first aircraft, which seats 226 passengers, has already entered commercial service and is being used primarily to support the airline’s European operations, including additional frequencies to Paris and Brussels.
RwandAir is also evaluating Frankfurt as a potential new European destination and considering restoring flights to Mumbai in India and Guangzhou in China, according to Rwanda’s The New Times.
The additional aircraft are expected to provide the airline with more capacity and scheduling flexibility while improving connections through Kigali between African destinations and international markets.
RwandAir currently operates long-haul services to destinations including London, Paris, Brussels, Dubai and Doha, alongside a network spanning East, Central, West and Southern Africa.
The carrier also wants to double the size of its fleet over the next five years, Mbonye told Aviation Week.
That expansion is part of a wider plan to more than double RwandAir’s annual passenger traffic from just over one million passengers in 2023/24 to more than 2.1 million by 2028/29.
Rwanda’s $2 billion airport supports bigger aviation push
RwandAir’s fleet expansion is closely tied to the development of Bugesera International Airport, which is being built outside Kigali to accommodate Rwanda’s growing aviation ambitions.
The $2 billion airport is being developed in partnership with Qatar Airways, which holds a 60% stake in the project.
Its first phase is expected to be completed in 2028 and will have capacity to handle seven million passengers annually, according to Aviation Week.
A later phase, planned for around 2032, is expected to double capacity to 14 million passengers a year.
The project would give Rwanda considerably more room to expand international connectivity than the existing Kigali International Airport.
Qatar Airways has also been pursuing a separate investment in RwandAir, alongside an existing commercial relationship between the two airlines.
RwandAir and Qatar Airways already operate an extensive codeshare partnership, giving passengers access to destinations beyond their respective networks.
The Rwandan airline has also been expanding partnerships with other African carriers.
In June, it announced a codeshare and interline agreement with EgyptAir that added connections through Kigali to Cairo, Rome and Amman, with more destinations planned.
RwandAir’s growth plans are unfolding as African airlines face higher operating costs, particularly from fuel and disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East.
Mbonye told Aviation Week that RwandAir had revised fares after higher fuel costs increased its expenses.
The airline is also pushing for faster implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market, an African Union initiative intended to liberalise air travel across the continent.
African airlines have long faced high taxes, fuel costs, airport charges and restrictions on access to some markets, contributing to relatively expensive air travel within the continent.
