Kigali 7^th October, 2016- RwandAir’s new plane Airbus A330-200 that was manufactured in Toulouse, France reached in Rwanda on the 27^th September 2016 and was officially received by Honorable Minister of Infrastructure, James MUSONI, the Honorable Minister of State in charge of Transport, Dr. Alexis Nzahabwanimana , members of the diplomatic corps and business leaders. After a guided tour of the aircraft, Minister Musoni called it a “wise decision to have invested into the airline,” saying it will help boost the country’s economy.

According to Minister James Musoni, “The new aircraft is a manifestation of the good and visionary leadership of President Paul Kagame and RwandAir’s commitment to continue growing,” Adding that Government will continue supporting the national carrier because of the economies of scale that comes with a strong aviation industry.

The new Aircraft is a direct reflection of our development journey and creates economic opportunities to the business community in Rwanda to tap from in terms of increasing connectivity to Africa, Asia, and Europe and beyond. Minister added

The new Airbus 330-200 worth $250 million (about Rwf 200 billion) increased RwandAir’s fleet to 9 aircrafts in just 7 years of its existence, and 2 additional Aircrafts will be on board, including the A330-300 in November 2016 and another aircraft in February 2017 to boost Rwanda’s Aviation hub, improve service delivery and RwandAir’s capacity to expend its wings globally hence economic development.

The Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir, Mr. John Mirenge noted, “As we introduce wide body aircraft for the first time into our fleet, with its proven economics, reliability and passenger comfort, the A330 will perfectly support our plans to expand into Europe and Asia, to enhance our regional presence, open up new routes and grow our market share”.

The airline will soon add Harare in Zimbabwe; Mumbai, India; and Guangzhou in China on its list of destinations before expanding to Western Europe.

The Airbus 330-200 aircraft has a carrier capacity of 244 passengers and RwandAir’s passengers figure  has been growing at an average of 20 per cent in the last six years and is currently positioning itself as the most efficient and reliable airline in the region.

Christopher Buckley, Airbus Executive Vice-President for Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific, said Airbus is committed to continue taking the lead in developing the continent’s aviation industry. We are proud of the visionary leadership of the Government of Rwanda and RwandAir’s efforts to contribute to the continent’s aviation industry,” he said.

Buckley believes RwandAir’s new brand reaffirms the confidence between the airline and the manufacturer, which the two can now leverage to grow and thrive in aviation business.He pledged support from the manufacturer that will assist in the training of the airline’s technical engineers and pilots to ensure efficiency and safety.

In 2014, RwandAir and the Eastern and Southern Africa Bank (PTA Bank) signed a financial line of credit, worth $160 million, to support the purchase of two Airbus aircrafts (A 330-200 and A 330-300); the rest was provided by the government of Rwanda.

The national carrier successfully renewed its certificate for the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for another two years to remain competitive.

IOSA programme is an internationally recognised evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of airlines. There is much hope that with two wide body aircrafts, the airline’s capacity could grow from the current 500,000 passengers annually to more than three million in the next five years.