RwandAir boosts fleet with Airbus

RwandAir chief executive officer John Mirenge addresses officials after the first landing of the Ubumwe A330 airbus at Entebbe International Airport on Wednesday. PHOTO BY PAUL ADUDE

What you need to know:

  • The company says it was motivated to expand because of its capacity, customers and revenue.

Kampala.

Challenges facing the tumultuous aviation industry in Africa have not deterred RwandAir from continuing its investment and expansion phase in the East Africa with the addition of an Airbus A330 named Ubumwe worth $250 million (Shs845 billion) to its fleet size.

This brings the fleet size to nine air crafts with another airbus expected in November.

Mr John Mirenge, the chief executive officer of RwandAir, said the aircraft is the first of its kind in East Africa and would boost RwandAir’s capacity to expand its wings globally.

“The new wide body aircraft is the biggest milestone for Africa’s fastest growing airline and opens up opportunities in terms of expanding the airline’s footprint,” he said.

Experts say the acquisition of the new carrier will simplify travel from the region to Europe and help reduce the costs of travel due to the addition of another player on the route.

Mr Mirenge said it is a difficult period for the aviation industry in Africa, but added that the company was growing in capacity, numbers and revenue thus taking on new aircrafts.

“Africa is the new frontier of growth and this could be a little storm waiting to pass and we should be able to get back to our feet,” he said.

Mr Mirenge said the fares were yet to come to a level at which they can be afforded by a majority of the East African residents.

Concerning performance, Mr Mirenge said: “As a five-year-old company, we are still in an investment and expansion phase and cannot talk about profitability at the moment when we are still feeling the labour pains.

But we have seen a growth in our numbers to 600,000. This year we are targeting about 750,000 customers,” he said.

Mr Amos Wekesa, the managing director of Great Lakes Safaris, a tour and travel company, said Uganda should pick a leaf from Rwanda and invest wisely if it is to compete in the region.

“A national carrier means increased number of people travelling to the country which translates into revenues,” Mr Wekesa said.

Mr David Kakuba, the deputy managing director at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said air traffic at Entebbe has steadily grown over the years.

“The airport recorded an increase in international passengers of 1.5 million passengers in 2015 up from a paltry 118,527 at CAA establishment in 1991. Flying bigger aircrafts will increase the number of passengers coming to the country,” he said.

Mr Robert Ntambi who represented the director of transport and Ministry of Works and transport, said CAA embarked on a $385m expansion to uplift the airport and make it compliant with the international standards.

The master plan is currently being implemented through construction of a modern cargo centre, expansion of the passenger terminal building and installation of a new baggage handling system.

He said the government has plans of constructing another international airport in Hoima and in other parts of the country.