LONDON – RwandAir has announced that it will be launching direct flights between London Heathrow and Kigali ahead of the busy Winter 2022 season.
The carrier has been operating flights to London already but has a stop-over in Brussels. However, from November 6, this will transition into direct services.
Route Information…
This particular route will operate on a four times per week basis on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
The flight will depart Kigali at 2335 local time, before arriving in London at 0620 the next morning. The aircraft will then stay at Heathrow until 2030 local time, and will arrive back in Kigali at 0700 local time the next day.
The frequencies of the flight also represent an upgrade in capacity, as the indirect flight via Brussels operated on three times per-week basis and has been done since May 2017.
The equipment of choice will be the airline’s Airbus A330, which will offer seats in Business Class and Economy Class.
Makolo: Exciting Times…
Commenting on this upgrade was Yvonne Makolo, the CEO of RwandAir:
“We are excited to be launching direct flights to London, which are on sale from today, due to the popularity of our current services.”
“The UK is an incredibly important market for us, and we know our customers will value the shorter flight times and increased connections that will be offered by the new service.”
RwandAir’s Continued Expansion…
It does appear that Heathrow seems to be the money-maker for RwandAir, having switched over to this airport from Gatwick back in 2020.
The airline is making waves within African aviation, offering an excellent on-time performance rating, strong customer service as well as a solid safety record.
On the customer service front, the airline has been awarded “The best airline staff in Africa” twice on the spin.
And it is this success that has enabled the carrier to expand its network portfolio to 28 destinations in East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
Operating a small fleet of 12 aircraft with an average age of six years, RwandAir is definitely a carrier to keep an eye out for as they plan further expansion in the years to come.
Such a fleet breakdown is two Airbus A330s (One -200 and one -300), six Boeing 737 Family aircraft, two Bombardier CRJ-900s, and two De Havilland Dash 8 aircraft.
Overall…
It remains clear that RwandAir is onto a winner through the expansion of its Heathrow flight. Whether it is for leisure travel, or VFR (Visiting friends and relatives), the airline has found a gap in the market.
Looking ahead, it’s going to be interesting to see where else the airline wants to connect Kigali and whether it will result in more high-density flights like this.
Either way, everyone should probably watch this space, as RwandAir is becoming a suitable case study for significant success, especially when it comes to a tough market like African aviation.
