RwandAir, Rwanda’s national carrier, is shifting its strategic focus toward routes in eastern and southern Africa as part of its broader plan to boost flight frequencies across the continent.
The development was disclosed by the airline’s Chief Executive, Yvonne Makolo, on the margins of the 13th Aviation Stakeholders Convention and the 2nd African Aviation Safety and Operations Summit in Kigali.
RwandAir Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Makolo addresses journalists on the sideline of the 13th Aviation Stakeholders Convention and the 2nd African Aviation Safety and Operations Summit in Kigali on May 12. Dan GatsInzi
Drawing over 400 industry leaders and policymakers, the summit aims to explore growth opportunities for the continent’s aviation sector, address industry challenges, as well as foster strategic partnerships across the value chain, among others.
According to Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir continues to expand its footprint through expanding its network and connecting to under-tapped destinations.
She said the focus for a wider and intercontinental reach for the airline’s passengers will include the launch of a direct flight to Mombasa, a key town in Kenya, and Zanzibar.
The move, Makolo explained, is part of the efforts to offset the loss incurred following DR Congo’s decision to close its airspace to all aircraft from Kigali.
“It is very unfortunate that politics enters aviation. But we are working through that,” Makolo told the New Times Newspaper, reacting to the impact of the DR Congo airspace ban.
“Unfortunately, we had to suspend some routes like Brazzaville, Abuja, and Cotonou, because the flight time became a bit long.”
But, she pointed out, “we are putting that capacity on more of the eastern and southern routes in terms of introducing additional frequencies, and we are looking at opening new routes. Immediate routes coming in are Mombasa and Zanzibar.”
“Until the issue is resolved, we want to focus more on the Eastern and Southern routes of the continent,” she added.
The national carrier currently serves 107 destinations, including direct routes and additional routes through codeshare partnerships.
The airline also received nearly 2,000 applications for its pilot cadet programme.
Leveraging tech
African airlines should not be constrained by models that don’t suit the continent’s markets, and according to Makolo, Africa is a continent of inventors and creative problem solvers.
She recognized the growing role of innovation in shaping RwandAir’s passenger experience.
“For us, this is an ongoing thing, and technology keeps evolving, and new products and services keep coming out. What we are looking at is the entire passenger journey in terms of how to keep it easier from the time the passenger is booking a ticket, to checking in, to onboarding, and arriving at the destination,” she noted.
“We have automated the first part, but there is a lot more we are looking at, which comes with investments as well,” she added, highlighting that the airline is looking to enhance its call center experience, among other initiatives.
Plans to lower costs
Reacting to the cost of operations and high ticket prices, Makolo acknowledged that the cost of doing business within the African continent is much higher compared to other regions.
She observed that this is due to several factors, including the higher cost of fuel on the continent, the different taxes, airport charges, maintenance, and overflight fees, among others.
But, she pointed out, “we are talking to airports and governments for some of the things that are out of our control, but on our side, we are working to be more cost-efficient.”
She outlined several measures, such as adopting more efficient flight practices to cut fuel costs and streamlining the fleet to reduce the number of aircraft types, thereby minimising the need for a large number of pilots and engineers.
“We are putting in different measures to cut down our cost so that at least we can make our ticket prices more affordable for passengers. A lot more needs to be done, and it needs to be done faster,” she observed.
The airline targets to double its current fleet within five years, from the current 14 aircraft, in line with sustaining revenue growth.
According to the Rwanda Fiscal Risk Statement (FRS) for the financial year 2024/25, RwandAir was progressively reducing its fiscal risks by augmenting its revenues.
The airline recorded a substantial 82 per cent increase in total revenues, rising to US$620.6 million in 2023 from US$341 million in 2022.
This growth follows a period of decline, with revenues falling from US$334 million in 2019 to US$300 Million in 2020, and further down to US$271 million in 2021, according to official figures.
