In this installment of Wednesday Route Highlight we will continue our focus on African aviation. Previously, I have written about Air Madagascar (read here), Air Namibia (read here), Ethiopian (read here) and TAP Portugal’s (read here) interesting routes to the continent. Today, we will be taking a look at RwandAir’s service between Kigali (KGL) (the capital and largest city in Rwanda) and London (LGW), which operates via Brussels (BRU).
As always, if you have any suggestions for a specific route that I should highlight, feel free to leave it below in the comments.
As I mentioned, RwandAir’s flight to London operates via Brussels, although the airline does not have 5th freedom rights to transport passengers solely between the two European cities. Instead, passengers with Brussels as their final destination get off at BRU, and then the plane continues on to London with the remaining passengers who intend to get off in the U.K. It is important to note that only the flight to London operates via Brussels. Once in London, the aircraft turns around and fly’s non-stop back to Kigali, bypassing the technical stop in Brussels.
This route represents RwandAir’s only service to Europe, which it operates 3x weekly (Tuesday’s, Thursday’s, and Friday’s) aboard its A330 aircraft. In total, RwandAir has 2 widebody aircraft in its fleet: 1 A330-200 and 1 A330-300, which it uses primarily on this route, as well as flights to Dubai (via Mombassa).
While there are no seat maps available, RwandAir’s A330’s are outfitted in a 3 class configuration consisting of business class, premium economy, and economy. The amount of seats vary depending on which A330 you are flying, as one is a -200 variant, while the other is a larger -300.
- A330-300 Seating Capacity: 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 223 economy seats.
- A330-200 Seating Capacity: 20 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 203 economy seats.
- For both aircraft: Business class is in a 1-2-1 configuration, premium economy in a 2-3-2 configuration, while economy is in a standard 2-4-2 configuration.
Interior:
Seeing as these are new aircraft, its great to see RwandAir really invest in the onboard product. I am very impressed with this aircraft! Take a look at business class:
These are a variation of the Vantage XL business class seats, which are already flying on airlines like SAS and Qantas, as well as Delta’s new A350’s. This is an excellent product, and (in my view) catapults RwandAir to sharing the title of best business class product in Africa. It shares this title because South African Airway’s recently began installing a variation of these Vantage XL seats on some of its A330 aircraft as well. They must have taken notice… Well done RwandAir.
Heres premium economy further down the aircraft:
That looks like a very nice premium economy cabin in my view. I really value the leg-rests that fold out to support the lower half of a person’s body. Again, well done RwandAir!
While I had some difficulty procuring a photo of economy class, I will say that it is in a standard 2-4-2 configuration, with personal televisions at each seat (like the rest of the aircraft). RwandAir also outfits its A330’s with WIFI. From my understanding, they are the only Sub-Saharan Africa airline to offer WIFI. Impressive!
Thats not all. Earlier this year, RwandAir airline stated that it wanted to start flights to New York from its hub in Kigali by the end of 2017. Presumably, this route would need to be operated by the longer ranged A330, although that may still push the aircraft to its limit. This is quite a lofty goal for RwandAir, and unfortunately we have not heard much more in regards to it actually materializing. Long haul flying can be incredibly economically challenging, even more so for such a small airline. Lets hope the airline finally figures out its plan for New York flights. Africa is desperately lacking in direct flights to the U.S.A. so this announcement would be tremendous.
To the Point!
RwandAir is incredibly impressive. Their business class is on par with that of many top international carriers, and economy classes look quite comfortable with WIFI and personal entertainment at every seat. In my view, the airline easily shares the title of “best business class in Africa” with South African Airways, as both operate the fantastic Vantage XL seat.
Lets hope the airline finds a way to get to New York. More people need to explore the beautiful continent that is Africa. I have heard Rwanda is beautiful in its own right, with friendly people and outstanding wildlife. It remains the premier destination for viewing the rare mountain gorilla.
*Featured Image Courtesy of RwandAir
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