Rwandair ‘unperturbed’ by rising regional competition

Dar es Salaam. RwandaAir said yesterday that the increasingly intense competition in the East African region’s aviation industry is not a threat to them, but a blessing in disguise.

The aviation industry has in the past few years seen Tanzanian, Ugandan and Rwandan national carriers receiving back up from their respective governments, shifting their models to expansion, both on aircraft and routes as they seek to grab business and build up their own hubs.

In what could make the competition even more fierce, a strategic partnership framework that seeks to re-organise Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA) assets into an ecosystem to make the South African and Kenyan aviation sector more competitive, was signed late last month.

Speaking yesterday during his tour of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) offices in Tabata, the airline’s country manager, Swalehe Nkinde, said there’s a huge untapped potential in the African market.

As it is, with the imminent partnership deal of KQ and SAA with a long-term view to create a pan-African airline group in 2023, RwandaAir said they were not intimidated.

“Africa is a market which is unserved and has lots of potential, and the pie can always get bigger,” noted Mr Nkinde - adding that competition would only serve them to improve quality of their services.

He noted that airlines in the region need to continue to assess and carefully analyse the market, its performance and needs, which will show if there are more opportunities for them to further expand their presence to keep their competitive edge.

“We welcome competition – it is good for consumers and offers more choice and convenience based on their travel requirements,” noted Mr Nkinde.

“We will continue to build our own loyal customer base by providing safe and reliable air travel to many destinations with quality schedules,” he said.

For RwandaAir, it is not about how fast they could grow, but rather about creating a consistent, enjoyable and reliable flying experience, he noted.

For this to happen, said Mr Nkinde, they will keep investing in technology to enhance seamless services and do away with inconveniences.

RwandAir was the first African Airline to trial International Air Transport Association (Iata) travel pass, a digital platform to help passengers easily and securely verify that they comply with Covid- 19 test or vaccine travel requirements,

This gives governments the confidence to reopen borders.

To prepare themselves for the battle for the skies, RwandAir had recently signed a code-sharing agreement with Qatar Airways that allows the Kigali-based airline to use the Qatari carrier’s huge network to bring competition right to the doorsteps of Ethiopian Airlines and KQ. Under the pact, travellers would be offered with more choice, enhanced service, and greater connectivity to more than 65 destinations across Africa and the rest of the world.

As part of the deal, the Rwandan flag carrier had earlier this month launched new non-stop flights between their Kigali hub and Doha.

Currently, RwandaAir, which has 12 aircraft, flies from Kigali to Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport six times a week and four times to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Globally, it operates over 25 destinations, including two of Europe--- London’s Heathrow airport and Brussels, Belgium.