There’s been speculation about a possible oneworld membership for RwandAir since Qatar Airways entered into a strategic partnership with the African airline last summer. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker is the current chairman of oneworld.
Al Baker announced this week a plan to bring RwandAir into the oneworld alliance, though it isn’t yet clear whether they’d become a full member of the alliance or a ‘Connect’ member like Fiji Airways.
“We will do everything within our ability to bring them to the standard to be ready to join as a full member or an associate member,” said Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways while speaking at the Aviation Summit that took place in Kigali this week.
…Rwandair CEO, Yvonne Makolo said that the airline is already working with Qatar airways and works are underway to upgrade the airline to the standards of Qatar Airways which is a five-star airline.
“Joining Oneworld will help us gradually improve our products and services and what we are offering to our passengers,” she said.
RwandAir Business Class
RwandAir would help fill a big gap within Africa for the alliance. Star Alliance has South African Airways and Ethiopian. SkyTeam at least has Kenya Airways. oneworld has Royal Air Maroc, and airlines outside of the region have limited service at best, with Qatar having the deepest reach.
The former Rwandair Express is 20 years old and Qatar Airways agreed to purchase a 49% stake in the historically loss-making airline last year. They operate a dozen aircraft including Airbus A330 widebodies and Boeing 737 narrowbodies. They serve Brussels and London in Europe; Dubai, Mumbai and Guangzhou in the Mideast and Asia Pacific; and nearly 20 destinations in Africa.
The Kigali-based carrier has had big ambitions, even trying to start U.S. service to the New York area via Accra. It’s good to see the possibility of larger partnerships for the airline – hopefully they can pull this off! – and also for oneworld which is in the process of bringing in Oman Air as well.
(HT: Live and Let’s Fly)
ONE WORLD needs AER LINGUS to rejoin
Qatar Airways and Rwandair are a perfect match,
Two airlines from semi-autocratic states that operate for the primary purpose of boosting the national image rather than for commercial reasons.
However, Rwanda squanders around 5% of its annual national budget (equivalent to between 10-15% of foreign aid to Rwanda) on subsidies for their loss making airline while Qatar has infinitely more cash to spare.
Rwandair remains an ego driven vanity project with a basket case for a business case.
Another day – another corrupt country being financed by US taxpayers.
Where does it end?
@Rjb, Qatar Airways is U.S. taxpayers? I think this is great news, as OneWorld has no Africa-to-Africa alliance member. If more people would actually visit Africa maybe the biases and stereotypes would be reduced.
Denmark wants to start a business of deporting refugees/asylum-seekers to Rwanda to wait them out, and Denmark will be padding Rwandan officials’ bank accounts in the process.
RwandAir may be in line to get some more business, directly or otherwise.
@DaveS – the US provided around $150m in aid to Rwanda last year, and the Government that received that aid ostensibly for human rights and development purposes turned around and spent around $200m in subsidies to cover the losses of Rwandair. So yes, the US taxpayer is indirectly funding this loss-making venture.
Rwandair had average revenue of $189 per passenger in 2019, and an average loss of $143 per passenger. They lost $166.7m that year (pre-pandemic) with just 12 planes. Subsidized state-owned carriers like Rwandair actually hurt intra-African connectivity by distorting markets and making a mockery of competition regulations.
@Sean – Money is fungible so that’s a pretty silly argument.
Excited to see OneWorld GROW and the other alliances stagnate! Now we just need a South American airline, Starlux of Taiwan, and Aer Lingus of Ireland to join next!