… Offers Nigerian passengers generous baggage allowance
BIODUN AKOMOLAFE
Rwand Air is to connect flight services between Lagos and its hub in Kigali into Far Eastern routes including Mumbai, India and Guangzhou in China, its Country Manager, Ms. Ibiyemi Odusi has said.
Odusi said part of reasons the airline decided to operate into these routes, was to bridge in services by the airlines operating on the route.
She said the airline will deploy a bigger aircraft on the route to give passengers value for their money .
Speaking on plans by Rwand Air to extend flight services between Kigali and China as well as Mumbai in India, Odusi said, “We are planning to launch two new routes for the Nigerian market, they are Mumbai and Guangzhou in China .We did our marketing research and discovered that Nigeria has a need for more carriers into the Far Eastern routes , and as a strong player on our current routes , we thought there is a great need to satisfy our passengers.
“By September , Rwand Air is taking delivery of an Airbus A330, with a flat bed in business class , free on board WIFI, Mobile Network, World-Class In-flight Entertainment which will serve these new routes .
“By December, we take delivery of another Airbus to further service the routes to complement our Nigerian routes.
As an airline, we feel to need to empathize with our customers by giving them quality aircraft as travel time increases on routes. We are also improving safety with the training of our personnel.”
The Country Manager said the airline has pursued an ambitious fleet growth programme with eight aircraft in service in the four years of its existence.”
She said before the end of the year, the number of aircraft on the fleet of Rwand Air would have increased to ten brand new equipment.
She said the carrier will offer Nigerian passengers, generous baggage allowance on the new routes, it has introduced , with a bigger aircraft that would give them enough space for their baggage in addition to offering competitive fares to
attract passengers interested in medical tourism in India.
Odusi said : ” There is a huge gap in flight services for Nigerians interested in flying into Mumbia and Guangzhou. The
number of airlines flying into these routes are not enough. That is why Rwand Air is tapping into this opportunity to further add value for our passengers.
“We are driven by the core values of safety , on time departure and excellent customer services .”
She spoke of plans by the airline to expend flights into more African destinations, including Khartoun , in Sudan, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire and Cotonou Benin Republic and other African cities .
She said the implementation of single skies for Africa will deepen the air transport market in the continent.
Odusi said the removal of all restrictions concerning all agreements among African countries would enable African carriers spread their tentacles to all parts of the continent.
Speaking on the single airspace policy for Africa, Odunsi believed that it would accelerate the challenge of intra – African connections, which has affected many passengers would be eliminated as carriers could easily fly into different countries without the restrictions that hold them back.
She said this informed different initiative by players in the sector to promote the single sky policy, which would give opportunity for not very strong African carriers to level up with the stronger carriers from East, and Southern Africa. She also canvassed the pooling of resources of African countries in setting up aircraft maintenance facility, which she said will not only reduce the individual cost of aircraft maintenance but also create a pool of expertise in the continent.
Odusi said a review of some policies by government of some African countries will assist the growth and development of African carriers and ultimately create more competition on the continent.
