[Photogallery] RwandAir’s operations up close

João Machado

As we crossed plenty of airports from London to Johannesburg with RwandAir in our trip last year, we had the opportunity to photograph their operations in closer detail.

Part one: London-Brussels-Kigali
Part two: Kigali-Johannesburg
Part three: photogallery of the trip (you are here)

The photos were very interesting from a planespotting point of view — it’s not everyday you can visit the ramp, let alone in a foreign country.

Kigali apron

After arriving from London/Heathrow via Brussels, an airline representative was waiting for us, so we could make some photos from the apron before heading to the terminal.

As far as widebodies go, RwandAir currently operates a fleet of one Airbus A330-200, one A330-300 and another unit of the -200 series is to join the fleet soon, according to Planespotters.net.

The widebodies are currently connecting, according to Cirium’s Diio Mi application, Kigali to Brussels, Lagos and London/Heathrow nonstop. For a long time, the airline has been planning to further fly to the United States and Paris, too.

Beyond long-haul, RwandAir’s short-haul fleet provides a relatively diverse network within Africa. According to The Africa Report, Luanda and Maputo are to join the list of destinations in the near future.

Further expansion will be allowed by investments from the State of Qatar. Negotiations for Qatar Airways to take a 49% stake in RwandAir have been going for years now, and, according to the same article by The Africa Report, that would be largely a government-fueled investment, insofar as it is being coordinated by Qatari diplomacy.

Photos of the gallery below by Thiago Trevisan

After these photos, it was time to get to the lounge and wait for our next flight.

Fuel stop in Lusaka

After finally making it to Lusaka (go read the reports!), we again had a unique opportunity to walk around RwandAir’s 737-800 during its turnaround — where it would unload and load again to the last hop to Kigali.

The light setting helped, too. It was a spectacular golden light, just by the sunset time.

Photos of the gallery below by Thiago Trevisan

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