Qatar Airways and Rwandair have signed a new strategic partnership including interline agreements and reciprocal loyalty scheme benefits.
Rwandair said that the partnership would “leverage Qatar Airways’ global network and increase access to African destinations”, through an extensive interline agreement across the carrier’s combined 160 destinations via their hubs in Kigali and Doha.
The two airlines recently announced a new loyalty partnership, allowing members of the RwandAir Dream Miles and Qatar Airways Privilege Club schemes to earn and redeem miles across the carriers’ networks.
Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker said that ““Africa is a hugely important market for us”, adding that the partnership “will help support the recovery of international air travel and offer unrivalled connectivity to and from a number of new African destinations”.
Qatar Airways currently operates five flights per week between Doha and Kigali (via Entebbe), and Rwandair said that customers would be able to transit via Kigali “to a diverse range of African destinations including Bujumbura, Brazzaville and Libreville.
Both carriers serve London Heathrow from their respective hubs, with Rwandair having switched from Gatwick to Heathrow in October 2020.
