[capetonianm]

Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on, or knowledge of, this carrier.

They are consistently and substantially cheaper than any others on ZA-EU routes, in all classes. I found a CPT-LON o/w the other day for about £250. Not very convenient, a 4 sector flight with stops in HRE and BRU and a change in KGL, but very cheap. The friend for whom I was doing the research was going to take it but decided to spend a bit more and travel on a better known airline.

It’s not an airline I would consider for my own travel, but I do often get asked to source and recommend flights and for someone for whom $$$ is the primary criterion, it might be a good option.

I looked on airline quality . com. The majority of the recent reviews are not very promising, but then it’s not a website I would trust. Tripadvisor reviews very mixed too but don’t inspire much confidence.

[tomwjsimpson]

I will be flying the short sector from Kigali to Kilimanjaro in August and can let you know my thoughts on Kigali International Airport and Rwandair thereafter

[SimonS1]

We use them quite a bit for regional flights around East and Southern Africa. Fairly new fleet and I have had no complaints.

I have never used them for LH from Gatwick but they are running a couple of A330s which are less than 2 years old.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Mike

[travelworld2]

I’ve flown on them a couple of times, albeit not for two years or so. They were OK, on time and tidy and clean aircraft. Kigali Airport was very basic (I had to wait outside with Anderson Cooper of CNN at 6am for them to unlock the terminal) , but recent internet searches indicate it’s been upgraded. You can do much worse, I think.

[capetonianm]

Thanks for your input, both of you.

The cynic in me says it is preferable to travel on an old aircraft that is known to be scrupulously well maintained and flown by a flight deck crew whose certification and currency are beyond question, than a new one that has not been well maintained and flown.

Hence I feel safe on BA’s 28 year old 747s, even if the condition of the interiors is deplorable.

[planegeek]

I flew from NBO to KGL and back last October and the airport was a pleasant surprise. Security is tight on arrival (pre-check points around half a mile away from the terminal), but once through the terminal was of a very high standard, the lounge also. Only downside on arrival from NBO was that the signs for each line at immigration weren’t very well worded so people were getting quite confused, but didn’t take too long overall. I’d definitely recommend a stop in KGL too – apparently the safest city in the world!

[Tom Otley]

I was impressed…

https://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested-category/airlines/rwandair/

[capetonianm]

Thanks Tom, just read your excellent reports. It looks rather promising.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=872994]Thanks for your input, both of you.

The cynic in me says it is preferable to travel on an old aircraft that is known to be scrupulously well maintained and flown by a flight deck crew whose certification and currency are beyond question, than a new one that has not been well maintained and flown.

Hence I feel safe on BA’s 28 year old 747s, even if the condition of the interiors is deplorable.[/quote]

I believe Rwandair have a technical agreement with Ethiopian who are FAA and EASA certified, and are also unrestricted by UN etc. Also I believe BA has not exactly been incident free in recent years? I am not sure there have been any cases of Rwandair flights taking off with engine latches left open?

[capetonianm]

I accept that, Simon, but considering the size of BA’s fleet and the number of flights they operate compared to Rwandair, statistically they are bound to have had more incidents. It isn’t really a fair comparison.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=873164]I accept that, Simon, but considering the size of BA’s fleet and the number of flights they operate compared to Rwandair, statistically they are bound to have had more incidents. It isn’t really a fair comparison.[/quote]

But surely that is the point – it is not possible to make a comparison between a regional airline with 14 aircraft and an international airline like BA. So why make the comment about being preferable to fly on BA?

In fact wasn’t it only last week that one of those BA flight deck aces was criticised by the NTSB for failure to follow check lists during the Las Vegas fire, forgetting to shut the engines down and delaying the evacuation of a burning aircraft? And hasn’t BA disappeared from the top 20 airlines on Jacdec?

[canucklad]

Isn’t it better to rely on historic trends, rather than measuring incidents, fatalities and then rolling them into statistical data than can be manipulated to suit a specific message.

Dependant on how you look at it, Concorde was the most dangerous aircraft to fly on.
Yet the 737 has had many more tragic incidents, some of which are still unsolved!

As for Rwandair, having checked for trends, I can’t comment because they seem to have had a clean bill of health with no major incidents, so it’s hard to build a trend !

Now let’s have a look at BA …… : )

[Collins]

I’m a regular traveller on Rwandair to Dubai,sounthern and western Africa, and London from Nairobi through their hub in Kigali. I must say I get quite impressed every time I use this airline.they are clean and punctual, with excellence customer care.

[Author]

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