RwandAir airlines has received yesterday, Sept 28, in Toulouse, the first of the two Airbus A330 that it ordered European plane maker Airbus. The transaction makes the state-owned airlines the first East African nation to have ordered Airbus long-haul aircrafts.

Named “Ubumwe (Unity)”, the A330-200 equipped with Roll Royce Trent 772B engines, has 244 passenger seats of which 20 in business class, 21 in Premium, and 203 in Economy. The aircraft will connect Kigali to various destinations across Europe, Asia and Middle East.

Let’s recall that RwandaAir ordered the two Airbus planes – A330-200 and A330-300, for $483 million last year. The second plane is expected in November 2016.

Rwanda currently serves 20 destinations across Africa and only one destination out of the continent, Dubai.

Alain Okpeitcha