RwandAir sees growing demand for dedicated freighters

RwandAir continues to see growing demand for dedicated freighter operations after taking delivery of its first 737-800SF two years ago.\The 2007-vintage unit 35131 (ex-TUI Airways) joined the RwandAir fleet in November 2022 on lease from Merx Aviation, marking the airline’s entry into the freighter segment.RwandAir has used the 737-800SF on routes within Africa as well as to the Middle East to complement its belly operations.“We’re looking at ways to accommodate the demand that has been brought by the narrowbody services and also the widebody A330 passenger flights,” Jean Bosco Gakwaya, director of cargo at RwandAir, says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.”The carrier launched an African cargo hub in May 2023 as part of a joint project with Qatar Airways Cargo. Given Rwanda’s landlocked nature and its location in Africa, RwandAir plans to develop its freighter operations to serve the continent and is looking at options to expand the fleet.“The nature of the equipment that we would be bringing onboard could be an A321F or another 737-800F,” Gakwaya says. “That is something that definitely we’ll keep in our mind in the near future.”Other African carriers have since stepped into the 737NG freighter segment, including EgyptAir, Serve Air, Kenya Airways and TAAG Angola Airlines.Tune in to this week’s “Cargo Facts Connect” to hear more on RwandAir as Gakwaya speaks with Cargo Facts Senior Associate Editor Robert Luke.