CAAZ in talks with RwandAir

Published: 28 April 2014

Rwanda's national airline, RwandAir could be the latest airline to fly into Harare as the country continues with efforts to woo more airlines into the country.

Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive Mr David Chawota confirmed the development although he could not disclose when exactly the airline will start flying into Zimbabwe.

"RwandAir might be the next airline to start flying into Zimbabwe, we are still negotiating," he said.

RwandAir is one of the fastest growing airlines on the continent. Its fleet consists of four Boeing 737 series aircraft, two Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGen regional jets and one Bombadier Dash 8-Q400.

It serves one domestic destination, many regional cities such as Nairobi, Entebbe, Mombasa, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, and Kilimanjaro. The airline also serves Johannesburg, Dubai, Lagos, Accra, Douala and Juba in South Sudan, Libreville and Brazzaville.

Mr Chawota said apart from RwandAir they are also actively engaging Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

"We are still keen to have Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines flying into Zimbabwe but it is all a game of marketing," he said.

He added that the process of attracting the two airlines required a joint marketing approach involving CAAZ and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority. The Government recently signed Bilateral Air Service Agreements with the governments of Qatar and Turkey.

The agreements allow the airlines from the two countries to fly into Zimbabwe and Air Zimbabwe to fly to the two countries.

The country has since 2009 seen the reintroduction of flights by several airlines and the entry of new airlines into the country.

Most of the airlines have been taking advantage of problems at Air Zimbabwe, which saw it being grounded for almost two years before it started operating again with most of its operations restricted to servicing domestic routes and Johannesburg.

Some of those that reintroduced flights into Zimbabwe include KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, EgyptAir, Air Namibia and Mozambique Airlines (LAM).

New entries include Emirates Airlines which introduced air service between Harare and Dubai via Lusaka on February 1, 2012.

Meanwhile, a new airline, Mjair Airlines, has applied to Government for a license to ply the local, regional and international routes.

An announcement in the Government Gazette of Friday said that Mjair Airlines had expressed interest to operate in Zimbabwe if there were no objections to the company's licensing.

"Notice is hereby given that Mjair Airlines (Private) Limited has applied to the Air Services Board for the issue of an air services permit to provide commercial scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, dry and/or fresh cargo, and mail on local, regional and international routes," the Government Gazette says.
- The Herald