…says route ‘our best market’
…offers 30% discount on fares to celebrate Xmas
By Sade Williams
RwandAir Management said on Saturday it has no plans to exit Nigeria and will not leave the country for anything.
Ibiyemi Odusi, country manager, RwandAir at a press conference, said the airline believes in Nigerian market, adding that it has recently deployed its new A330 with unmatched inflight services and world-class technology to the Lagos-Kigali route to further show its commitment to the market.
According to her, the airline started flight services into Nigeria in 2012 with four weekly flights, adding that rather than reduce it, it has increased frequencies to daily flights.
“We are here to reassure Nigerians that we are here to stay, we are committed to Nigerian market that we have been serving for the past five years. We do not have any plans to withdraw services from Nigerian market, we are weathering the storm and we believe in the economy of Nigeria.
“We currently operate with A330-200 but our Boeing is still there, we brought the A330 to reposition the Rwandair brand in Nigeria. Nigerian market is our cash cow and we are committed to putting the best of equipment on the route. We fly into 20 destinations in Africa and the Middle East, including Dubai, Johannesburg, Dar Es Salaam, Abidjan, Accra, among others. By 2017, we plan to open 7 new destinations including New York, London-Gatwick and Mumbai”, she said.
Odusi disclosed that RwandAir is offering 30% discount on all fares to Nigerians as part of activities to celebrate the Yuletide season, adding that Rwandair is a well-known brand for safety, on-time departure, excellent customer service, seamless connectivity, multi-lingual and professional cabin attendants, competitive fares and attractive baggage allowance.
Speaking further on why the airline is a preferred airline, she said its competitive fares, its Dream Miles ‘ are things that endear passengers. For instance, passengers can use the Dream miles to redeem baggage, our unmatched services to Dubai too is one that passengers prefer, therefore, our load factor and revenue have increased significantly”, she added.
She noted further that plans are in top gear for RwandAir to join one of the biggest alliances in the world, adding that it is also considering partnering domestic carriers in Nigeria to help distribute its passengers.
“We are currently promoting our new routes online and everywhere. We are in talks with authority in Abuja for flight operations but nothing has been settled on this now. Finally, Kigali is a wildlife and nature attraction city for tourists and one can get visa on arrival”, she added.
