RwandAir is set to increase the number of flights to Dubai as the airline prepares to take delivery of the second Boeing 737-800 Sky- Interior aircraft later this month.

The national carrier presently has a total of three weekly flights on the route. The purchase of the new aircraft is also meant to cater for the rising passenger numbers from the Middle East. 

"The airline has already increased capacity to its most constrained routes like Dubai, which is now operated on the 737-800 and will be served by one extra frequency on Mondays departing Kigali at 2115HRS (Kigali Time); and soon to become daily,” a statement from RwandAir reads in part.

The first Boeing 737-800 was delivered in August. RwandAir managed to acquire the two state-of-art aircraft after securing a loan facilitate of US$60m (Rwf35.7b) from PTA-Bank.

The two aircrafts have a seating capacity of 154 passengers.

The airline will also operate flights to Libreville and Brazzaville.

In the statement, RwandAir further noted that the aircraft has successfully completed test flights after assembly and is now scheduled for the paint shop to be draped in the distinct livery of the national carrier. 

"The aircraft which is scheduled for handover to RwandAir this October 26, 2011, is expected to arrive in Kigali on October 28, 2011,” the statement reads.

RwandAir’s Chief Executive Officer, John Mirenge said: "We are on course with this delivery process and expect our pilots to test fly the aircraft later this week as soon as it is out of the paint shop.”

RwandAir currently operates a fleet of two CRJ200s, two Boeing 737-500 jets, a Dash8, besides the new Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jets.

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