Another airline is coming to Durban

RWANDAIR is the latest
airline to announce
plans to launch flights
to Durban in the near future.
The airline, which expects
to take delivery of its first
wide-body aircraft – an
A330-220 – by September,
plans to offer connections
via Kigali to Mumbai. “It
is anticipated that the
A330s will service our
Mumbai route, which will
be launched later this year.
Due to the demand and
historical links between
the sub-continent and
KwaZulu Natal – more
specifically Durban and
the surroundings – we are
exploring the possibility of
a scheduled flight departing
from Durban. This is still in
negotiations and therefore
we do not have a definite
date yet,” Thembela Dladla,
RwandAir country manager
for South Africa, told TNW.
By December 2016, the
airline will take delivery
of a second Airbus, the
A330-300.
RwandAir joins Ethiopian
Airlines, Turkish Airlines and
Qatar Airways, which have
all recently launched new
routes to KwaZulu Natal.
During high season, travel
agents in Durban have been
battling to find available
seats for their clients to
Mumbai, a destination that
is in high demand with
Durbanites, says Dinesh
Naidoo, group operations
director of Serendipity
Worldwide Group. He told
TNW that currently the
Emirates flights to India via
Dubai are very successful,
as the airline connects
to several destinations in
India. However, a new route
via Kigali would undoubtedly
be successful when it
launches, especially if the
airline offers competitive
fares, he says.