RwandAir’s Grand Plan to Connect Africa Still Waiting on Qatar Airways Investment

RwandAir has big ambitions to connect Africa. But realizing those ambitions has to wait, pending a delayed major investment by Qatar Airways in the airline. First unveiled in 2020, Qatar Airways plans to buy a 49% stake in state-owned RwandAir. That deal, as RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo said last year, will enable the carrier’s growth through numerous joint “commercial initiatives.” The first of which was a codeshare partnership and a loyalty program tie up that launched in December. Qatar Airways’ investment is understood to be worth more than $28 million, or 49% of RwandAir’s $57m in shareholder equity in 2019, according to financial statements submitted to the US Department of Transportation last year. But RwandAir’s pact with Qatar Airways is still pending with talks at “an advanced stage,” Makolo said at the International Aviation Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “There’s lots of legal and stuff that’s happening” behind the scenes, she said when asked about the hold up. Makolo added that she “hopes” the deal will be done soon but declined to provide a timeline. The longer the deal is pending, the longer RwandAir’s ambitious expansion plans must wait. “This joint venture will allow RwandAir to grow into a more robust airline … and further improve connectivity within the continent,” Makolo said. When asked, she said additional aircraft for the airline’s 12-plane strong fleet would come under the partnership with deep-pocketed Qatar Airways.<br/>