RwandAir (WB, Kigali) has tasked Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National) to devise proposals involving the addition of the A330 and B737/737 MAX respectively as it consider its long-term growth options.

The Central African carrier's acting chief executive, Colonel Chance Ndagano, said in an interview with African Aerospace last year that no numbers have been fixed as yet, and any order is still two to three years off.

“If the aircraft get filled up, maybe we need another,” he said. "RwandAir is not seeking growth for growth’s sake."

In terms of its immediate longhaul growth plans, Ndagano said RwandAir had now turned its attention to the Asian and US markets following the launch of flights to Brussels National and London Gatwick in Europe last year. The next step is the launch of flights to Guangzhou followed by New York JFK, in the United States, he said.

“We are in the process of applying for [China] permits and as soon as that process is done, we will be able to serve that route. We are looking for one [A330] to lease and be used on the China route,” he said.

Aside from one A330-200 and one A330-300, RwandAir also operates a narrowbody fleet of two B737-700s, four B737-800s, two CRJ900s, and two Dash 8-400s used on regional African operations spanning West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.