RwandAir operates flights within Africa, Dubai, United Kingdom, Belgium, and India. It wants to expand to the US. Through a wet well partnership with Ghana, RwandAir will provide once a week flight to the US from December 2021.
The national carrier will use Ghana as its hub to fly to New York from Kigali through Accra. Ghana gave the airline secured authorization to use Accra as the last point-of-departure to the US.
“RwandAir has already secured authorisation from the government of the Republic of Ghana to use Kotoka International Airport as the Last Point of Departure (LPD) into the United States,” it said in the filing done on January 21, 2021.
In the amendment to its filing, RwandAir is seeking to be allowed to either enter code sharing agreement or wet lease with “properly supervised US or foreign air carrier when Rwanda successfully achieves an IASA Category 1 rating.”
A wet lease is an arrangement where one airline provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance to another airline or other type of business acting as a broker of air travel (the lessee), which pays by hours operated.
In the filing, RwandAir also reveals that it may further expand the proposed US services using “other types of aircraft in the near future.”
The airline says it is planning to expand its network operations to various directions including three routes in Africa.
“RwandAir requests that the Department permits it the same treatment as other foreign air carriers that received Department authority to operate to the US where financial statements and/or projections were completely or partially unavailable,” it said.
RwandAir has bilateral air service agreements with both US and Ghana. The airline will exercise its fifth freedom traffic rights provided in the agreements.