Rwanda’s national carrier RwandAir has announced its intention to join the Oneworld alliance with the backing of Qatar Airways.

If the airline is accepted into Oneworld, it would be a great win for the alliance which currently lacks coverage through central and southern Africa.

Oneworld’s African coverage was improved when Royal Air Maroc joined the alliance in 2020. But the Moroccan flag carrier’s African destinations are concentrated around northern and western Africa. Until recently, British Airways offered the alliance coverage around southern Africa through its franchise partner Comair – but Comair went out of business earlier this year.

RwandAir (IATA code: WB) is a full-service airline based in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. It offers services to destinations throughout central and southern Africa, as well as long-haul flights to London, Brussels, Mumbai, Dubai and Qatar Airways’ hub of Doha. Many of its African routes are fifth-freedom flights connecting city pairs outside of Rwanda, such as Harare-Cape Town and Lusaka-Johannesburg.

The airline’s fleet includes modern Airbus A330, Boeing 737 and regional aircraft.

The pathway to joining Oneworld

According to Rwandan media outlet The New Times, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker announced at an Aviation Summit in Kigali this week that his airline will help RwandAir to join Oneworld. Al Baker is also the current chairman of the Oneworld alliance.

“We will do everything within our ability to bring them to the standard to be ready to join as a full member or an associate member,” Al Baker said.

By “associate member”, Al Baker is likely referring to Oneworld Connect membership – similar to the arrangement with Fiji Airways.

“We saw this potential in the place that is right in the centre of Africa, and the relationship they have with the state of Qatar, I found that this is the right place. This is about confidence and relationship, economic interest for both countries with each and this is what we are going to do,” Al Baker added.

RwandAir already has a comprehensive codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways.

“Joining Oneworld will help us gradually improve our products and services and what we are offering to our passengers,” RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo said.

Oman Air will also soon join Oneworld

Qatar Airways is also currently in the process of sponsoring Oman Air into the Oneworld alliance.

Oman Air originally announced its intention to apply for Oneworld alliance membership in September 2021 (this is what RwandAir is doing now), and this was later confirmed in an official announcement by Oneworld in June 2022.

Oman Air’s integration into the Oneworld alliance is expected to be completed in 2024. If RwandAir’s application follows a similar timeline, we could expect it to become a full Oneworld or Oneworld Connect member sometime around 2025.

Earlier this week, Virgin Atlantic announced that it will join the SkyTeam alliance in 2023.

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Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

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