Rwandair

Flew last week from Dubai to Mombasa return. Not sure what to expect as this was my first flight with RwandAir however I was pleasantly surprised. Nice aircraft friendly cabin crew good service and comfortable seats. Price was excellent and it was the only direct flight from Dubai to Mombasa so saved me lots of valuable time.

Kigali-Johannesburg. We were 45 mins late departing Kigali with no explanation but arrived in Jo'burg at the scheduled time. Clean aircraft very smooth flight professional and very friendly crew Rwandan 'Primus' beer served on board with a tasty meal. Like most African continental airlines expensive compared to what we are used to in Europe but otherwise very good. Recommended for convenient and safe travel throughout the region.

I recently travelled with Kenya Airways/Rwandair through one ticket that I had booked as a package through Kenya Airways. Problems happened: overbooking both ways (Kenya) making me board Rwandair without boarding pass baggage not delivered when Rwandair received it the very same night I arrived. While Kenya Airways has been co-operative in a settlement and is taking steps to help with the necessary paper work for the insurance Rwandair has been most uncooperative never responding to my messages and when I physically showed up at the office they plainly contradicted their own report in front of us. Results: Financial loss on my side and problems with the insurance.

Bujumbura-Kigali-Bujumbura Dash 8-100. Both flights on time safety and organisation appear to be high. Good service onboard despite flight duration is only 40 minutes: snacks 4 different juices sodas. Good information on board and luggage delivered in 5 minutes upon passing immigration.

These guys nearly spoilt our trip. On arrival in Jo'burg we were to board Rwanda Air to Kigali. There were no signs of any check in counters. So after an hour of rushing between terminals we finally contacted someone at Rwanda Air who had said the flight was cancelled. He was not even apologetic for not telling us beforehand. I would be very careful if booking with them.

Nairobi to Kigali return. Excellent service on both legs. The e-ticketing system is still in process so bring your ticket number as well as the booking reference with you to the airport in Nairobi. I would gladly fly this airline again.

I was due to fly from Kigali to Entebbe and had made a reservation months beforehand. I reconfirmed by e-mail about a month before the flight and two days before the flight telephoned to Rwandair in Kigali to make sure that the reservation was still valid. I was told that it was and the agent mentioned my first name which I had not given her on the telephone. When I turned up at the airport I was told that my reservation had been cancelled and no reason was given. Four or five other passengers were in the same position. We all waited to see if there were no-shows but there weren't. I would say that Rwandair which could not be booked through Opodo Travelocity or Expedia is to be avoided.

Rwandair Express Johannesburg - Kigali on an MD-80 business class. Really not a bad flight - we were about 1/2 an hour late boarding with no announcements but after that it was fine: a reasonable little meal and nice wine. We had a touch-down in Bujumbura so there was rather a lot of taking off and landing but reasonably quiet and comfortable flight. My bags were lost in a connection a Johnannesburg (as always) and so it was the usual long process of waiting for the bags not to appear waiting to fill out forms and then waiting three days but the bags eventually found me!

Nairobi – Kigali and Kigali – Entebbe. The NBO-KGL flight on a MD-82 that showed little signs of its age. Aircraft pretty clean seat pitch acceptable and no problem with understanding the public announcements which I have experienced differently on other airlines in the region. Safety demonstration okay although I wonder if the life jacket should have been shown as the flight was passing right over Victoria Lake. Flight left almost on time for the 70 minutes flight. Snack (sandwiches fruit salad muffin) served on board. Quality was okay for the length of the flight. Alcohol served free of charge. Professional and hard working crew (partly western) doing their job with a smile. Arrival and immigration procedures at KGL were efficient. KGL – EBB on a DHC8 previously operated by a Ethiopian carrier. Aircraft was clean. Only the seats were a bit older. Flight left even before scheduled departure time. Once again a professional crew serving drinks and peanuts on the fifty minutes flight. Amusing to see the cabin crew member performing the usual pre-landing announcement and checking a newspaper at the same time. Staff at the airline city office in Kigali very helpful when I had to reschedule due to serious family circumstances back home.