New CEO for Rwandair

The Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. John Mirenge has stepped down from the twin position of CEO of the company earlier this week, when German national Rene Janata was introduced as the new Chief Executive of the Rwandan national airline.

Mr. Janata comes from German flag carrier Lufthansa, underscoring the already close cooperation between Lufthansa and RwandAir as expressed in the purchase of two CRJ200 aircraft last year, which also came with maintenance support.

The new appointment is intriguing as RwandAir already operates a codeshare with Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines on the Brussels to Kigali route, and Lufthansa is presently the largest shareholder in SN with the option next year to substantially expand ownership and eventually purchase SN in full. Lufthansa is already flying under codeshare with Brussels Airlines to ‘neighbouring’ Entebbe and it is according to information at hand only a matter of time now before the LH code will also be placed on the SN flights routing through Kigali.

Further options for cooperation are now abound, as WB has for long sought a sound partner to become a core investor in RwandAir, and with the ‘German Connection’ now all but obvious the coming months and weeks will make interesting observations and watching. Stay tuned to this space for the most up to date information about East African aviation.