Iberia Maintenance and RwandAir, Rwanda’s flag carrier, signed a multi-year exclusive contract. The Spanish MRO will maintain the CFM56-7B and 7BE engines powering the airline’s Boeing 737 fleet.
A new partnership
On Wednesday, Iberia Maintenance and RwandAir announced the signing of a multi-year contract to maintain the engines powering the carrier’s Boeing 737 fleet. RwandAir selected Iberia Maintenance after a rigorous process, with a proposal deemed to be the most competitive, including engine lease, logistics, and customized work scoping utilizing the Spanish company's engineering expertise, both companies said in a statement.
Iberia Maintenance Engine Shop, located in Madrid, is specialized in CFM56, V2500, and RB211 engines. It provides services to airlines, OEMs, and other customers globally. Earlier this month, Iberia Maintenance partnered with HK Express to give maintenance to its V2500 engines. Last year, the MRO celebrated 30 years of making the first C1 Check on an Airbus aircraft.
Andy Best, Iberia’s Chief Technical Officer that the MRO is grateful to be selected to partner with RwandAir.
“We look forward to working closely with the Rwandair teams ensuring the delivery of a market-leading and differentiated service.”
Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir´s CEO, said,
“RwandAir’s strategic partnership with Iberia Maintenance reflects confidence in their technical expertise and experience to meet our high maintenance standards. Safety is our number one priority, and Iberia’s excellent maintenance track record will help RwandAir consolidate its position as one of the most ambitious airlines in Africa”.
RwandAir’s fleet
Based in Kigali International Airport (KGL), RwandAir operates about 212 weekly flights, according to data from Cirium. The company also has a cargo division and recently received its first dedicated Boeing 737-800SF.
According to data from ch-aviation, RwandAir currently has a fleet of 13 aircraft. The African company operates one Airbus A330-200, one A330-300, two Boeing 737-700s, four B737-800s (plus the 737-800SF), two CRJ900ERs, and two DHC-8-Q400s. The average age of RwandAir’s fleet is 10.2 years old. The oldest planes are the 737-700s, 15.7 years old on average. RwandAir has not received a new plane since 2017, when it took delivery of a Boeing 737-800.
Ch-aviation points out that RwandAir has 14 CFM56 engines, including four CFM56-7B22s and ten CFM57-7B26s.
Where can we see RwandAir’s Boeing 737s?
According to data from Cirium, RwandAir operates 96 weekly flights employing its Boeing 737 narrowbody fleet. Of these flights, 24 are operated with the 737-700s and 72 with the 737-800s.
Departing from Kigali International, passengers can fly onboard RwandAir’s Boeing 737-800s on routes to destinations such as Abuja (ABV), Brazzaville (BZV), Douala (DLA), Doha (DOH), Dubai (DXB), Johannesburg (JNB), Libreville (LBV), and Lagos (LOS).
The RwandAir Boeing 737-800 is configured with 154 seats in a two-class configuration. It has 16 recliner seats in the first four rows in a 2-2 configuration. The remaining 138 economy seats are in a 3-3 configuration. Finally, the 737-700 is configured with 120 seats in a two-class configuration. There are 12 recliner business seats in the first three rows in a 2-2 configuration and 108 economy seats.
What do you think about the latest partnership between Iberia Maintenance and RwandAir? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: ch-aviation, Cirium.