For more than a decade it shuttled holidaymakers around Europe, but now this Boeing 737 example has found a new lease of life in Africa.
In a move which will enable RwandAir to “further expand its cargo operation”, it has received a Boeing 737-800SF – the airline’s maiden dedicated freighter.
The 2007-built airframe has been registered 9XR-WW (c/n 35131) and, in addition to the standard livery, features ‘RwandAir CARGO’ titles (see picture below).
According to RwandAir, the 737-800SF is to be based at the flag carrier’s Kigali hub and will be flown to several “key destinations” within Africa and the Middle East including the cities of Johannesburg (South Africa) and Nairobi (Kenya), as well as the UAE.
Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir CEO, said: “The delivery of our dedicated cargo aircraft is a huge milestone in RwandAir’s fleet expansion plans. Cargo is of ever-increasing importance for the aviation industry, and as a landlocked country, we recognise the importance and value of good cargo connections. We want to ensure that Africa is seamlessly connected to the world, driving economic growth and valuable trade deals.”
This particular aircraft – 9XR-WW – will be very familiar to aviation enthusiasts in the UK and Europe. The jet was initially handed over brand-new in a 189-seat passenger configuration to Thomsonfly as G-FDZB (and later flew under the Thomson Airways and TUI Airways branding); during this period, the airframe had also been sub-leased to Sunwing Airlines in Canada over several winters.
