The National carrier welcomed the first of two wet-leased aircraft today, deepening a relationship with one of Africa’s aviation giants that has quietly become a lifeline for the airline.
Uganda Airlines took a confident step forward on Wednesday, officially inducting the first of two wet-leased Boeing 737-800s into its fleet. The aircraft, operated in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, touched down at Entebbe International Airport as the carrier continues to build resilience after a turbulent few month.
A wet lease is not a simple aircraft rental. Ethiopian Airlines provides the plane fully crewed, maintained, and insured, allowing Uganda Airlines to expand its capacity almost immediately without the lengthy regulatory process that comes with acquiring new jets outright. The second Boeing 737-800 is expected to follow shortly under the same arrangement.
“This addition strengthens our operations and enhances flexibility as we continue to deliver greater connectivity across our network.” The Uganda Airlines Official Statement.
The timing matters. Earlier this year, Uganda Airlines was forced to suspend all long-haul operations after both of its Airbus A330-800neo wide-body aircraft were grounded for unscheduled maintenance. Engine issues linked to Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 powerplants took one aircraft offline in January and the second in late February, cutting off flights to London Gatwick, Dubai, and Mumbai at a stroke.
To keep those routes alive and, crucially, to protect its hard-won slots at Gatwick, which are forfeited under international “use-it-or-lose-it” rules, Uganda Airlines turned to Ethiopian Airlines for a wet-leased Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which operated those routes from March 7. The A330-800neo has since returned to service on the London Gatwick route as of May 4.
Behind the scenes, a familiar name helped make the partnership happen quickly. Acting CEO Girma Wake, who took the helm in February following a presidential directive, spent a decade leading Ethiopian Airlines between 2004 and 2011 and later chaired its board until 2023. His deep ties to Addis Ababa are widely credited with accelerating what might otherwise have been a much longer negotiation.
The Boeing 737-800s are expected to be deployed on regional routes where Uganda Airlines has seen steady passenger growth services to Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, and Lagos among them. Before today’s induction, the airline’s short-haul fleet consisted of one Airbus A320-200 and four Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets, a modest lineup for a carrier with ambitions to become a continental hub.
Those ambitions are backed by substantial financial resources.
In March, the government confirmed it had secured Shs 422.26 billion to fund the acquisition of up to ten new aircraft, part of a longer-term plan that reportedly includes Boeing 787 Dreamliners, freighter variants, and narrow-body jets in the Airbus A320neo family.
Officials have cautioned that some reports about specific orders have been premature, but the direction of travel is clear: Uganda Airlines is building for growth, not just survival.
The Ministry of Works and Transport welcomed today’s development publicly, noting on X that the new aircraft would help “mitigate some hiccups” on existing routes a diplomatic way of acknowledging the disruptions that have tested the airline and its passengers in recent months. For now, the arrival of the 737-800 is a practical win: more aircraft, more flexibility, and a partnership with one of the continent’s most capable operators standing behind it.
