Royal Brunei Airlines, the country’s
flag carrier, was established on 18 November 1974 as
an independent corporation wholly owned by the government
of Brunei Darussalam.
The airline’s chairman is Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Abu Bakar bin Pengiran Seri Indera Pengiran Haji Ismail, a Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office. The Chief Executive Officer is Mr. Ray Sayer while other Brunei citizens hold the senior management posts within the departments of Aircraft Operations, Commercial, Corporate Services, and Engineering.
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Growth
Through the Decades 1970s
In Royal Brunei's first year, services were started to Singapore,
Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in Malaysia. The route
plan extended over the years and flights to Manila (1976)
and Bangkok (1977) became available.
1980s
Following the purchase of a third B737-200QC Combi in 1980,
the airline's network expanded to include Kuala Lumpur (1981),
Darwin (1983) and Jakarta (1984).
In 1986 following the acquisition of three new
extended-range B757-200 aircraft, Taipei was added. Later,
services were started to Dubai (1988).
1990s
Growth continued through the 1990s. In June 1990, Royal Brunei
took delivery of its first B767-300ER aircraft, enabling it
to fly to London Gatwick (1990). However, the following year,
on 7 May, it changed its services to fly twice weekly to London
Heathrow instead.
1991 saw Perth and Jeddah added to its destinations
list, while Denpasar (Bali) became online in 1993 and Brisbane
in 1994.
On December 1, 1996, Royal Brunei began daily
flights to London Heathrow. Twice-weekly services to Surabaya
were launched a year later in 1997.
2000s
Royal Brunei entered the millennium with an introduction of
two times weekly flights to Shanghai in October 2001.
In October 2003 Auckland was introduced to the
network as an extension of the Brunei-Brisbane flights.
Then came Sydney in Australia in October 2004,
which became the fourth Australian destination for the airline
after Darwin, Perth and Brisbane.
Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates joined the
network shortly afterwards. This was a technical stop point
for the two times weekly Jeddah flights for refueling purposes.
May 2006 witnessed the inauguration of
the three times weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly
known as Saigon.
Moving Ahead
Soon after the beginning of the millennium, Royal Brunei's
board and management unveiled a bold and aggressive strategy
to develop the airline's status as a world-class player.
The plan was to make the organisation well structured
and dynamic. At the same time the airline would invest in
a re-fleeting programme that would include both the acquisition
of new aircrafts and the upgrading of its current equipment
with the latest state-of-the-art technology.
The core objective was to raise the levels of
comfort and safety, two factors that are paramount to passengers.
New Fleet
The delivery of two new Airbus A319 aircraft
(August and September 2003) marked the beginning of Royal
Brunei's re-fleeting programme. Two more Airbus A320s were
delivered in December 2003 and January 2004.
Royal Brunei now operates a fleet of six Boeing
B767-300s, two Airbus A320s and two Airbus A319s.
Network Expansion
Royal Brunei continues to add to its destination
list with Shanghai in 2001 and Auckland in 2003. Sydney, the
airline's fourth Australian destination, was launched on 31
October 2004, and in December, Sharjah was added to the network.
Royal Brunei inaugurated Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam by May.
This becomes the 22nd destination of Royal Brunei Airlines,
intended to complement Sydney for ethnic and visit friend
and relatives (VFR) travellers.
Royal Brunei provides scheduled services across
Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and Europe. As an added
convenience to its passengers, the airline has code-share
agreements with Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, British
Midland, Philippine Airlines and Dragon Air of Hong Kong,
allowing passengers to co-ordinate flights for seamless travel
to a wider choice of destinations.
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