Royal Brunei Airlines

Royal Brunei Airlines
IATA code :	BI
ICAO code :	RBA
Call sign :	BRUNEI
Founding:	1974
Seat:	Bandar Seri Begawan , Brunei
Turnstile :	Brunei
Home airport :	Brunei
IATA prefix code :	672
Management:	Karam Chand ( CEO )
Frequent Flyer Program :	Royal Skies
Fleet size:	16
Aims:	regional, international
Website:	www.flyroyalbrunei.com

Royal Brunei Airlines is the national airline of Brunei based in Bandar Seri Begawan and based at Brunei International Airport .

history

In November 1974, the airline acquired two Boeing 737s , with which it began flight service from the then new Brunei International Airport to Singapore on April 14, 1975 . In the same year Hong Kong , Kota Kinabalu and Kuching were added as further destinations . A year later Manila and in 1977 Bangkok were added as destinations. Since another Boeing 737 was added to the fleet in 1980, flight operations to Kuala Lumpur could also be started in 1981 . Other new destinations were Darwin ( Australia ) in 1983 and Jakarta in 1984 .

In 1985 it ushered in a new era with the purchase of three Boeing 757 aircraft . Flights to more distant countries could now also be carried out. Taipei was added in 1986 and Dubai in 1988 .

As it grew very quickly, Boeing 767-300ERs were purchased in 1990 and the 737s were sold. A plane of this type from Royal Brunei set a new world record in which it flew 17 hours and 55 minutes non-stop from the Boeing plants in Seattle via Nairobi to Brunei. With the new aircraft, it was now possible to fly to destinations in Europe, the first destination was Frankfurt am Main . Gatwick near London was added in the course of the year, but Heathrow was served instead the following year .

In 1992, Jeddah entered the route network for the first time . The following year an Airbus A340 was delivered in the colors of Royal Brunei, but it was only used as a government machine for the Sultanate of Brunei. In the same year, Abu Dhabi , Zurich , Beijing and Bahrain were added as new flight destinations . In the period that followed, other destinations were served in Asia (e.g. Osaka , Calcutta , Yangon and Shanghai ), Australia ( Brisbane ) and the Middle East ( Kuwait ). In order to do business in regional air traffic, the company bought two Fokker 100s in 1996 .

As with other Asian airlines, the Asian crisis at the end of the 1990s also saw a decline in bookings at Royal Brunei. This led to a restriction of the route network and the fleet. In 2007 the airline gradually completely discontinued its connections to Frankfurt. The airline justified this with restructuring measures.

On October 1, 2013, Royal Brunei Airlines received its first of five Boeing 787-8s , with which a new corporate design was introduced at the same time . On May 5, 2014, Royal Brunei ordered seven Airbus A320neo aircraft . There are three additional options.

Royal Brunei Airlines entered into a code sharing agreement with Hong Kong Airlines in August 2016 .

As a result of the stricter laws against homosexuals in Brunei , which were tightened from April 3, 2019 and provide for stoning as a punishment, calls have been made to the government in Australia to withdraw the airline's landing rights. Virgin Australia Airlines announced a contract that gave discounted employee rates to Royal Brunei employees.

In July 2019, Royal Brunei Airlines signed a charter contract for two ATR72-600s with Malindo Air . The planes will operate regional flights to seven destinations in Borneo.

Destinations

Royal Brunei Airlines mainly serves destinations in the Middle East , Asia and Oceania such as Dubai , Singapore , Jeddah and Brisbane . London Heathrow has been served since October 2018 and Tokyo since February 2019 . Regional connections to Borneo are served under the RB Link brand .

There are also partnerships with Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways .

fleet

Boeing 767 of Royal Brunei Airlines

As of March 2020, the Royal Brunei Airlines fleet consists of 16 aircraft with an average age of 3.1 years:

Aircraft type	number	ordered	Remarks	Seats ( Business / Economy )
Airbus A320-200	2		equipped with sharklets ; V8-RBX in His Majesty's 50th Golden Jubilee special livery	144 (- / 12/132) 150 (- / 12/138)
Airbus A320neo	7th		First delivery in May 2018	150 (- / 12/18/120)
Boeing 787-8	5		Delivery in 2013/14 and 2018	254 (- / 18/236)
ATR 72-600	2		from Malindo Air; in action as RB Link
total	16	-

In February 2019, the airline brought a replacement for its Boeing 787-8 into play because it was extremely unreliable. The purchase of the Airbus A321-200neo is also under discussion .

Incidents

The society recorded one incident with fatal consequences in its history:

On September 6, 1997, a Dornier Do 228 ( license number 9M-MIA ) operated by Royal Brunei of the Merpati Intan with a crew of two and eight passengers on board from Brunei to Miri crashed for unexplained reasons when approaching Miri. Nobody survived the incident (see also Royal Brunei Airlines flight 238 ) .

Web links

Commons : Royal Brunei Airlines - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Website of the Royal Brunei Airlines (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Royal Brunei reduces flight connections to Frankfurt. In: Touristikpresse.net. May 8, 2007, accessed February 4, 2010 .

↑ aero.de - First Boeing 787 for Southeast Asia, October 4, 2013, accessed on April 12, 2015.

↑ airbus.com - Royal Brunei Airlines selects A320neo, May 5, 2014 ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 12, 2015. @1@ 2