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Royal Jordanian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Royal Jordanian | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| IATA RJ |
ICAO RJA |
Callsign JORDANIAN |
| Founded | 1963 | |
| Hubs | Queen Alia International Airport | |
| Focus cities | Aqaba Airport Dubai International Airport |
|
| Frequent flyer program | Royal Plus | |
| Member lounge | CIP Lounge | |
| Alliance | Oneworld | |
| Subsidiaries | Royal Jordanian Xpress Royal Wings |
|
| Fleet size | 33 (+22 orders +12 Options) | |
| Destinations | 58 | |
| Company slogan | "Change is in the air" | |
| Headquarters | Amman, Jordan | |
| Key people | Samer A. Majali (CEO) | |
| Website: http://www.rj.com | ||
Royal Jordanian Airlines (Arabic: الملكية الأردنية; transliterated: al-Malakiyah al-Orduniyah) is an airline based in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents. Its main base is Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), Amman. Royal Jordanian is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and the Oneworld global airline alliance. The airline won the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation award for "Airline Turnaround of the Year 2006" on 9 November 2006.[1]
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The airline was established on 9 December 1963 and started operations on 15 December 1963 after a royal decree by the late King Hussein. The airline was named Alia, or Aalya, after the King's eldest daughter from his first marriage; not to be confused with the name of the airport which is named after King Hussein's third wife: Alia, or Alyaa'. The airline was founded with capital from private shareholders who were later bought out by the Jordanian government.
Alia Jordanian Airlines started with 2 Handley Page Dart Heralds and a Douglas DC-7, and 3 international routes, to Kuwait, Beirut and Cairo. In 1964 another DC-7 arrived and services to Jeddah inaugurated. In 1965, Alia started services to Europe, with Rome added to the route system. All the progress the airline made was threatened by the Israeli air raid during the 1967 war when the DC-7s were destroyed. These planes were replaced by two Fokker F27 planes. 1968 saw expansion to Nicosia, Benghazi, Dhahran and Doha. 1969 saw further expansion into Europe and other parts of Asia, including Munich, Tehran and Istanbul.
In 1970 Alia joined the jet age when they phased out the F-27s and ordered Boeing 707 aircraft. Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi were added to the network in 1970 and in 1971 the 707s arrived. In 1971 Madrid, Copenhagen and Karachi were added to the network. The rest of the decade saw Boeing 720s Boeing 727s and Boeing 747s added.
A catering department was established, as well as duty free shops in Amman's airport. Services were added to several other cities, including:Bahrain, Dubai, Muscat, Rabat, Geneva, Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bangkok, Vienna, Larnaca, Damascus, New York City, Ras al-Khaimah and Houston. In 1979, Alia became a founding member of the Arab Airlines Technical Consortium (AATC).
In the 1980s Tunis and Tripoli joined the route map, and Alia's IBM computer center was inaugurated. Lockheed L-1011s and Airbus A310s and A320s joined the fleet and in 1986, Alia changed its name to Royal Jordanian. The airline's first woman pilot flew one of their aircraft during this decade, and services were added to other cities, including Belgrade, Chicago, Bucharest, Los Angeles, Singapore, Riyadh, Kuala Lumpur (in cooperation with Malaysian Airlines), Sana'a, Moscow, Miami, Montreal, New Delhi, Calcutta and Ankara. This decade also saw the opening of the Gabriel Automated Ticket System, (GATS).
The 1990s saw the expansion continue. Royal Jordanian and nine other Arabian airlines signed up with the Galileo reservations system, the IMCS maintenance and engineering system was added, a new city terminal was opened in Amman, and services to Gaza were inaugurated. The cities of Toronto, Colombo, Jakarta, Berlin, Mumbai, Milan and Tel Aviv (with 3 daily flights) were added to the network. Royal Jordanian became code sharing partners with TWA.
In 2000, the FAA renewed the airline's maintenance and engineering department's license, and the duty free shop was among the services to be privatised. A holding company, RJI, wholly owned by the government, was incorporated as a public limited company in February 2001 to hold all the airline and associated investments. The name has been officially changed to Alia, The Royal Jordanian Airline, although to its clients it is still known simply as Royal Jordanian.
Subsidiary Royal Wings started Royal Jordanian's first domestic service to Aqaba using a Fokker F-27 plane on 10 February 1996. Royal Wings now operates Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 aircraft on both scheduled and charter services to destinations in Egypt, Cyprus, Israel and the West Bank. Royal Jordanian signed an agreement in October 2005 for two Q400s previously operated by SAS Commuter, larger and faster variants of the Dash 8 series.
On December 20, 2006, Royal Jordanian announced that it had made a deal with Boeing to lease 4 to 5 Boeing 787s, which will begin operations in early 2010. They also announced that they would replace 2 Airbus A321s with two new ones, and buy five new Airbus A319s which are to start operations in early 2008.
Royal Jordanian announces that it had transported a total of 8,296,981 million passengers in 2006 ranking it the twenty-second busiest airline in Asia.
On April 1, 2007, Royal Jordanian Airlines officially became part of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was the first Arab airline in any worldwide air alliance and the only one to date.
On April 16, 2007, Royal Jordanian fleet transported 161,000 passengers in March 2007, marking a 23% increase over the number carried in the same month in 2006, when 131,000 passengers traveled aboard Royal Jordanian.
On May 19, 2007, Royal Jordanian announced it had ordered a total of 12 787-8 Dreamliners, beginning service in 2010.[1]
On May 25, 2007, Royal Jordanian made its return to Montreal, Canada.
On July 16, 2007, Royal Jordanian won the Airline Strategy Award in the technology category at the sixth annual Airline Strategy Awards.
Royal Jordanian made its first flight to the capital of Hungary, Budapest on July 28, 2007, using an Embraer 195, from that date on flights between Amman and Budapest occur twice weekly.
At the end of July 2007, Royal Jordanian reported that it had transported 240,000 passengers in July 2007, marking a 15% increase over the number carried during the same month in 2006, when 209,000 passengers were carried.
Royal Jordanian transported 256,000 passengers in August 2007, marking an increase of 16% over the number carried in the same month of 2006: 223,000 passengers.
Royal Jordanian is to open a gateway for Jordan to China on January 22, 2008, when it will start operating regular service to Hong Kong, passing via the Thai capital, Bangkok. Flights between Amman and Hong Kong via Bangkok will occur three times weekly. [2]
On October 25, 2007 Royal Jordanian Airlines announces that it has converted two Embraer 195 jets from its original order into two Embraer 175.
Royal Jordanian announces that it had transported 202,000 passengers in October 2007, against 145,000 passengers carried in the same month in 2006, marking a 40% percent increase in passenger traffic.
It was announced by Royal Jordanian that it will be the first airline in the Middle East to provide its passengers with OnAir’s inflight Internet and mobile phone services, including email, SMS and voice calls. [3]
See full article: Royal Jordanian destinations
| Destination | Aircraft | Start Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal | Airbus A340-200 | May 25, 2007 | Twice Weekly |
| Budapest | Embraer 195-200 AR | July 28, 2007 | Twice Weekly |
| Damascus (Cargo) | Boeing 737-200 | July 23, 2007 | Once Weekly |
| Dubai (Cargo Increase) | Boeing 737-200 | December 13, 2007 | From Once Weekly to Four times Weekly |
| Doha (Increase in Commercial Flights) | Embraer 195-200 AR | December 13, 2007 | From Once Daily to Twice Daily |
| Baghdad (Increase in Commercial Flights) | Fokker 28 | April,2008 | From Twice Daily to Four times Daily |
| Destination | Aircraft | Start Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | Airbus A310-300 | January 22, 2008 | Three Times Weekly |
| Aqaba (Cargo) | Boeing 737-200 | February 15, 2008 | Daily |
The Royal Jordanian fleet consists of the following aircraft as of August 2007:[2]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Crown/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-300 | 3 | 206 (18/188) | Medium-long haul routes New IFE and color scheme Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787-8 |
| Airbus A319 | (5 orders) | Entry into service: 2008 | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 4 | 136 (16/120) 144 (12/132) |
Short-medium haul routes New seats with AVOD |
| Airbus A320-212 | 1 | 168 (168) | Charter aircraft Operated by: Royal Wings |
| Airbus A321-200 | 4 (2 orders) |
168 (20/148) | Short-medium haul routes New seats with AVOD |
| Airbus A340-200 | 5 (one Belonging to the King) |
254 (24/230) | Long haul routes New IFE and color scheme Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787-8 |
| Boeing 787-8 | (12 orders) | 296 | Entry into service: 2010 Replacing: Airbus A310 & Airbus A340 Family Middle-Eastern launch customer |
| Embraer 195-200 AR | 4 (1 order) (12 options) [4] |
100 (12/88) | Middle Eastern, African and European routes |
| Embraer 175 | (2 orders) [5] | 72 (12/60) | Entry into service: Late 2008 Middle Eastern, African routes |
| Fokker F28 | 2 | 60 (8/52) | Iraqi routes only [6] |
The Royal Jordanian average fleet age, as of November 2007, is 6.1 years.
The first of seven Embraer 195 aircraft was delivered on 1 December 2006 to be operated on short and medium-haul routes in the Middle East, the Gulf, North Africa and Europe. The other five aircraft will be delivered over the next two years.[3]
By the end of 2007, all fleet will be equipped with Personal TV.
Royal Jordanian Cargo (Royal Jordanian Airlines Cargo) is the company's freight division operating to Africa, Europe, North America and Middle East. The airline also offers world-wide cargo charter services.
| Aircraft | Total | Capacity (Weight) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-300F[7] | 2 | 35.5 tonnes | Medium-long haul routes New color scheme |
| Boeing 737-200 [8] | 1 | 14.5 tonnes | Short haul routes (Damascus) New color scheme |
Fokker F-27, Boeing 707, Boeing 727, Boeing 747, Douglas DC-7 and Lockheed L-1011
Royal Plus is Royal Jordanians frequent flyer program. Passengers are awarded points based on the type, class of flight and destination. Royal Plus members can also get points by traveling on other Oneworld airlines.
Food and beverages served on flights leaving Amman are provided by Alpha Group. Hot meals will be served on a flight of at least one hour length. If the flight is shorter than one hour the cabin crew will provide snacks and drinks throughout the flight. These flights include those to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Aqaba from Amman.However, recent reports suggest that passengers on Amman-Aqaba flights have the option of a hot meal service, which may reflect even higher standards in Royal Jordanian onboard service.
Royal Jordanians onboard entertainment system is called Sky Cinema. All seats in all classes are equipped with Personal TVs (PTVs), or will be equipped by the end of 2007.
- In all classes on all flights there are more than 20 video channels and more than 12 audio channels, which are all AVOD (Audio Video on Demand). The primary language of the content is Arabic; along with English. However on flights to and from India there is at least one Indian movie on offer.
- In Crown Class, passengers are provided with AVOD and over 35 video channels and more than 25 audio channels.
There are also interactive games which are available in all classes on all flights, as well as up to date news provided by CNN on all flights.
On very short flights, from Amman to Tel Aviv, Amman to Beirut and Amman to Damascus, the AVOD system is turned on but there is only the selection of games, CNN News and the comedy channel.
Newspapers and magazines are available to all Crown Class passengers. Free newspapers are also provided to all economy class passengers. The in-flight magazine, Royal Wings Magazine, is provided to all passengers on all flights.
The seats are fully adjustable. The new Crown Class will also feature a new extendable meal table and an enhanced personal entertainment system with a fully adjustable 17" 16:9 TV screen. On all the fleet the seat has the ability to recline 180 degrees with a seating space of at least 46 Inches in all the thinned bodied aircraft, whilst on the A340 the seating space is 83 Inches, and on the A310 the seating space is 51 Inches.
Royal Jordanian offers its Crown Class passengers the use of lounges across the world including all Oneworld member airline lounges.
The new seats will allow the passenger to recline their seat very comfortably, with a personal television located on the seat directly in front of them, offering Audio Video On Demand.
Transiting passengers in Jordan can use the Zuwar Stopover package and spend a few days sampling Jordan.
Royal Jordanians "Royal Vacations Program" sells vacations. Points from staying at Royal Jordanian partner hotels will give points towards the Royal Plus program.
According to Oneworld website, Royal Jordanian has 32 lounges worldwide. [9]
| Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered |
|---|---|
| Queen Alia International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (One in each terminal) |
| Suvarnabhumi Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Thai Royal Orchid Lounge) |
| Frankfurt International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Shared with American Airlines) |
| Dubai International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Marhaba lounge and DCA Business Class Lounge) |
| Abu Dhabi International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Alghouzlan Lounge) |
| Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Generic Airport Lounge) |
| Hong Kong International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (To be shared with Cathay Pacific) |
| Aden International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Alzaafran Lounge Lounge) |
| Schiphol Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Penauille Service Air Lounge) |
| Bahrain International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Dilmun Lounge) |
| Cairo International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Egypt Air First Class Lounge) |
| Damascus International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Al-Cham Hotel Lounge) |
| Indira Gandhi International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Sheraton Lounge) |
| Mumbai International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Celebration Lounge) |
| Jeddah International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Oasis Lounge) |
| John F. Kennedy International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Oasis Lounge) |
| Kuwait International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Dasman Lounge) |
| Khartoum International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Chief House Lounge) |
| London Heathrow Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Servisair Globe Ground Lounge) |
| Montreal International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Maple Leaf Lounge) |
| Domodedovo International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (AVK Business Lounge) |
| King Khalid International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (First Class Lounge) |
| Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (ADR LeAnfore Lounge) |
| Sana'a International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Balquis Lounge) |
| Ben Gurion International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Dan Lounges) |
| Tripoli International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Winzrik Lounge) |
| Tunis-Carthage International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Espace Privilege Lounge) |
| Vienna International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Air International Lounge) |
| Zurich International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Bellevue Lounge) |
| Seeb International Airport | Crown Class Lounge Offered (Oman Air Lounge) |
Royal Jordanian Crown Class passengers along with Gold and Platinum Royal Plus members and Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members are also allowed to use any Oneworld member airline lounges. Silver Frequent Flyer are also welcome to use the Royal Jordanian lounges
- Aid to Lebanon , Gaza, Iraq and Pakistan - RJ’s staff contributed two shipments of goods to the needy in Lebanon and in Gaza, as a result of a campaign among the staff to contribute one or two days pay to help those who suffered from the military operations during the summer of 2006. The shipments included heaters, gas ovens, wheelchairs, foodstuff, blankets, school bags and baby milk. The goods were shipped to Lebanon on RJ, and to Gaza through Jordanian charity organizations. In cooperation with the United Nations, RJ ran four air cargo trips from Amman to Islamabad carrying foodstuff, medical supplies and human aid, a donation from Jordan to the victims of natural disasters that hit Pakistan in 2005. RJ also carried 27 tons of aid donated by Japanese charities to the Iraqi people, in addition to running four other trips carrying aid from Japan to Iraq.
- Donating free tickets for the Society of Families and Friends of the Disabled - This donation aims at enabling the disabled individuals to participate in the First Arab Recreation, Sport, and Cultural Camp in Egypt.
- Injaz Program - For three years, RJ has been supporting and sponsoring the Injaz program for providing economic opportunities for Jordanian Youth.
- Contributing to Al Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans
- Supporting Ladies of Iraq Al-Ameer Cooperative Society
- Transporting a bedouin tent to Germany
- Sponsoring the Orphans and the Underprivileged
- Al-Shajara Cultural Forum
- AZM Project
- 2007 Airline Strategy Award
- King Abdullah II Award for Excellence
- Best Arab airline website
- Air Transport World magazine names RJ Phoenix Award winner
- CAPA Airline Turnaround of the Year 2006
- International Star Award for Quality
In addition to its Oneworld partnerships, Royal Jordanian has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- Aeroflot
- Air Canada
- American Airlines
- Austrian
- Cyprus Airways
- Gulf Air
- Malév Hungarian Airlines
- Syrian Arab Airlines
- Thai Airways International
- UM Airlines
- US Airways
- ^ Royal Jordanian website
- ^ Fleet Information
- ^ Airliner World, February 2007
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American Airlines • British Airways • Cathay Pacific • Dragonair • Finnair • Iberia Airlines • Japan Airlines • LAN • Malév Hungarian • Qantas • Royal Jordanian |
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Afriqiyah Airways • Air Algérie • Air Arabia • EgyptAir • Emirates • Etihad Airways • Gulf Air • Iraqi Airways • Jordan Aviation • Kuwait Airways • Libyan Airlines • Middle East Airlines • Oman Air • Palestinian Airlines • Qatar Airways • Royal Air Maroc • Royal Jordanian • Saudi Arabian Airlines • Sudan Airways • Syrian Arab Airlines • Trans Mediterranean Airways • Tunisair • Yemenia |
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