| James Kon |
WITH eight new aircraft, including and seven A320neo and a B787, to be acquired by the end of 2018, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) will have one of the youngest fleet in the world with an average aircraft age two years.
The significant arrival of the new aircraft was underscored by RB’s Chief Executive Officer Karam Chand, in his remarks at the signing ceremony for financing of the new aircraft by Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and Baiduri Bank yesterday, held at the Departure Hall of the Brunei International Airport.
The guest of honour who witnessed the signing was Minister of Finance II Dato Seri Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah.
The RB’s CEO also touched on the benefits the new aircraft will bring to the national carrier. “The new aircraft’s cabin features will no doubt exceed guests’ expectations and also play a vital role in maintaining and improving RB’s operational reliability which is already at 90 per cent, one of the best in the world.
“The new fleet allows RB to achieve a leaner cost structure from the combination of lower ownership and maintenance costs and lower fuel burn. Complete fleet renewal is a rarity in our industry and to achieve this by end of 2018 will be a significant milestone for RB.
“RB has highly efficient and environmentally – friendly A320neo and B787 jetliners to be the backbone of its fleet for years to come. A modern fleet will play a key part in the carrier’s long-term development and allow us to create value for the Brunei economy through tourism, trade and increased direct connectivity,” he noted.
Karam Chand continued, “The cabin comfort features, lower operating costs, efficiency and positive environmental impact by using the new generation A320 aircraft convinced us this was the long-term narrow body fleet for RB. At the same time, the new aircraft will offer longer flying range that provides RB a low risk option to open new pioneering routes of up to seven hours in duration. It also brings significant underfloor cargo capabilities and special safety features to assist our crew and maintain the highest safety standards.”
The fifth Dreamliner, he said “is the last of the long-haul aircraft that will arrive in late June this year and will allow us to operate daily London non-stop, Melbourne four times, weekly Dubai and seasonal Jeddah services”.
The CEO said that RB’s guests will enjoy “unmatched levels of in-flight entertainment on the new aircraft, being the world’s first narrow-fitted with Thales AVANT (Gen 5) in-flight entertainment system.
“Furthermore from June 1, our guests will have 1,000 entertainment options on B787 and progressively on the Z320 fleet. This, combined with our award-winning service, will position RB as a world-class boutique airline, on way to becoming a four-star airline in the same league as Qantas and Emirates.”