| Izah Azahari |
ROYAL Brunei Airlines (RB) officially launched the Airbus A320neo fleet during a blessing ceremony at the Hangar 3 of the Brunei International Airport last night.
The Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Haji Apong was the guest of honour.
Minister of Finance and Economy II and Chairman of RB Board of Directors Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister of Communications Dato Seri Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of RB Karam Chand and the Airbus Executive Vice President Asia Jean-Francois Laval were also present.
Karam Chand said the introduction of their A320neo aircraft is part of their fleet modernisation programme and opens up a new phase to pursue further regional growth, where they will have all the seven Airbus A320neos in their fleet by November 2018, making RB the owner of one of the youngest fleet in the world with an average fleet age of two years.
“The new fleet’s cabin features especially the in-flight entertainment has exceeded guest expectations and has been applauded as ‘best in class’ and five stars for Regional Services. The new fleet will also play a vital role in maintaining and improving our operational reliability which is extremely important as we have a national role to play and provide close to 80 per cent of all seats to/from Brunei,” said the CEO of RB.
The CEO added that RB A320neo guests will enjoy unmatched levels of in-flight entertainment, being the world’s first single-aisle aircraft fitted with the Thales AVANT (Gen 5) in-flight entertainment system, and a personal in-flight entertainment system with more than 1,000 movies, TV shows and audio entertainment to enjoy.
“Today marks a milestone in the strong relationship between Airbus and RB,” said Jean-Francois Laval. “With the A320neo in its fleet, Royal Brunei Airlines is now operating the world’s most modern, comfortable and fuel efficient single aisle aircraft.”
