| Rokiah Mahmud |
THE Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), the national carrier for the Sultanate, yesterday embarked on another significant milestone with the launching of its new corporate head office at the expanded and newly refurbished RB Campus located at Jalan Kustin, Berakas.
The RB Campus, previously known as the RB Training Centre, was officiated by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, in his capacity as the Chairman of the RB Board of Directors.
In his welcoming remarks, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RB Karam Chand said, “Since 2013, RB has undertaken major initiatives that include rebranding, fleet renewal, network development, products and services enhancement and people development.”
He continued saying that an important part of the journey was the establishment of a corporate head office in a centralised location, from where RB could conduct the majority of its core business. “With that in mind, RB has taken the strategic decision to relocate the teams based at the RB Plaza, including the CEO Office, Executive Management Team and Commercial Team, to co-locate with the rest of the teams across various business functions that were already based here at RB Campus.
“To ensure that the RB Campus was best equipped to serve our long-term needs and that of an international business and to ensure the required maintenance was carried out, we have invested close to BND15 million dollars over the course of the last three years.
“This is a substantial investment needed for our people, the preservation of our investments and to create a new revenue stream from leasing out the excess office facilities.”
He also shared the progress of RB’s renovations that their team has been working on since 2013: “As RB began its rebranding journey, it was important to showcase the brand both in Brunei and overseas. The first phase was office renovations for overseas offices including in Dubai, Melbourne, London; and the renovations continues at our various airport locations where we have had to relocate at the request of the host airports.
“We kicked off our home-based renovations with the RB Plaza ground and first floor. We refreshed the RB Customer Service Centre (CSC), incorporating the brand elements of our brand designed by Intra Brand. This is our flagship customer service centre across the network, and reflects our position in our home market. We incorporated an exclusive Elite Lounge for our Royal Skies premium members. At the same time, we also introduced our new front liners uniform for both Ground Staff at the Brunei International Airport and Customer Service Centre team.
“In line with the Brunei International Airport renovations works, we built a new Premier Check-in Lounge (PCIL) area that caters to our Business Class and premium guests. We also renovated our excess baggage area and our Customer Service Centre at the Brunei International Airport. The PCIL and CSC is very well received in the market by both Bruneians and overseas guests.
“Upgrading works for Hangar 3 and the airport precinct for our Ramp Office are also progressing. These will be substantial upgrades for our offices located in the airside premises that will house all our operations team, including Flight Operations, Cabin Services, Ground Services and Engineering.
“By the first quarter of 2019, RB is expected to complete the final phase for a completely revamped RB Campus and other key infrastructure. This significant investment will allow us to truly project the spirit of RB and its people…The Hangar 1 is subject to separate discussions and project milestones upon conclusion of the structural soundness review and necessary approvals from our Board and higher authorities.”