Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) is the flag carrier of Brunei, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei. Its hub is Brunei International Airport in Berakas, just to the north of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.
Formed in 1974, with an initial fleet of two Boeing 737-200 aircraft, serving Singapore, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching, Royal Brunei Airlines now operates to 32 destinations throughout south-east Asia, as well as Europe and Oceania. Its fleet and type numbers increased progressively in the 1990s.
History Pre-independence
Royal Brunei Airlines was established (as merely Royal Brunei) on 18 November 1974 with two, then new Boeing 737-200s. The airline's maiden voyage was on 14 May 1975 from the then newly built Brunei International Airport to Singapore. Flights to the then British colony of Hong Kong, and the city of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) started the same day.
Early route expansion included services to Manila in 1976, and Bangkok in 1977. Three years later, Royal Brunei acquired a Boeing 737-200QC, its third Boeing 737, enabling it to reach Kuala Lumpur in 1981 and Darwin in 1983.
From national independence: 1984–1991 After the independence of Brunei from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, services commenced to Jakarta on 3 January, thus linking all five ASEAN capital cities at the time from Brunei: Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Singapore.
Three Boeing 757-200s were purchased in the mid-1980s, to enable the airline to expand to Taipei in 1986 and Dubai in 1988. They were also used on existing high-capacity routes to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur; after the introduction of the 757, its smaller sibling was phased out. In June 1990, Royal Brunei Airlines achieved a historic milestone with a non-stop long-distance flight from Seattle to Mombasa/Nairobi, using Brunei's first twin-engined commercial jet. The 18-hour flight covered 14,856.19 kilometres (7,842 nautical miles) and consumed 74.2 tons of fuel. This achievement, led by local pilot Captain Khalidkhan bin Haji Asmakhan, was a test of the airline's new aircraft for long-haul suitability. Recognised in The Guinness Book of Records in 1992, the accomplishment brought international recognition to Brunei.
Rapid expansion: 1992–1997
With the airline's rapid expansion, the 737s were sold, replaced by the Boeing 767. Before that, 757-200s served the airline between Brunei, the Middle East, and Gatwick.
The delivery of the first Boeing 767 (after a leased 767-200 registered CC-CEX) broke a world record when it flew 17 hours and 22 minutes non-stop from Boeing's factory in Seattle to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, on its way to Brunei. Seven more 767s were delivered, taking the fleet to eight Boeing 767s and two Boeing 757s (one of the 757s was sold to fund the purchase of the new 767s).
In March 1993, Abu Dhabi was added to the route network, through which flights to Frankfurt and Jeddah, were re-routed instead of Dubai. Bali was the second Indonesian city to be added to the network in May of the year. Flights to the third European destination, Zürich, commenced in August 1993 via Kuala Lumpur and another new destination, Bahrain. Before the end of the year, the airline was inaugurating services to Beijing (October) and Cairo (November), via Kuala Lumpur and Bahrain, respectively. Royal Brunei Airlines sold its last Boeing 737 to Aloha Airlines.
The growth of the network continued in 1994. The delivery of two Fokker 50s was used to start services to Miri and Labuan in east Malaysia of the same year. Flights to Brisbane and Osaka were also commenced in June and December, respectively; (the Brisbane service was initially routed via Darwin but later upgraded to a non-stop flight). The desire to link all the major oil and gas cities on Borneo saw the addition of Balikpapan to the route network in December.
Also in 1994, services began to Kolkata via Singapore and then on towards Dubai. Two Dornier 228s were purchased in the same year, and leased to the Malaysian regional carrier, Hornbill Skyways, to connect Brunei by air to Mulu Airport. Services to Cairo and Kolkata (via Singapore) were suspended in mid-1995 due to low passenger numbers.
The F-50s were replaced by the larger and more comfortable Fokker 100 (used, from previous owner Swissair) in 1996, which fuelled expansion to Bintulu. The route to Zürich was suspended in September 1996, to enable Royal Brunei to commence daily services to London Heathrow. Some London flights were routed through Yangon and Abu Dhabi, instead of via Singapore and Dubai; however, Yangon proved uneconomical and was discontinued the following year.
Consolidation: 1997–2002
On 6 September 1997, Royal Brunei Airlines Flight 839, a Dornier 228 owned by Royal Brunei Airlines, but operated and maintained by Malaysian regional carrier Hornbill Airways, carrying 10 passengers to Miri, crashed into high ground near Miri airport. All eight passengers and two crew died. The remaining Dornier 228s were sold in 1997, and short-haul services connecting Brunei to Miri, Labuan, Mulu, and Bintulu were terminated.
Later that year, Surabaya was the fourth Indonesian destination to be added. Unprofitable routes to Beijing and Osaka were suspended in 1998, and the F-100s were also sold to Alpi Eagles Airlines in 1998. Kuwait was added to the network in 2000, and was served via Singapore, Kolkata, and Dubai. It was suspended a year later. Services also began to Shanghai Pudong International Airport in 2001. Royal Brunei started online booking facilities the same year.
Restructuring: 2003–2005 In September 2002, Peter Foster was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO). He began major restructuring in 2003, after years of unprofitable operation. The plan was for Royal Brunei's fleet to grow from nine to twenty-four aircraft in a ten-year period, from 2003 to 2013. The fleet of six Boeing 767s would be changed to fifteen new narrow-body aircraft and eight wide-body aircraft; half of the new aircraft to be leased, and the others to be purchased. The plan also included new services to Auckland, Ho Chi Minh City, Sydney, Seoul, and Tokyo, as well as raising frequencies on other flights.
The deliveries of the new Airbus A319 and A320 in 2002 and 2003, respectively, marked the start of the re-equipping exercise. Two new V2500-powered A319s were delivered on 28 August and 3 September. A320s were added on 21 December 2003 and 3 January 2005. All of the Airbus were leased from CIT Group in a seven-year contract, and are deployed mainly on regional routes. With their introduction, the Boeing 757s were phased out and sold to other parties.
On 31 October 2003, a Royal Brunei Airlines aircraft touched down at Auckland Airport, making it the first destination in New Zealand, and the first new destination added to the network as part of the restructuring exercise. On May the launching of Royal Skies, the airline's frequent-flyer program.
At the end of 2003, Royal Brunei Airlines entered a controversial agreement with Royal Tongan Airlines of Tonga. Under the agreement, Royal Tongan Airlines wet-leased one of the two remaining Boeing 757s. In return, Royal Brunei Airlines was given the opportunity to open up US markets via Tonga. However, before US routes could be planned Royal Tongan Airlines went into bankruptcy with huge debts in mid-2004, after less than six months of operation. As Royal Tongan Airlines was unable to pay the lease fees, the 757 was repossessed and stored.
Starting in March 2004, four of Royal Brunei Airline's Boeing 767s were modified by the introduction of SkyDreamer seats in Business Class, to replace the old First Class and Business Class Skyluxe seats. Business Class was renamed as Sky Executive Class, and in Economy class, each seat was installed with an 8.4 inch television. Sky Executive Class was subsequently renamed Business Class following poor response from the public.
The unprofitable Taipei route was suspended in late 2004. Kuching and Kolkata were dropped on 31 October 2004 due to rising fuel prices, but at the same time, Sydney was added to the route network. Commencing 17 December, flights to Jeddah were routed through Sharjah instead of Abu Dhabi. During the year, the airline launched Blue Sky Fares, a low-cost internet booking facility, offering cheaper economy class fares on selected destinations, to compete with low-cost carriers in the region, such as AirAsia. In August 2005, Peter Foster resigned as CEO to take up a similar post at another airline.
Growth: 2006–2011
Royal Brunei Airlines added Ho Chi Minh City to its network list in May 2006, a destination served thrice weekly.
Brunei Darussalam and the United Kingdom (UK) agreed to allow more air services between the countries on 23 November 2007, enhancing the two countries' cooperation in the aviation sector. The agreement came into action with immediate effect. This came off the back of the latest tourism figures of 3,459 European holiday visitor arrivals from January to August 2007.
In early September 2007, Royal Brunei Airlines suspended flights to Frankfurt am Main as part of its latest restructuring exercise. Kuching was reintroduced to the network on 1 December 2007, after a break of three years. Royal Brunei Airlines then suspended services to Darwin on 26 January 2008, after serving the route for 24 years. Sharjah was also dropped from the network early 2008, as Jeddah flights are served non-stop from Bandar Seri Begawan. Shanghai was 'suspended' in April 2008, and Sydney and Bali were dropped from the summer schedule of 2008.
On 2 June 2008, Royal Brunei Airlines increased services to Auckland from Bandar Seri Begawan by offering a new three-weekly direct service. This direct service was in addition to an increase in the frequency of the existing route via Brisbane from three to four times a week. The following year, Robert Yang was appointed as chief executive officer effective from 1 July, after the departure of Ray Sayer.
From 28 March 2010, the service to Shanghai resumed with a frequency of four times per week. Auckland was delinked from Brisbane, making Auckland five times per week, and Brisbane six times per week. From 17 June 2010, Royal Brunei Airlines introduced ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft to replace the Boeing 767 fleet being returned to their lessors; the inaugural Boeing 777 service was the Bandar Seri Begawan to London Heathrow service via Dubai, on 17 June. The last of the airline's long-serving Boeing 767s were withdrawn from service on 27 September. Plans were also announced during the year for a four times a week Brunei to Melbourne service with the Boeing 777-200ER, starting from 29 March 2011.
On 12 February 2011, Brudirect.com reported that Robert Yang had announced his resignation as the CEO of Royal Brunei Airlines, with effect from 1 March 2011.
Stabilisation plan: 2012–present