introduction: National carrier
Taking off
Inspired by the vision of His Majesty the late King Hussein of Jordan, the Kingdom's national carrier, Royal Jordanian, launched its operations in 1963. "I want our national carrier to be the ambassador of goodwill and the bridge across which we exchange culture, civilisation, trade, technology, friendship and better understanding with the rest of the world." This was the statement of decree by the late ruler whose vision came to fruition. The airline has played an integral role in supporting Jordan's mission to introduce its unique product to the world stage.
Today, under the guidance and directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II , the airline continues to prosper, while constantly modernising and upgrading its services, renewing its fleet and expanding its route network and operations.
Headquartered in the heart of the capital, Amman, Royal Jordanian's flights are operated from Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA ). Its modern fleet covers a network of 58 destinations on four continents including Asia, Europe, America and Africa. The airline owns Royal Wings, a Royal Jordanian subsidiary company dedicated to charter business, operating from Amman Civil Airport in Marka. It also owns 20 percent of Jordan Airline Training and Simulation Limited (JATS), 20 percent of Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Limited (JorAMCo), 20 percent of Alpha (the flight catering services company) and six percent of the Royal Jordanian Air Academy.
Owing to its excellent reputation and international level of competitiveness, the airline was honoured when the prestigious oneworld airline alliance invited Royal Jordanian to join its elite membership, alongside American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Qantas, to name a few.
Royal Jordanian was the first Arab and regional air carrier selected to join any of the three global airline alliances (oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance). The airline officially joined oneworld in 2007, after it completed all technical and technological requirements to become part of the alliance.
Sky's the limit
Royal Jordanian's new modern fleet of 31 aircraft serving over 58 destinations includes: Airbus 340, A321, A320, A319, A310 and Embraer 195 and 175 aircraft, in addition to two dedicated A310 freighters. In 2010, the airline acquired two new Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
"The decision to introduce these aircraft was part of the airline's plan to modernise its fleet, thus offering passengers the highest levels of comfort, especially during long-range flights," said Royal Jordanian president and CEO, Hussein Dabbas.
According to Dabbas, the Airbus A330s were acquired because of the delayed delivery of the 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners that were schedule to join the fleet at the beginning of 2011, which will be added in 2013.
Royal Jordanian significantly increased the frequency of operations to several destinations on its route network in response to the growing demand during the summer season of 2010. In fact, the airline showed record figures for seat bookings resulting in more daily flights to regional destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama, Jeddah, Kuwait, Beirut, and Cairo; as well as international cities like Istanbul, Baghdad, Bangkok, Colombo, Frankfurt and London. In total, the airline increased flight frequencies operated to and from Amman to more than 110 daily.
Awards and accolades
The airline has been honoured with many awards, accolades, and certifications recognising the excellent customer services, quality standards and technology advances of the carrier.
In March 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) awarded Royal Jordanian the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certification, following the successful completion of a comprehensive audit of all ground-handling operations at Queen Alia International Airport and at Royal Jordanian's headquarters in Amman.
Also in 2009, the airline was awarded the Air Cargo Award of Excellence in the Air Carrier category for achieving a superior overall rating from Air Cargo World magazine.
Additionally, Royal Jordanian launched its modern cargo website rj-cargo.com which provides a 24/7 cargo tracker service as well as important information about the airline's cargo services, tariffs and surcharges, air freighters, news releases and flight schedules.
In April 2010, the airline launched its 'Online check-in' service, enabling passengers to issue their boarding passes electronically from their home or office computers. This in turn allows passengers who only have carryon luggage to make their way directly to the boarding gate after stamping their passports at the immigration counter. According to Dabbas, "Royal Jordanian permanently seeks to improve its services by keeping pace with the modern technology in the air transport industry".
Royal Jordanian has also been the official carrier of the World Economic Forum since 2003 with the participation of more than 1,500 leaderships and officials. The airline effortlessly deals with group check-ins and special arrangements, facilitating large delegations to the Kingdom.
With such a strong aviation infrastructure, industry recognition for service and quality, and a solidified relationship with a network of international carriers that extends its network to 750 destinations worldwide, Royal Jordanian offers meeting organisers, event planners and all visitors to Jordan an excellent partner in the sky.
