First A320neo for Royal Brunei as it expands network

By June 1, 2018 January 16th, 2020 General News

Royal Brunei Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo during a ceremony in Toulouse, France, with six more due to be delivered as part of its fleet renewal programme.

The aircraft will go into revenue service on 7 June with Singapore to be the first destination from Brunei. The national flag carrier of Brunei Darussalam also has options for three more aircraft.

Karam Chand, chief executive officer of Royal Brunei Airlines, said: “Airbus A320neo aircraft come equipped with Leap-1A26 CFM engines featuring some of the best fuel, noise, emission and operating efficiency in its class, and will allow Royal Brunei Airlines to achieve significant cost savings and reduce its emissions footprint.”

The aircraft is also the world’s first narrow-body fitted with the Thales Avant (Gen5) in-flight entertainment system. All the new aircraft will also have business, economy plus and economy seats with leather covering, USB power outlets and audio/video-on-demand. These have been added bearing in mind the changing needs of passengers and to provide seamless and consistent service to the airline’s guests transferring from Boeing 787 Dreamliner long-haul services to the A320 flights.

“The new aircraft will also play an important role in maintaining and improving our operational reliability. Royal Brunei’s on-time performance is 90%, one of the best in the industry; however, we believe we need to keep improving this as the vast majority of guests travelling to/from/via Brunei use our services. The extended range of Airbus A320neos also provides Royal Brunei with a lower-risk option to pioneer new medium-haul markets of up to seven hours duration, and we will be making new route announcements over the next several months,” added Chand.

Royal Brunei’s fleet consists of 10 aircraft: four B787-8 Dreamliners and six A320ceos. Eight new aircraft will join its fleet by December 2018 (a fifth B787 and seven A320neos). The fleet’s average age will be two years by the end of 2018. The airline operates out of its hub airport, Bandar Seri Begawan, to 18 destinations worldwide. It plans to further develop its network to Seoul, Beijing and other Asian cities.

Present at the commemorative ceremony was Her Excellency Datin Paduka Malai Hajah Halimah binti Malai Haji Yussof, Brunei Ambassador to France; Karam Chand, Royal Brunei Airlines CEO; Eric Schulz, Airbus chief commercial officer; Mohammad Nazri Mohammad Yusof, acting director of Brunei Department of Civil Aviation; Jason Tonich, vice-president and general manager of GE Aviation Sales and Elsie Yamanouye, director, customer programme management at Thales.