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Dabbas…news and initiatives

Hussein Dabbas, CEO of Royal Jordanian (RJ) who was appointed on August 1, 2009, speaks to Maysa Zureikat about the company’s latest news and initiatives.

What are Royal Jordanian’s load factors for the year 2009?

The load factors are not published yet  but it is expected the number of passengers transported will be around 2.66 million and the seat factor will reach around 70 per cent.

What new routes will RJ open for 2010? And what were the new routes it opened in 2009?

In April, 2009, RJ resumed service between Brussels and Amman after six years during which flights were suspended for commercial reasons and in June we began operating direct, regular services between Amman and the Libyan city of Benghazi after around 30 years of suspended services.

The airline will also open a new route to Al Medina Al Munawwarah in Saudi Arabia in April 2010 and will conduct studies to open routes to other markets.

Previously, in 2008, RJ opened new routes to Kiev, Ukraine and Hong Kong, China.

What new initiatives will did you launch in 2009?

In 2009, RJ was involved many positive initiatives that added up to the successes of the airline.

In February the OnAir mobile service was launched on board two Airbus A319 carriers enabling passengers to stay connected in flight, using their mobile phones and accessing the Internet and sending emails through smartphones.

Also in February the airline concluded its short and medium-haul fleet modernisation programme and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) awarded RJ 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 RJ’s headquarters in Amman.

In April the company implemented a new cargo IT platform and opened direct regular routes between Brussels and Amman.

Flights between Amman and Benghazi began in June and in July RJ adopted a new group revenue management system.

In September Royal Jordanian and Siberia airlines (S7), the largest domestic airline in Russia, signed a unilateral free sale code-share agreement, where S7 will place its code on RJ flights operated on the Amman-Domodedovo-Amman sector.

And since November, as part of the Oneworld airline alliance, RJ now partners with a new member in the alliance: Mexicana Airlines.

Could you give us an update on your fleet?

Royal Jordanian fleet consists of 29 aircraft: 26 passenger aircraft, two cargo freighters and one Royal Wings aircraft (Royal Wings is a wholly-owned company of RJ). In March 2009, the company concluded its short and medium-haul fleet modernisation programme by introducing the Airbus A319 (Ajloun) aircraft

The road ahead for Royal Jordanian

What’s in store for  2010?

In 2010, the company will start renewing its Airbus A340 aircraft. It will also build a new maintenance hangar at Queen Alia International Airport.

RJ is also keen on increasing the number of passengers it transports and its revenues.

Regarding the long-haul aircraft, the airline will continue weighing the most suitable options for RJ customers to compensate the delay announced by Boeing in delivering the first B787 Dreamliner which was scheduled to join the fleet in 2010.

The new headquarters of RJ will also continue to be built next year.

Many systems at the airline will be modernised in 2010 such as human resources, maintenance, purchasing and cargo systems.

The company will also continue improving its on-ground and in-air services.

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