AMMAN — Royal Jordanian reached an agreement with Airbus to introduce 20 new factory-built Airbus A320neo family aircraft to its fleet, replacing its current 13 A320ceo aircraft in service.
This comes in accordance with the airline’s strategic plan to modernise its narrow-body fleet of aircraft that serves its core destinations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, according to a statement from the national carrier.
RJ Vice Chairman/CEO Samer Majali said that the airline plans to increase the total fleet size from today’s 24 to over 40 aircraft in the next three to five years.
Majali said that the company’s five-year growth strategy (2023-2028), intends to bolster its position as “the preferred air carrier in the Levant, promoting Amman as the leading gateway in the region and Jordan as a remarkable tourism destination”.
The plan is flexible in allowing the continuous restructuring of the airline’s route network, enhancing its connectivity and improving the quality of service offerings at all touch points in a concerted effort to make passengers’ experience more comfortable and convenient, the statement said.
Majali said that the airline conducted thorough and comprehensive feasibility studies to decide on the best choice of aircraft to replace the currently operating A320ceo family fleet.
The A320neo family features the very latest fuel efficient engines, large sharklets and the innovative Airspace Cabin for enhanced passenger comfort. Since all A320 family aircraft share the same fly-by-wire digital flight controls, cabin management systems, maintenance systems and parts, these commonalities help reduce the scheduling and training costs of pilots and technicians, lowering the introductory investment expenditure as well as the operational and maintenance costs of service.
Additionally, an advantage that influenced the selection process is the broad technical and logistical support in the region at all airports where the airline operates this type of aircraft.
The aircraft will be equipped with the latest ergonomically designed seats, wireless communication, and Internet as well as inflight entertainment throughout the cabin. Some of the aircraft on longer routes will have lie-flat business class seats.
Majali indicated that negotiations with Boeing are ongoing to increase the number of B787s in the fleet from seven to 11 in the next several years.
The airline is currently evaluating new B787-9 and -10 aircraft as potential growth aircraft as well as the replacements for the current fleet in due course.
At the same time, RJ plans to introduce new regional aircraft to allow the airline to grow its flight frequencies to primary and secondary destinations in the region to daily flights and more, in the second half of next year. These new aircraft will also allow for exploring new routes with the least investment and lowest risk. The airline stated that the selected type will be announced soon.
RJ will continue to expand its network and evaluate new markets to enhance traffic and connect Jordan to the world, and to bring more tourists to Jordan by providing attractive fares and excellent services, read the statement.
