Bandar Seri Begawan (The Brunei
Times/ANN) - While the aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific recovers from a
financially turbulent 2011, Brunei had an unforgettable year with numerous
route cancellations and job cuts by its national carrier.
The Association of Asia-Pacific
Airlines (AAPA) in a recent statement said that airlines based in the region
carried 15.7 million international passengers in November 2011, a four per cent
increase compared to November 2010, maintaining the trend for 2011.
Suspensions of services
Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) in
June 2011 made a pivotal decision to suspend its services to Auckland,
Brisbane, Perth, Ho Chih Minh City and to Kuching, a move which it deemed
"necessary" to stay afloat.
In July 2011, the national
carrier released a statement saying that the route cuts were essential to
"ensure the very survival" of the airline.
The airline's financial
performance on long haul has deteriorated to a point where the existing network
is simply not sustainable in its current form, RBA said in a statement.
"Change is
unavoidable," RBA said, adding that they no longer want to "heavily
subsidise" long-haul traffic.
"RBA has been effectively
providing subsidies to over 90 per cent of the traffic that doesn't contribute
to Brunei or our economy," it said.
Hence, RBA will be moving its
focus to the regional market, a move it calls "a return to its
roots".
The airline will be focusing on
regional traffic and maintaining only the long-haul routes which are consistent
with the airline's long-term objectives.
RBA's current furthest flights
are to London via Dubai, and to Melbourne, Australia, followed by non-regional
flights to Jeddah, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The route to Melbourne was only
launched in March 29, 2011, which Deputy Chairman Dermot Mannion said will
reflect Brunei's hospitality and kindness in its service.
"We are very conscious of
the responsibility that has been placed on our shoulders in launching this new
service," he said before the inaugural flight.
Mannion was put at the helm in
February 12, 2011, following the departure of ex-Chief Executive Officer,
Robert Yang.
During Yang's short stint at
RBA (he joined in July 2009), he saw to the delivery of RBA's new Boeing 777's
and also announced the purchase of the 787 Dreamliner.
RBA said that Yang left to
pursue other interests.
On December 15, 2011, more
turmoil followed for RBA as it announced the retrenching of its employees.
Although it did not reveal the
actual number of jobs slashed, RBA said that as part of its restructuring,
which took effect in October 2011, "a number of cabin crew members have
been released from duty".
With its plan put in motion,
RBA on November 26, 2011, teamed up with Amadeus Altea Customer Management
Solution to launch its new online booking system, aimed to increase efficiency
in handling customers.
The Altea suite will provide
the airline with a next generation technology to make it more competitive, both
regionally and globally, and will equip RBA with the tools needed to improve
business efficiency and performance, that includes: reduced waiting time at airports
and improved customer service.
Deputy Chairman Mannion said
during the launch that some of the new features include a more attractive and
user-friendly interface, clear fare options, detailed booking display with
price breakdown, a currency converter and a weather forecast to selected
destinations.
RBA is also looking at adding
one more Airbus A320 to its short-haul fleet in March-May 2012, said a report
on Aviationweek.com.
The report also stated that RBA
has no Airbus A320's on order, which means it is likely to lease one.
A separate report also stated
that RBA is looking to cut short its lease on the Boeing 777's, a logical move
considering its plans to move away from long-haul subsidies.
Low-cost carriers
On January 3, 2011, AirAsia
halted the Brunei to Kota Kinabalu (KK) route, making RBA the only provider for
the sector.
The low-cost carrier flew
direct from KK to Brunei for less than a year before discontinuing the service
based on commercial reasons.
However, newcomer Cebu Pacific
(CEB) said on October 3, 2011, that they will be increasing frequency from
Brunei to Manila which starts on January 7, 2012.
With this new addition, CEB has
maximised its approval from the Bruneian authorities to service the route up to
four times weekly.
CEB, who celebrated its
one-year anniversary of its entrance to Brunei in August 2011, flew 33,500
passengers on the Brunei-Manila route.
New challengers
Malaysia Airlines subsidy
MASwings has announced its confirmation of flights to Brunei from KK and
Kuching just last month.
Chief Executive Officer Datuk
Capt Mohd Nawawi in a Bernama report said that that it will begin on February
1, 2012, where they will operate the smaller ATR72-500 aircrafts which can seat
about 70 passengers.
MASwings is expected to fly
from KK to Brunei twice a day, and from Kuching to Brunei three times weekly.
Besides facing stiff
competition from MASwings, RBA, in future, may also have to battle Sabah's new
airline, established to serve Sabah and Sarawak.
The Sabah government, on
November 2011, proposed a new regional airline to be established to serve the
regions needs.
Bruneians will get a wider
range of options with more flights coming in, as citizens will be able to tap
onto the Malaysian Airlines network through MASwings' flight to Malaysia's
third busiest airport, Kuching, and KK, who is fighting to be the BIMP-EAGA
hub.
Goh De No in Bandar Seri
Begawan/ The Brunei Times | ANN
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