Royal Brunei enters regional cooperation with Malindo Air
Brunei’s national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines is launching regional operations on the island of Borneo in a tie-up with Malaysian low-cost carrier Malindo Air.
The new service will operate as “RB Link” with two new leased ATR 72-600s turboprops to connect five cities on Borneo with Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
Malindo was chosen as a partner in order to “ensure a good fit between the market sizes and seat capacity requirements”, Royal Brunei said, adding that the initial agreement will run for two years.
Royal Brunei has identified Balikpapan, Bintulu, Sandakan, Sibu and Tawau as the first destinations it plans to serve with the ATRs. These services are subject to government approvals.
Malindo’s cabin crew will serve the initial phases of the operation before being supplemented by Royal Brunei’s crew.
Looking forward, Royal Brunei’s chief commercial officer Martin Aeberli said that there were ten cities in Borneo with a population greater than 300,000 that RB Link could operate to. It could also consider operating services to the southern Philippines and boosting frequencies to existing destinations such as Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.
“The ATR typically is an airplane for shorter sectors, so the focus will be Borneo island, no doubt. Having said this, there are some other interesting spots which we could serve under the concept of RB Link,” he said.
Brunei’s national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines is launching regional operations on the island of Borneo in a tie-up with Malaysian low-cost carrier Malindo Air. The new service will operate as “RB Link” with two new leased ATR 72-600s turboprops to connect five cities on Borneo with Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan. Malindo was chosen as a partner in order to “ensure a good fit between the market sizes and seat capacity requirements", Royal Brunei said, adding that the initial agreement will run for two years. Royal Brunei has identified Balikpapan, Bintulu, Sandakan, Sibu and Tawau as the first destinations it...
Brunei’s national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines is launching regional operations on the island of Borneo in a tie-up with Malaysian low-cost carrier Malindo Air.
The new service will operate as “RB Link” with two new leased ATR 72-600s turboprops to connect five cities on Borneo with Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
Malindo was chosen as a partner in order to “ensure a good fit between the market sizes and seat capacity requirements”, Royal Brunei said, adding that the initial agreement will run for two years.
Royal Brunei has identified Balikpapan, Bintulu, Sandakan, Sibu and Tawau as the first destinations it plans to serve with the ATRs. These services are subject to government approvals.
Malindo’s cabin crew will serve the initial phases of the operation before being supplemented by Royal Brunei’s crew.
Looking forward, Royal Brunei’s chief commercial officer Martin Aeberli said that there were ten cities in Borneo with a population greater than 300,000 that RB Link could operate to. It could also consider operating services to the southern Philippines and boosting frequencies to existing destinations such as Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.
“The ATR typically is an airplane for shorter sectors, so the focus will be Borneo island, no doubt. Having said this, there are some other interesting spots which we could serve under the concept of RB Link,” he said.
