Royal Brunei Airlines is the national airline of the oil rich Sultanate of Brunei located on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. This tiny country with its population of less than 300, 000 is perhaps more well known for its ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, once listed in the Guiness Book of records as the world’s richest man (pre- Bill Gates of course!)
RBA first started services in the mid seventies as a modest commuter operation serving regional South East Asian cities from its hub Bandar Seri Begawan, the Brunei capital named after the Sultan’s father . Following the country’s independence in 1984, the airline expanded its network to include destinations in Europe (London & Frankfurt) via the Gulf and three Australian cities (Perth, Brisbane and Darwin).
The RBA fleet is an all Boeing one comprising of 757s and 767s for regional and long haul sectors respectively. The cabin crew hail from the surrounding Asean countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. Food on board is of a high standard with three choices for the main meal in economy. However, alcohol is not served on board (being a Muslim airline) although there is usually no problem if you ’bring your own’.....ice cubes are willingly supplied!!! The entertainment onboard is reasonable although there are no personal TV sets/ computer games (SIA and Malaysian have a clear advantage here)
The sector I have flown most often is the London-Brunei sector which is not usually full during off peak periods, which means that there is nobody sitting next to you more often than not.....MORE LEG ROOM!!....always a plus. My dad once flew the airline from Brunei to Beijing....there were 5 passengers on board! Needless to say, services to China have now been suspended. However the airline is becoming increasingly popular with Brits making the trip DOWN UNDER and Aussies going the other way.....the main attraction being cost, often undercutting the traditional airlines such as BA, Qantas , SIA and Malaysia airlines. It has also attracted a lot of business from the Gulf region....Dubai is more or less the airline’s second hub.
I usually fly economy class although have been upgraded to First Class on one occasion...... I must say, I was impressed by the gold plated seat buckles and toilet fittings...very nice!
RBA can stake a claim to fame.....it was the airline the doomed Nick Leeson used to flee South East Asia following the collapse of Barings Bank in the nineties. On landing in Frankfurt airport he was promptly arrested. I don’t think they will be using him in any of their advertising campaigns....
I must have flown RBA over a dozen times ( having previously lived in Brunei) and so feel reasonably qualified to give an accurate assessment of this airline. The airline has never let me down and I can recommend the Brunei Sultanate’s expanding airline with confidence.