The introduction of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Royal Brunei Airlines’ Melbourne route is expected to significantly enhance the carrier’s appeal in the Australian market, a senior executive has predicted.
In Australia for the launch, Brunei-based chief commercial and planning officer Karam Chand told Travel Today the 787 will become the “aircraft of choice” for passengers due to its ability to reduce jetlag and turbulence.
He added that the deployment is proof of Royal Brunei’s commitment to “improving productivity”, with the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency one of its major benefits.
The airline will undertake a range of local marketing activities to promote the Dreamliner, Chand explained. He highlighted these as reduced jetlag thanks to superior climate control and the aircraft’s ability to fly at lower altitudes, mood lighting throughout, individually adjustable windows and additional legroom.
The aircraft is also equipped with digital sensors that minimise the impact of turbulence.
“It’s really well designed to reduce the impact on customers,” he said. “Although it’s not widely known now, as more and more customers experience it, it will become their aircraft of choice. The feedback from our customers so far is that they really like the 787 and prefer it to other aircraft.”
The addition makes Royal Brunei the only carrier to offer a Dreamliner service between Australia and London. The service stops in Brunei and Dubai, but Chand claimed the additional stop is not a deterrent, arguing that many travellers actually prefer to break up their journey.
Meanwhile, he said the airline is “happy” with its performance in the Australian market.
It established a four times weekly Melbourne service in March 2011 which was ramped up to daily within one year of operation. Load factor on the route are currently trending just below 70%, according to Chand.
While he identified the low season as a particular challenge, he said the airline has been proactive in tweaking its service to make it as efficient as possible.
Last April the airline restructured its schedule with its inbound Melbourne service, which used to arrive just before 11pm prohibiting onward connections to other Australian ports, now arriving first thing in the morning in a move that has improved connectivity.
“Inbound was a challenge,” Chand admitted. “But we worked very hard to address that and now we are starting to see the benefits.”
The airline has also been working “very closely” with Virgin Australia with the partnership growing in importance for Royal Brunei as it has reduced its number of Australian ports.
“The travel trade has picked up on that and has started to really sell it,” Chand said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a very big increase but it’s certainly an increase on where we were.”
He claimed the airline’s “agent friendly” approach has seen the trade offer strong support with more than 75% of sales coming through that channel.
“We don’t undercut them, we support them with very competitive commissions and some of the best incentive schemes in the market,” he said. “We really appreciate what they do for smaller companies like us.”
Famils are also on the agenda with Kota Kinabalu likely to be a particular focus in the Australian market over the coming year, Chand revealed.
Meanwhile, he identified Australia as a “very important market” for the airline, and insisted that, while in the short term Melbourne is a “natural gateway”, it is always contemplating potential new routes.
“We never say no to expansion plans,” he said. “Route options are always under consideration and we haven’t ruled anything out. First, we’ll grow our fleet and then we’ll reassess.”
