Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - RJ Route Rumors

I met a Royal Jordanian pilot last week who was transiting from Chicago to Montreal. We were sitting in the gate area and although he was not in uniform, I noticed that he had a laptop, with a decal that read "Royal Jordanian Flight Operations" and the signature Jordanian crown. I struck up a conversation with him and he told me that he was a pilot for Royal Jordanian.

He said when the 787 enters service, Tokyo and Beijing are the highest priority and would be served together similar to the AMM-BKK-HKG route. He mentioned that HKG would go nonstop, to allow for Cathy connections and that São Paulo and Johannesburg were priorities as well. I asked him about if they were considering restarting MIA or LAX and he said no new North America service.

He also mentioned new short haul service to Helsinki, Algiers, Ankara and Tehran.

I met a Royal Jordanian pilot last week who was transiting from Chicago to Montreal. We were sitting in the gate area and although he was not in uniform, I noticed that he had a laptop, with a decal that read "Royal Jordanian Flight Operations" and the signature Jordanian crown. I struck up a conversation with him and he told me that he was a pilot for Royal Jordanian.

He said when the 787 enters service, Tokyo and Beijing are the highest priority and would be served together similar to the AMM-BKK-HKG route. He mentioned that HKG would go nonstop, to allow for Cathy connections and that São Paulo and Johannesburg were priorities as well. I asked him about if they were considering restarting MIA or LAX and he said no new North America service.

He also mentioned new short haul service to Helsinki, Algiers, Ankara and Tehran.

The short-haul routes seem logical, Helsinki given AY and I think the other routes will be quite successful on a flight on a 2-3 weekly basis to begin with. Ankara and Algiers were suggested a while ago but can't remember where. Tehran, to connect with London and North America flights will work...I don't think there is enough O&D between Jordan and Iran.

Would Sao Paulo be served non-stop from AMM? Surely, it would be better if RJ flies to MAD/LHR then BA or IB carry passengers the rest of the way, especially given EK's presence between DXB and GRU. Unless RJ plans to capitalise on the traffic between Lebanon and Brazil, then this route could have some potential.

As for RJ's expansion to Asia, I guess HKG non-stop is inevitable, though from a selfish viewpoint, I'm sure some will be sad to lose the BKK-HKG connection. The AMM-PEK-NRT route is interesting.....I also thought there would be more chance of a PVG route being opened up. I wonder if the link between PEK and TYO might have to do with potential plans to operate into HND? I wonder if BKK will be linked potentially to KUL/CGK/SIN?

Here is another rumor for me to add (albeit I read this on wikipedia....:D)

Royal Jordanian announced that it was going to open three new lounges worldwide in Dubai, New York and London with the lounges set to open in late 2009, or early 2010.

I guess the above might seem fairly logical...they fly three times daily to Dubai and daily to London...while New York has been their longest-served North American destination.

Thanks for the interesting rumors! It would be great to see them eventuate either in the short-term or long-term.

Would Sao Paulo be served non-stop from AMM? ...Unless RJ plans to capitalise on the traffic between Lebanon and Brazil, then this route could have some potential.
He didn't mention if it was direct or non-stop. GRU-AMM-BKK is only 400 miles longer than GRU-DXB-BKK, so perhaps it can compete for Asian connections, better connect South America with Lebanon and (last but not least) connect Jordan and SA.

I also thought there would be more chance of a PVG route being opened up. I wonder if the link between PEK and TYO might have to do with potential plans to operate into HND? I wonder if BKK will be linked potentially to KUL/CGK/SIN?
I think that RJ's intention is to allow for easier connections from HKG, via Cathay, by offering AMM-HKG nonstop.

Thanks for the interesting rumors! It would be great to see them eventuate either in the short-term or long-term.Same here!