RJ’s new A330 to replace two A310s

Royal Jordanian (RJ), the national carrier of Jordan, has received its third Airbus A330 aircraft, replacing the two A310 passenger aircraft, slated to phase out in the near future.

With the new addition, the RJ fleet will comprise 32 planes that serve 59 direct destinations.

Hussein Dabbas, RJ’s president and CEO, said that the decision to introduce the aircraft was part of the airline’s plan to modernize its fleet and replace the long-serving aircraft with modern planes, thus offering passengers the highest levels of comfort, especially during long-range flights.

Dabbas added that this aircraft is leased on a long term operating lease until January 2017, to cover part of the RJ route network in light of the delay in the delivery of the 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which will start joining the fleet in early 2014.

The aircraft will operate on the long- and medium-range routes, among which are Colombo and the Nigerian capital, Lagos, a new route which the airline is planning to open before the end of this year, Dabbas said.

The RJ president pointed out that the three A330s besides the four A340s will allow RJ to broaden its long-range network and thus serve new destinations in different worldwide points.

RJ, the oneworld carrier, introduced the first two A330 aircraft in May 2010 which are currently run to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and London.

RJ’s Airbus A330 is a wide-bodied aircraft that seats 283 passengers, 24 in Crown class. It holds 15 tons of cargo and flies a range of 13,400 km non-stop.