3 Boeing 777s available to RBA on lease

THREE Boeing 777s will be available to Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) on lease, after the Mumbai High Court had approved the deal for troubled Jet Airways of India, a report from an India newspaper said over the weekend.

Royal Brunei Airlines officials were unable to return calls by press time yesterday, however an industry insider said that RBA is expecting training for their staff and crew in anticipation for the arrival of the Boeing 777s wide-body jets suitable to fly long-haul routes.

Sources said RBA technical staff had also travelled to New Delhi to assess the aircraft earlier this year.

"A lot of the leave for in-flight staff have been frozen," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source also added that the engineering staff from Brunei's national carrier are expected to undergo training in Washington State, US, home of aircraft manufacturer, Boeing.

The B777s' arrival in Brunei is part of RBA's intentions to revamp its ageing fleet reported previously by The Brunei Times.

The move is expected to strengthen the airline's long-haul capabilities by being able to cater for more passengers and to travel to more destinations.

The source said the plans are aimed at having the planes operational early next year, possibly in February.

When contacted, Shubratandon, a Mumbai correspondent for the Hindu Business Line, said that the deal taking the planes to Brunei Darussalam needed to be approved by the Mumbai High Court after a dispute between Jet Airways and Sahara, which it bought over in 2007.

Whether RBA will elect to use the Jet Airways aircraft still remains to be seen.

Reports from Bloomberg UTV had said Jet Airways previously leased the aircraft to Gulf Air and the very same planes were being lined up for Brunei's national carrier.

While the official figures have yet to be released, the report from Bloomberg UTV had stated that an earlier deal to lease 777s from Air India priced between $1 million and $1.5 million per aircraft. The leasing deal struck with Gulf Air of Bahrain was valued at $2.2 million.

The airline industry had been abuzz after news had initially surfaced on RBA's plan to lease several ex-Varig aircraft. One of the planes had even been repainted and was photographed in Fort Worth, Texas, with the RBA livery. The Brunei Times