Royal Jordanian

Royal Jordanian
الملكية الأردنية

File:RoyalJordanianLogo.png
IATA ICAO Call sign RJ RJA JORDANIAN
Founded	1963 as Alia Airlines
Hubs	Queen Alia International Airport
Focus cities	Aqaba Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Royal Plus
Alliance	Oneworld
Subsidiaries	Royal Jordanian Xpress Royal Wings Royal Jordanian Cargo Royal Jordanian Ground Handling
Fleet size	31 (+11 orders/leases, 16 options)
Destinations	57
Headquarters	Amman, Jordan
Key people	Hussein Dabbas (CEO)
Website	http://www.rj.com

Royal Jordanian Airlines (Template:Lang-ar; transliterated: al-Malakiyah al-Orduniyah) is an airline based in Amman Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at Queen Alia International Airport at Amman (AMM) Jordan. Royal Jordanian (RJ) is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and of Oneworld, the global airline alliance. RJ won the 'Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation' award for "Airline Turnaround of the Year 2006" on 9 November 2006. The airline operates over 500 flights per week, with at least 110 daily departures. In 2005 the company was able to buy its Acronym and IATA code "RJ" as an Internet Address, the famous RJ.com. It is one of only 4 Airlines (AA.com, BA.com, LH.com and RJ.com) to be in the VB.com Internet Hall of Fame owning a Two Letter .com domain name. Royal Jordanian was voted 'Airline of the Year 2007' by Air Finance Journal. [1]

History

The airline was established on 9 December 1963 and started operations on 15 December 1963 after a royal decree by the late King Hussein. It was named Alia—or Aalya—after King Hussein's first child, Princess Alia. It is a common misconception that the airline was named after the King's third wife, Queen Alya. The airline was founded with capital from private shareholders but the Jordanian government later took over the company.

Alia, the Royal Jordanian Airline started operations with two Handley Page Dart Herald and a Douglas DC-7 aircraft, serving Kuwait City (Kuwait), Beirut (Lebanon) and Cairo (Egypt) from Amman. In 1964, another DC-7 was added and service began to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). In 1965, Alia initiated service to Rome (Italy), its first destination in Europe. The progress made by the airline was threatened by an Israeli air raid during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when the DC-7 aircraft were destroyed. They were replaced by two Fokker F-27 airliners.

In 1968, the airline expanded its route pattern to Nicosia (Cyprus), Benghazi (Libya), Dhahran (Saudi Arabia) and Doha (Qatar). 1969 saw the addition of service to Munich (Germany), Istanbul (Turkey) and Tehran (Iran).

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar of Alia in the short-lived early 1980s livery

In 1970, Alia joined the jet age when they phased out the F-27s and ordered Boeing 707 aircraft. Frankfurt (Germany) and Abu Dhabi (UAE) were added to the network. The 707s were delivered in 1971. In that year, service was initiated to Madrid (Spain), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Karachi (Pakistan). During the rest of the decade, Boeing 720s, Boeing 727s and Boeing 747s were added to the fleet. A catering department was established, and 'duty free' shops were opened at Amman airport. Services were added to destinations including : Manama (Bahrain), Dubai (UAE), Muscat (Oman), Rabat (Morocco), Geneva (Switzerland), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Baghdad (Iraq), Bangkok (Thailand), Vienna (Austria), Larnaca (Cyprus) replacing Nicosia, Damascus (Syria), New York City, Houston (USA), and Ras al-Khaimah (UAE). In 1979, Alia became a founding member of the Arab Airlines Technical Consortium (AATC).

In the 1980s, Tunis (Tunisia) and Tripoli (Libya) joined the route map, and Alia's IBM computer center was inaugurated. Lockheed L-1011's, Airbus A310s and Airbus A320s joined the fleet. In 1986, Alia changed its name to Royal Jordanian. The airline's first woman pilot flew one of their aircraft during this decade. Service was added to Belgrade (Yugoslavia), Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami (USA), Bucharest (Romania), Singapore, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in cooperation with MAS), Sanaa (Yemen), Moscow (Russia), Montreal (Canada), Delhi, Calcutta (India) and Ankara (Turkey). This decade also saw the introduction of the Gabriel Automated Ticket System - (GATS).

A Royal Jordanian A310 at King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba

The 1990s saw further expansion. Royal Jordanian and nine other Arab air carriers signed up for the Galileo Reservations System. The IMCS maintenance and engineering system was added, a new Amman city air terminal was opened at the 7th Circle of the Jordanian capital, and service to Rafah, (Palestine) was started, since then halted. The cities of Toronto (Canada), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jakarta (Indonesia), Berlin (Germany), Mumbai (India), Milan (Italy) and Tel Aviv (Israel) were added to the network. Royal Jordanian became a code-sharing partner with the US carrier TWA.

In 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration renewed the airline's maintenance and engineering department's license. The duty free shop was among the services to be privatised. A holding company, RJI, wholly owned by the government, was incorporated as a public limited company in February 2001 to hold all the airline's and associated investments. The airline's name was changed on 5 February 2001 to Alia - The Royal Jordanian Airlines Company, although travellers still use the popular name of Royal Jordanian.

On 10 February 1996, the flag carrier's subsidiary Royal Wings started its first domestic service to Aqaba, the seaport on the Gulf of Aqaba, using a Fokker F-27. Royal Wings now operates an Airbus A320-212 aircraft on both scheduled and charter services to destinations in Egypt, Cyprus and Israel.

On 20 December 2006, Royal Jordanian announced that they would replace two Airbus A321 aircraft with two new units, and order of four new Airbus A319s to enter service in early 2008. With that order, Royal Jordanian would be the first Middle-Eastern airline to operate three aircraft from the Airbus A320 family.

In April 2007, Royal Jordanian became part of the Oneworld alliance, thus becoming the first Arab airline to join such a global alliance system. The following month, the airline announced an order for a total of 10 Boeing 787s, for service entry in 2010. This is the first order Royal Jordanian has placed with Boeing.[2].

Airbus A321-200

Montreal, Canada rejoined the network on 25 May 2007, after the route was cancelled in 1997. Also during May, Royal Jordanian was the sponsor of the World Economic Forum, which was held at the Dead Sea, Jordan.

On 11 July 2007, Royal Jordanian celebrated thirty years of non-stop service between Amman and New York City, making it the longest serving Arab airline to this gateway to the USA. RJ won the "Airline Strategy Award" in the technology category at the sixth annual 'Airline Strategy Awards' on 16 July 2007. On 23 July, RJ saw the introduction of cargo flights, Damascus (Syria) being the first destination served from Amman, using a Boeing 737 aircraft.

Royal Jordanian made its first flight to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on 28 July, using an Embraer 195. In October, RJ announced the switch of two Embraer 195 jets of its original order to two Embraer 175 jets. Royal Jordanian opened a new lounge at Aqaba Airport.

RJ will be the first Middle East airline to provide its passengers with OnAir’s in-flight internet and mobile phone services, including e-mail, SMS and voice calls. [3] Royal Jordanian has upgraded its three Airbus A310s at a cost of over 10 million Jordanian dinars.

Royal Jordanian was privatised at the end of 2007, resulting in 71% of its assets sold. The market capitalisation of the company stands at 260 million JOD, and share-trading commenced on 17 December 2007.

On 24 December 2007, Royal Jordanian confirmed Baku (Azerbaijan) as one of its new destinations for 2008, using an Embraer 195 twice weekly from Amman. In early 2008, however, RJ officials decided against the new route, citing that high fuel prices and a new market were a risk too large to take at that time. Royal Jordanian plans to operate the Amman-Baku route in late 2009 or early 2010. On 22 January 2008, RJ launched flights to Hong Kong via Bangkok (Thailand), with three flights/week during winter, and five flights/week during summer, making it the airline's first route to China. [4]

The Airbus A319 entered service on 13 March 2008, making RJ the first Middle East airline to operate three aircraft of the Airbus A320 family. [5] On 17 August 2008, Royal Jordanian opened a new route to Kiev (Ukraine), using Embraer 195 jets for this twice weekly service. On 24 August 2008, Royal Jordanian opened its new lounge at Queen Alia International Airport Amman, replacing the 'Petra' and 'Jerash' lounges. The new lounge is located on the second floor of the South Terminal and is the second largest airport lounge in the Middle East, being able to handle over 340 passengers. [6]

The airline recorded an 18% increase in passenger numbers in July 2008. With the airline transporting 278,000 passengers, the seat factor grew by 5% in that month to reach 81%.[7] As part of Royal Jordanian's commitment to its airline alliance Oneworld, an announcement was made at the alliance's 10th birthday celebrations on 3 February 2009 that RJ would paint its new A319 — due for delivery in late March — in a scheme that would be based around the Oneworld name and logo. This is the first special colour scheme Royal Jordanian will have used. [8]

Royal Jordanian resumed service to Brussels on April 1 2009, six years after the route was discontinued by the airline, flying twice weekly from Amman with the airline planning to add a further two flights per week later in 2009.

Dec. 15, 2009 marks the 46th anniversary of Royal Jordanian, a company established by a decree issued by His Majesty King Hussein in 1963 to be the national carrier, with the aim of contributing to developing and promoting services, creating better ties with the world, promoting interaction with other cultures and establishing relations with other nations.

On March 28 2010, Royal Jordanian will inaugurate regular direct flights to Madinah Munawwarh, Saudi Arabia, with four weekly flights. On the 23rd of March, Royal Jordanian confirmed that it had ordered 2 A330-200's and 1 Emb-175, and that it would recommence operatiions to Kuala Lumpur, after they were suspended in the late 90's.

Slogans

[9]

Royal Jordanian Slogans

Slogan	Year commenced	Year finished
"From Jordan to the world"	1963	1968
"Excellence in air"	1968	1974
"Journey in Royalty" and "The way you want to fly"	1974	2005
"Change is in the air"	2006	2008
"You're there"	2008	Current

Statistics

The following information can be found in the 2009 Royal Jordanian Annual Report[10]

Financial and operational statistics

Year	Aircraft kilometers	Departures	Flying hours	Passengers	Seat factor	Employees	Profit/loss
2002	37,767,709	17,096	55,970	1,339,779	66%	3,008	Loss 3,044,000 JD
2003	36,933,462	16,202	54,972	1,404,588	68%	3,162	Loss 9,753,000 JD
2004	44,557,377	19,148	66,004	1,736,637	71%	3,313	Profit 15,327,000 JD
2005	45,557,377	20,777	68,883	1,821,329	69%	3,557	Profit 20,516,000 JD
2006	52,274,917	25,661	77,374	2,004,559	66%	3,799	Profit 6,135,000 JD
2007	56,055,803	30,244	88,378	2,288,000	71%	4,275	Profit 24,111,000 JD
2008	64,379,058	34,285	101,381	2,701,000	72%	4,507	Loss 23,400,000 JD
2009	T.B.A	T.B.A	105,436.24	2,700,000	T.B.A	T.B.A	Profit 28,600,000 JD

• Aircraft kilometers 2008: 64,379,058 ( 14.48%)
• Number of departures 2008: 34,285 ( 4041)
• Flying hours 2008: 101,381 ( 14.71%)
• Total number of passengers 2008: 2,701,000 ( 18.05%)
• Seat factor 2008: 72%. ( 1%)
• Employees 2008: 4,507 ( 232)
• Profit/loss 2008: Loss 23,400,000 JD

Scheduled services

Year	Passengers	Cargo	Excess baggage	Airmail
2005	285,913	45,944	4,413	2,364
2006	294,237	43,326	4,891	2,851

• Scheduled passenger flights 2006: 294,237 ( 2.83%)
• Scheduled cargo flights 2006: 43,326 ( 5.70%)
• Scheduled excess baggage flights 2006: 4,891 ( 9.77%)
• Scheduled airmail flights 2006: 2,851 ( 17.08%)

Subsidiaries

Royal Jordanian has stakes in the following:

• Royal Jordanian Cargo 100% [11]
• Royal Wings 100% [12]
• Jordan Airline Training and Simulation Limited (JATS) 20% [13]
• Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Limited (JorAMCo) 20% [14]
• Alpha (Flight catering services company) 30% [15]
• Royal Jordanian Air Academy 6% [16]

The following changes will stay until January 2009. [17]

Destinations

Main article: Royal Jordanian destinations

Planned destinations

Services to several new destinations are being considered by the Royal Jordanian board, these include: Algiers, Ankara, Berlin, Casablanca, Izmir, Johannesburg, Lagos, Luxor, Sydney, Tehran and Tokyo.

Fleet

Current fleet

The Royal Jordanian fleet consists of the following aircraft as of January 2010:

Royal Jordanian fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Options	Passengers (Crown/economy)	Notes
Airbus A310-300	3	—	—	201 (18/183)	New IFE and color scheme Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Airbus A319-100	4	—	—	110 (14/96) [18]	New seats with AVOD Fitted with on-air mobile services
Airbus A320-200	4	—	—	136 (16/120)	New seats with AVOD To be fitted with on-air mobile services Will be replaced with new aircraft between 2011 and 2012
Airbus A320-200	1	—	—	168 (0/168)[19]	Operated By Royal Wings
Airbus A321-200	4	—	—	168 (20/148)	New seats with AVOD To be fiited with on-air mobile services 2 Will be replaced with new aircraft between 2011 and 2012
Airbus A330-200	2
—	283 (24/259) [20]	Entering Service 2010 To be used on London and South East Asia Routes[21]
Airbus A340-200	4	—	—	254 (24/230)	New colour scheme Will be refited with new seats and in-seat in-flight entertainment Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Airbus A340-600 Prestige	1	—	—	VIP configuration	Operated for The King of Jordan.
Boeing 787-8	—	8	4	TBD	Entry into service: 2012-2014 Replacing: Airbus A310 and Airbus A340 Family Middle-Eastern launch customer Order includes 4 leases
Embraer E-175	2	1	—	70 (10/60)
Embraer E-195-200 AR	5	—	12	100 (12/88)	First Middle-Eastern Airline to operate aircraft
Total	28	11	16

As of January 2010, the average age of the Royal Jordanian fleet is 8.5 years. [22]

In early 2009, Royal Jordanian returned both Fokker F28 Mk4000s to AirQuarius Aviation as it decided to use more efficient aircraft to Iraq, due to the high fuel prices. Since that decision was made RJ is using its Embraer fleet to operate Iraqi routes.

Cargo

Royal Jordanian Cargo (Royal Jordanian Airlines Cargo) is the company's freight division operating to Africa, Europe, North America and Middle East. The airline also offers worldwide cargo charter services. Royal Jordanian Cargo flies to over 50 destinations including Baghdad, Tel Aviv, London, New York, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, Chicago, Delhi, and Bangkok.

Royal Jordanian Cargo Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Capacity (Weight)	Routes	Notes
Airbus A310-300F[23]	2	35.5 tonnes	Medium-long haul routes
Boeing 737-200F [24]	1	18 tons	Short haul routes	Operated by Transworld Aviation

Retired fleet

[25]

Royal Jordanian Retired Fleet

Aircraft	Total in fleet	Year retired
Airbus A300	1	1993
Boeing 707	4	1998
Boeing 727	4	1986-1990
Boeing 747	4	1990-1994
Fokker F-28	2	2009
Fokker F-27	3	1970
Lockheed L-1011	9	1988-1994

Royal Plus

Royal Plus is Royal Jordanians frequent flyer program. Passengers are awarded points based on the type, class of flight and destination. Royal Plus members can also get points by traveling on other Oneworld airlines.

The four tiers in the Royal Plus Program are:

• Royal Plus Blue
• Royal Plus Silver
• Royal Plus Gold
• Royal Plus Platinum

Card holders of Royal Jordanian's Royal Plus with either Silver, Gold or Platinum can use any Oneworld airline lounge/airport services across the world.

Services

Catering

Food and drinks served on flights leaving Amman are provided by Alpha Group. Hot meals will be served on a flight of at least one hour length. If the flight is shorter than one hour the cabin crew will provide snacks and drinks throughout the flight. These flights include those to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Aqaba from Amman.

Royal Jordanian, remains the only international airline in the world to offer its Economy Class passengers three meal options to choose from beef, fish or poultry on any flight of over two hours duration. [26]

In-flight entertainment

Royal Jordanians onboard entertainment system is called Sky Cinema.

• In Economy Class on A319, A320, and A321 aircraft all passengers are supplied with personal televisions (PTV) in the seat in front of them. This is an audio and video on demand system (AVOD). A310 and A340 aircraft do not feature PTVs and AVOD in Economy Class, instead they feature bulkhead mounted screens, as well as LCD screens located every five rows along the cabin.

• In Crown Class, passengers are provided with AVOD and 35 video channels and 25 audio channels on the A319, A320, A321 and A340 aircraft. The portable entertainment devices (IMS) are only available for Crown Class passengers flying on A310 and Embraer aircraft. The IMS service is provided on flights of approximately 3 hours and more of flight time. The IMS library contains movies, short subjects, an audio library and games.

Interactive games are available in all classes on all flights, as well as news provided by CNN on all flights.

On very short flights, from Amman to Tel Aviv, Amman to Beirut and Amman to Damascus, the AVOD system is turned on but there is only the selection of games, CNN News the "Flight Show" and the comedy channel. This is due to the flights been less than 45 minutes hence movies/shows would not be complete upon arrival.

Newspapers and magazines

Newspapers and magazines are available to all Crown Class passengers. Free newspapers are also provided to all Economy class passengers. The in-flight magazine, Royal Wings Magazine, is provided to all passengers.

Seating

Crown Class seats on the A340 are old-style fully flat beds. On the A310, the Recaro manufactured seats are 6' long flat bed seats, with a 175 degree slope.

Seat pitch is 83 inches on the A340, 51 inches on the A310 and 46 inches on the short and medium haul aircraft.

In Economy Class Royal Jordanian offers 32 inch seat pitch onboard its Embraer aircraft, whilst it offers 33 inch seat pitch onboard its Airbus aircraft. All Royal Jordanian Economy class seats also offer a foot-rest.

Crown Class lounges

Crown Class passengers can use lounges across the world including all Oneworld member airline lounges. As of August 2008 Royal Jordanian operates two lounges- one in Amman, Queen Alia International Airport and one at Aqaba, King Hussein International Airport. In August 2008 Royal Jordanian opened its new lounge, which can handle over 340 passengers. It is located in the South Terminal on the second floor and replaces the previous Jerash and Petra lounges in the airport. The new lounge is the second largest in the Middle East and provides facilities which include:

• A business center, with internet-connected computers.
• Jordanian and international newspapers and magazines.
• Isolated room for relaxing.
• Hotel-like bedrooms.
• Showers.
• Play room for children, with TV.

  

  A320 taking off from Queen Alia International Airport

• Games room for adults.
• Praying rooms.
• LCD screens are installed in the main hall of the lounge.
• A smoking area with air-conditioning and ventilation.
• Food and drinks.
• Library.
• Views of the tarmac and runways.

Since this is the only lounge at Queen Alia International Airport, it is also used by any passenger traveling on business of first class in or out of Amman. Royal Jordanian announced that it was going to open three new lounges in Dubai, New York and London with the lounges set to open in late 2009, or early 2010. [27]

Zuwar stopover

Transiting passengers in Jordan can use the Zuwar Stopover package and spend a few days in Jordan.

Royal Vacations program

Royal Jordanians "Royal Vacations Program" sells vacations. Points from staying at Royal Jordanian partner hotels will give points towards the Royal Plus program.

Royal Jordanian charity activities

• Aid to Lebanon , Gaza, Iraq and Pakistan - RJ staff contributed two shipments of goods to the needy in Lebanon and in Gaza, following a campaign among staff to contribute one or two days pay to help those who suffered from the military operations during the summer of 2006. The shipments included heaters, gas ovens, wheelchairs, foodstuff, blankets, school bags and baby milk. The goods were shipped to Lebanon on RJ, and to Gaza through Jordanian charity organizations. In cooperation with the United Nations, RJ ran four air cargo trips from Amman to Islamabad carrying foodstuff, medical supplies and human aid, a donation from Jordan to the victims of natural disasters that hit Pakistan in 2005. RJ also carried 27 tons of aid donated by Japanese charities to the Iraqi people, in addition to running four other trips carrying aid from Japan to Iraq.
• Donating free tickets for the Society of Families and Friends of the Disabled - this donation enables disabled people to participate in the first Arab Recreation, Sport, and Cultural Camp in Egypt.
• Injaz Program - For three years, RJ has been supporting and sponsoring the Injaz program for providing economic opportunities for Jordanian Youth.
• Contributing to Al Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans
• Supporting Ladies of Iraq Al-Ameer Cooperative Society
• Al-Shajara Cultural Forum
• AZM project

Royal Jordanian awards

• 2007 Airline Strategy Award
• King Abdullah II Award for Excellence
• Best Arab airline website
• Air Transport World magazine names RJ Phoenix Award winner
• CAPA Airline Turnaround of the Year 2006
• International Star Award for Quality
• Best Airline Livery Award 2007
• Airline of the Year "2007" by Air Finance Journal
• ‘Intercontinental’ Punctuality Award 2009 by Schiphol Aviation Awards

Codeshare agreements

In addition to its Oneworld partnerships, Royal Jordanian has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Air India American Airlines † Austrian Airlines British Airways †

Cyprus Airways Gulf Air Iberia† Malév Hungarian Airlines †

Royal Wings Syrian Arab Airlines Tarom Thai Airways International

Transworld Aviation UM Airlines US Airways Yemen Airways

S7 Airlines † - also members of oneworld.

Employment

Royal Jordanian has invested heavily in its crew training facility at its headquarters in Amman. As of 2008 Royal Jordanian employed 4,507 people. [28]

Rivalry

Royal Jordanian is the second largest carrier in the Levant and the only major Arab carrier serving Israel. It began to put into place a new strategy at the end of 2002 which saw the airline concentrate on its neighboring nations, with increased frequencies. In a plan to establish itself as the Middle-East's "regional airline" it began to add smaller routes such as Alexandria in Egypt to Aleppo in Syria which the bigger airlines such as Emirates Airline, would not undertake with the larger aircraft compared to Royal Jordanians regional jets.

As of the end of 2009, this plan had proven successful for the airline, with its main rivals being Middle East Airlines and Egypt Air. [29]

Livery

Royal Jordanians's livery is a dark grey fuselage with the titles in gold both in English and Arabic. Red tips are located on the fins, winglets and engines of the aircraft as well as two strips, one gold and one red, down the fuselage. The fin contains a crown. This livery has been in use since 2006, before then the livery was similar however the engines were not painted, and the fin did not have a curved stripe atop.

Special colour schemes

Until 2009 Royal Jordanian had never had an aircraft painted in a special colour scheme. It announced at the 10th birthday celebrations in February 2009 of the airline alliance Oneworld that it would paint its new A319 due for delivery in late March in a special scheme, which would be based around the oneworld name and logo.

The aircraft, registration JY-AYP, has its fuselage painted white, with the tailfin and engines in normal Royal Jordanian colours. "A member of Oneworld" in prominent lettering is located at the front of the aircraft, with the usual title "Royal Jordanian" further back. [30]

Charter services

The operation of private charter flights using aircraft from the Royal Jordanian fleet is uncommon, but may be arranged if aircraft of Royal Wings, the subsidiary company of Royal Jordanian, cannot meet customer requirements.

Aircraft names

The airline has named its new aircraft after Jordanian cities. The older aircraft such as the Airbus A340 and Airbus A310 are named after members of the Royal Jordanian Family.

Names

Royal Jordanian Aircraft Names

Aircraft	Names
Airbus A320-232	Amman, Aqaba, Irbid, Madaba
Airbus A319-100	Ma'an, Al-Mafraq, Al Shobak, Ajloun
Airbus A321-100	Al-Karak, As-Salt, Al-Ramtha, Tafileh
Embraer E-175	Zay, Dana
Embraer E-195	Petra, Wadi Rum, Maeen, Wadi Musa, Jerash
Airbus A340-200	Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah, Princess Iman Bint Abdullah Princess Salma Bint Abdullah, Queen Rania Alabdulah

[31]

Head office

As of 2009 Haddadinco Engineering Company for Contracting is building the new Royal Jordanian head office in Amman. The building was designed by Niels Torp.

In the 1960s Alia's head office was in the Mango Building in Amman.

Incidents and accidents

There have been four major incidents or accidents involving Alia Jordanian flights:

• On 10 April 1965, an Alia Jordanian Handley Page Dart Herald en route from Beirut to Amman crashed near Damascus in Syria. All four crew members and 50 passengers were killed. The aircraft was written-off..
• On 22 January 1973, an Alia Jordanian Boeing 707 crashed on landing at Kano airport in Nigeria. Six crew members and 170 passengers were killed. The aircraft was written-off..
• On 3 August 1975, an Alia Jordanian Boeing 707 heading for Agadir airport in Morocco crashed into high ground. All seven crew members and 181 passengers were killed..
• On 13 March 1979, an Alia Jordanian Boeing 727 crashed on landing at Doha airport in Qatar. Three crew members and 42 passengers were killed. The aircraft was written-off..
• On 11 June 1985, Alia Jordanian flight 402, a Boeing 727 headed to Beirut, was stormed shortly before takeoff by a group of five terrorists led by Fawaz Younis. After flying to Larnaca, Cyprus, and Palermo, Italy, the airplane returned to Beirut; it took off again on 12 June but was only airborne a couple of hours before returning to the Beirut airport, where the hijackers released all the passengers and crew, blew up the plane, and escaped. In 1988 Younis was arrested and became the first person charged under a new federal statute giving the United States jurisdiction over terrorist acts committed overseas but involving American citizens.

Since the name of the carrier was changed to Royal Jordanian Airlines, the only fatal incident was when a hijacker, seeking political asylum was killed on 5 July 2000, on board a Royal Jordanian Airbus A320 flying from Amman to Damascus.

External links

• Official website