The year 2015 marked the beginning of a new era with the launch of the 2015 – 2019 business plan, which as Suleiman Obeidat, CEO, RJ, explained, builds on six pillars and aims to increase market share both locally as well as internationally.

According to Obeidat, the competitiveness of RJ is exemplified in its in-flight and ground services and its new and modern fleet of aircraft with an average age of five years.

“One very significant advantage of the RJ network is its connectivity, including RJ’s connectivity, the oneworld carriers’ connectivity and our codeshare partners’ route networks that enable RJ passengers to reach further points beyond Amman,” he added.

The thorough review of the airline’s own network represents one of the main pillars of the scheme, hence the decision to suspend operations to eight destinations, citing poor feasibility. To better adapt to current trends, new services were inaugurated to Tabuk, Najaf, Ankara, Jakarta and Guangzhou.

“The process of reviewing the network is focussed on two features: opening new markets whether in the East or the West, and also reconsidering the already suspended destinations like New Delhi, Mumbai and others,” disclosed Obeidat, further explaining that RJ now flies directly to 56 destinations and indirectly, through its 15 partners, to over 1,000 points around the world.

The strategic steps have already began to bear fruit with the company cutting losses by JOD1 million (USD1.4 million) to JOD7.3 million (JOD10.3 million) in the first quarter.

“This year we succeeded to increase the airline capital by JOD100 million (USD141 million) to JOD146.4 million (USD206.3 million) and [by 2019] the capital will increase by another JOD100 million (USD141 million) to JOD246.4 million (USD347.6 million),” said Obeidat. “Finally, increasing revenues and controlling costs is a major part of the plan.”

Another major player in the Kingdom’s aviation industry is Arab Wings, considered the Middle East’s longest-serving private jet charter operator. Since its establishment in 1975, the company has weathered various challenges and despite the current turbulences, the past months have brought a slight increase in demand for aircraft charter and private movements, affirmed Sameer Hdairis, business development manager, Arab Wings.

Thanks to the wide breadth of services offered by Arab Wings and its sister companies, the management was able to overcome difficulties and lay even greater emphasis on the quality of services and crew training and ultimately grow the volume of business and tap into new markets, Hdairis said.

The increasing traffic at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) is yet another testament to the strength of the Jordan brand with the hub having handled over 1.6 million travellers in the first quarter (Q1) of the year, up 8.5 percent.

“Witnessing consistent improvements in year-on-year passenger numbers, aircraft movement and cargo traffic figures, we are extremely pleased with QAIA’s positive Q1 results which indicate a trend of robust growth across the board,” said Kjeld Binger, CEO, Airport International Group, reinforcing the management’s commitment to ensuring that the Kingdom’s prime gateway to the world remains a source of pride to all Jordanians.