ROYALAIR BURUNDI, S. A.: Burundi (1963). RAB is established at the capital city of Usumbura in the spring of 1963 to serve as flag carrier for the new state, once part of the Belgian protectorate of Rwanda-Urundi. A Lockheed L-049 is leased from Trans World Airlines (TWA) and is employed to begin services to Rome, Paris, and Brussels. The new carrier is unable to achieve viability and folds during the summer; its single plane is returned to the U. S.
ROYAL AIR CAMBODGE, S. A. (RAC) (1): Cambodia (1956-1970). The first Royal Air Cambodge, S. A. (RAC) is formed at Phnom Penh on June 14, 1956. Shareholding is divided between the royal government of Prince Sihanouk (38%), Air France (34%), and private investors (28%). Several Douglas DC-3s are donated by the French flag carrier; the transports are given a livery that includes a logo depicting the apsara, a celestial nymph shown on the walls of Angkor Wat. Scheduled DC-3 services are inaugurated by the new concern on October 20 to Siem Reap, serving Angkor Wat, plus Saigon and Bangkok. Flights to Hong Kong commence on July 2, 1957, but become irregular the following year before ceasing.
An arrangement is entered into with Air France in January 1959; under its terms, a wet-leased Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation resumes services on February 11 from Phnom Penh to Hong Kong. Flights continue largely without change in 1960.
A block-space agreement is signed with Air France in January 1961; French B-707-338s replace the wet leased Super Connie on the Hong Kong run. Political difficulties between Cambodia and Thailand lead to a suspension of Bangkok service on October 12. Following the political upheavals of this and the previous year, traffic falls, before leveling.
After purchasing a DC-4, RAC-1 begins service to Vientiane, Laos, in August 1962. A year later, on August 24, 1963, the four-engine Douglas transport begins flying to Singapore. Several scheduled frequencies are now increased and Siemreap tourists now begin flying to Hong Kong and Singapore more often. Further plans to expand are made, but must progress slowly as Southeast Asia explodes into the Second Indochina War.
Bookings in 1964 total 24,572 and revenues are $1.92 million.
Airline employment in 1965 stands at 258 and the fleet comprises 1 each DC-3, DC-4, and wet-leased Air France Boeing 707-138B. ADC-6 is purchased in January and is employed to begin a new service from Phnom Penh to Canton via Hanoi. As conflict spreads, the company is forced to suspend its new North Vietnamese route in June, along with flights to Vientiane. The politically neutral RAC is, however, able to continue flying to China even as fighting in neighboring South Vietnam becomes more intense during the remainder of the year and into 1966.
A DC-6B and a Fokker F.27 Friendship are acquired in 1967, along with a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander. The following year, Chairman Mao presents Prince Sihanouk with a Soviet-made Ilyushin Il-14.
The highlight of the carrier’s last years is the acquisition from Air France in January 1969 of a Sud Est SE-210 Caravelle III. It is employed to offer Apsara Service from Phnom Penh to Singapore and Hong Kong.
In March 1970, Prince Sihanouk is deposed and the name of the carrier is shortened to Air Cambodge, S. A.
ROYALAIR CAMBODGE, S. A. (RAC) (2): 24 Karamuon Sar Ave., 206A Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Phone 855 (23) 428 830; Fax 855 (23) 428 803; Http://www. royal-air-cambodge. net; Http://www. iac. co. jp/kpnarin/royalair. htm; Code VJ; Year Founded
1994. Following peaceful UN-supervised elections in December 1993, the new government of the Kingdom of Cambodia enters into discussions with Singapore Airlines, Ltd. concerning the possibility of reestablishing a national airline. Government officials want to promote tourism into Cambodia, home of one of the world’s architectural wonders, Angkor Wat. SIA initially agrees to take a 40% stake and provide management and technical support.
As the result of a coup attempt during the first week of July 1994, SIA Managing Director Cheong Choong Kong withdraws from the arrangement on July 11. Malaysia Helicopter Services, Ltd., parent of Malaysia Airlines, Ltd. (MAS), now enters the picture to take over the SIA stake and support agreements.
Royal Air Cambodge is officially established on December 7 as successor to Kampuchea Airlines (1). Executives of Thai-owned Cambodia International Airlines are ordered, on December 22, to shut down within two days.
A $10-million management contract is signed, with operational control and training passing to the airline experts at MAS, on December 24 ceremonies presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranarddh. The three Avions de Transport Aerien ATR72-202s that KA has had under lease are returned to TAT European Airlines, S. A.
Vichit Ith is named chairman/CEO and begins to recruit a workforce of 497 (300 actually come on staff). One each Boeing 737-4H6 and B-737-4Y0 are leased from Malaysia Airlines, Ltd. Both are painted with the company logo of the nagaraja or royal serpent, which represents both fertility and protection in Cambodian mythology.
The aircraft are employed, beginning on January 2, 1995, to inaugurate scheduled and charter regional and domestic passenger and cargo services; the first service is operated to Kuala Lumpur by the B-747-4H6, which has been christened Angkor Wat
From its Phnom Penh base, the carrier now also visits the domestic cities of Battambang, Koh Kong, Mondulkiri, Rattanakin, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, and Stung Treng as well as the international points of Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
On March 3, Thai aviation officials briefly detain the inaugural flight from Phnom Penh after it arrives at Bangkok. It is claimed that the aircraft, leased from Malaysia Airlines, Ltd., does not have proper clearance. After an hour, the aircraft is released. Cambodia’s ambassador to Thailand, Roland Eng, who has been called to the scene, states that the problem is not related to his country’s recent cancellation of landing rights for Cambodia International Airlines and Siam Kampuchea.
Services thereafter are conducted normally to all points and enplane-ments for the year total 320,000.
The government of Cambodia, in the persons of its two prime ministers, express their displeasure with RAC during the first quarter of 1996. Both gentlemen are extremely displeased with the number of flights offered and the quality of the airline’s service. Unless RAC is able to add additional flights, tourism will, they believe, be severely hampered, making it necessary to adopt an “open-skies” aviation policy. Executives at the airline and at MAS get the message and scurry to make improvements.
Three new Aero International (Regional) ATR72-202s are now acquired, including the final unit, delivered in October, which is equipped with a protection kit designed to enhance operations from unpaved runways. Frequencies to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat, are increased to seven per day while the turboprops begin to handle some flights from Phnom Penh to Bangkok.
For its part, the government begins to redevelop Phnom Penh International Airport, breaking ground for a new terminal with capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers each year.
Twice-weekly roundtrip service to Guangzhou begins on November 2.
Airline employment in 1997 stands at 530. It is reported that in April, a Cambodian “businessman” Teng Bunma, shows extreme displeasure with an ATR72-202 flight to Phnom Penh. Having learned that RAC had misplaced his luggage and that it was not aboard the aircraft, he borrows a pistol from a bodyguard and shoots out the offending aircraft’s tires. His stature as a VIP prevents his arrest.
In early July, Hun Sen, Cambodia’s second prime minister, overthrows the coalition government of the first prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranarddh, and his Funcinpec Party. Heavy fighting ensues, much of it along the road to and within the perimeter of Phnom Penh’s Pochentong Airport. The airport itself will be badly damaged—its VOR beacon is put out of service and looters steal or destroy equipment from or at the ATC tower and passenger terminal.
Despite the chaos that causes all of the international carriers, except Thai Airways International, Ltd. (THAI) to halt services, RAC continues to operate its scheduled jet flights for a period from the airport to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, and Ho Chi Minh City. Many passengers, including all seconded MAS staff and Chairman Ith, fly out of the country aboard RAC’s Boeings to Ho Chi Minh City, where they book flights elsewhere aboard other airlines. Chief Operating Officer David Chew is left in charge.
The company’s ATR72-200s maintain limited domestic services to Siem Reap and Battambang. By July 23, the Boeings are grounded at Kuala Lumpur and the new government of Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party announces plans to end the airline and form a new one.
That new operation bears a familiar name, Kampuchea Airlines (2). It comes to life at the end of the month and makes its inaugural flights on August 15-16 with a leased Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1. When its new CEO Yin Chan is asked about RAC in an interview with Malaysia’s The Business Times on August 16, admission comes that the matter of the former airline “is a very sensitive issue.” Leaving it to the government to determine RAC’s fate, Chan indicates that, as far as he knows, “RAC is free to maintain operations.”
RAC does not end, but it is no longer regarded as a monopoly, “The National Airline of Cambodia.” Instead, the government’s new policy is interpreted as an “open skies” manifesto, which allows not only the existence of the new KA-2, but RAC as well. It is at this point that the Asian economic crisis begins. The company returns to MAS the B-737-4Y0 it has had for several years and also withdraws from its Phnom Penh-to-Hong Kong route.
Now marketed as “The Cambodian Airline,” RAC makes some attempts at expansion in 1998. Following the downturn in business for Lao Aviation, the Cambodian line opens a new service between Phnom Penh and Vientiane. A new regional route is also started from Siem Reap to Bangkok four times a week.
Although Sihanoukville disappears from the scheduled domestic network (it remains a charter stop), ATR72-202 local-service frequencies are maintained to Battambang, Krong Koh Kong, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Sisophon, and Stung Treng. Plans are made to begin flights into Pailin, as soon as the government completes work on a new airfield at Touk Thlar, site of a former French landing strip.
The Asian economic crisis has a significant impact on traffic into the country during the second half of the year. In addition, the national election and uncertainties surrounding it cause some visitors to stay away. RAC participates in the election process by hauling printed materials required by the National Election Committee to Phnom Penh on special ATR72-202 charters from India.
Service is maintained during the remainder of the year and into 1999. Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 485. The major Western airliners are a B-737-284C and B-737-4H6.
On May 19, weekly roundtrip service, code-shared with Shanghai Airlines Company, Ltd., is inaugurated between Phnom Penh and Shanghai.
In August, Prime Minister Hun Sen fires the airline’s managers and places Senior Minister Sok An in charge. The company will now be reorganized, ostensibly to improve safety.
The airline will be sued by ATR on February 17, 2001 for failing to maintain its aircraft or to make required lease payments.
ROYAL AIR FREIGHT: 2141 Airport Road, Waterford, Michigan 48327, United States; Phone (248) 666-3070; Fax (248) 666-4719; Year Founded 1961. RAF is set up at Oakland-Pontiac Airport in 1961 as an FBO. Over the next 30-plus years, Royal operates on a low-key basis, introducing both passenger and cargo charter services as Royal Air Charter. Destinations throughout the U. S. are visited, along with markets in Canada and Mexico.
By 2000, President William Kostich operates a large and varied fleet. Employed for passenger services are 1 Learjet 24B, 5 Cessna 310Rs, and 1 C-402C. Freight and couriers are flown by 5 Embraer EMB-110B Ban-deirantes, 3 Mitsubishi Mu-2Bs, and 1 each Learjet 23, Learjet 24, Learjet 24A, Learjet 25, Beech 18, and Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain.
ROYAL AIR INTER (LIGNES INTERIEURES MAROCAINES): Morocco (1970-1985). RAI is organized at Casablanca’s Aeroport Casablanca-Anfa early in 1970 to take over the nation’s domestic air transport from Royal Air Maroc, the new entrant’s majority owner. Scheduled operations commence on April 2 with two Fokker F.27-600s and link Casablanca with Agadir, Marrakesh, Rabat, Fez, Tangier, Tetouan, Oujda, Al Hoceima, and Ouarzazale. International flights are made from Tangier to Gibraltar and Malaga and from Oujda to Oran.
Services are maintained throughout the remainder of the decade, and by the early 1980s frequencies are also offered to Dakhla, El Aaiun, and Smara in the Western Sahara was well as Al Hoceima and Tan Tan in Morocco.
Although the fleet is not altered during these years, greater reliance is now placed upon the Boeings of RAM. As a result, it is decided to fold the local service carrier into Royal Air Maroc during 1985.
ROYAL AIR LAOS, S. A.: Laos (1961-1975). Following the creation of Prince Souvanna Phouma’s new coalition government at Vientiane in May 1961, the previous Laotian carrier, Air Laos, S. A. is replaced by a new company, Royal Air Laos, S. A.
Domestic service is resumed with Douglas DC-3s acquired from the assets of the previous operation. A DC-4 is purchased in 1962 and is employed to restart routes to Bangkok and Saigon; a DC-6 arrives in 1963.
An attempt to extend the Bangkok route to Hong Kong is stalled in 1964 when Cathay Pacific Airways (Pty.), Ltd. offers objections. Finally, an arrangement is worked out whereby RAL, at the beginning of 1965, is able to fly the route on behalf of the crown colony’s major. Flights continue in 1966-1967 to the foreign destinations named, plus nine domestic destinations.
En route from Vientiane on February 24, 1968, a DC-3 with 3 crew and 34 passengers crashes into the Mkong River; there are no survivors.
Tragedies occur in each of the following two years. On December 23, 1969, a DC-3 goes down near Luang Prabang (six dead) while a Beaver hits a mountain, near Vientiane, on January 2, 1970 (two dead).
Although no crashes occur in 1971, tragedy strikes twice within a week in early 1972. On February 4, a wet-leased DC-6 crashes near Te-gal, Java (six dead). While en route from Saigon to Vientiane via Savan-nakhet on February 11, a C-54A with 6 crew and 17 passengers simply disappears into the Laotian mountains. No wreckage is found, no survivors ever turn up, and reports suggest the plane has been shot down.
As the conflict winds toward conclusion and Societe Aigle Azur, S. A. is no longer able to provide international services, the Laotian flag carrier’s operations become very intermittent.
In May, a Lockheed L-188A is leased from Trans Australia Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. for a year; it is christened Tiao Anou and enters service over the carrier’s long-haul routes.
An order is placed in 1973 for a Sud Est Caravelle and a second TAA Electra is chartered to provide service until the French jetliner can arrive. Enplanements for the year total 138,860.
RAL is revitalized in 1974. The workforce rises to 420 and the 2 remaining DC-3s are supplemented by 3 DC-4s and the carrier’s first jetliner, a Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle III, leased from Air France. Service is maintained, renewed, or upgraded to Bangkok, Saigon, Chiangmai, Phnom Penh, and Hong Kong. The two chartered Electras are returned to Australia.
Hanoi now also becomes a destination as a new marketing and publicity campaign is launched in the U. S.
A Curtiss C-46D is lost 75 mi. NNE of Vientiane on October 15.
Despite the increase in owned capacity during the year, passenger boardings, in light of the war, decline 6% to 131,000, while freight is down by 16% to 1.01 million FTKs.
In February 1975, service is inaugurated to Kuala Lumpur and Canton. A non-pilot takes off in a Vickers Viscount 806, with three other passengers, from Phnom Penh on March 15 and crashes; there are no survivors. Two DC-3s and four DC-4s are damaged beyond repair by a storm that strikes Vientiane on March 24.
A Communist rocket attack destroys a C-54A on the ground at Phnom Penh on April 10. Flights between Vientiane and Saigon are suspended the same day due to the escalation of the conflict. Finally, with the Communist victory, the carrier ceases operations at the end of April.
On December 3, the Pathet Lao forms the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and RAL is closed down.
ROYAL AIR MAROC (MOROCCAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES): Aeroport de Casablanca-Anfa, Casablanca, Morocco; Phone 212 (2) 912000; Fax 212 (2) 912087; Http://www. royalair-maroc. com.; Code AT; Year Founded 1953. On June 28, 1953, Societe Air Atlas, S. A. and Air Maroc (Societe Avia Maroc Ligne Aeri-enne, S. A.) are merged by the French Line steamship company to form the Compagnie Cherifienne de Transports Aeriens, S. A. (CCTA), familiarly known as Air Maroc (Compagnie Cherifienne de Transport Aeriens, S. A.). Employing Douglas DC-3s and DC-4s and operating over the routes of its merger constituent during the remainder of the year and over the next two years, CCTA offers domestic services, as well as flights to Paris, Geneva, and Frankfurt.
France grants Morocco its independence on March 2, 1956, with the northern territories of Spanish Morocco gaining freedom in April.
Following independence, the Air Maroc (Compagnie Cherifienne de Transport Aeriens, S. A.) is reformed on June 28, 1957. Royal Air Maroc is owned 55% by the government of the Kingdom of Morocco, 30% by Air France, and 5% by Aviacion & Comercio, S. A. (AVI-ACO).
Almost immediately, the new company, employing the propeller equipment of the merger partners, begins flying Muslim Hadj pilgrims to Mecca. This dedicated charter program will occur every year hence.
RAM places its first Lockheed L-749A Constellation into service by year’s end.
In June 1958, Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle Is are ordered. Orderly retirement of the DC-4s is begun, following the July 2 inauguration of long-haul European services by four Lockheed L-749As leased from Air France. Flights from Oran to Oujda, suspended on May 14, are reopened on July 5 and a route is started to Gibraltar late in the year.
Planning is begun during 1959 for the introduction of jet service. Meanwhile, Air France, under contract, begins to fly a service from Oujda to Toulouse employing an L-1049G Super Constellation.
A second Caravelle is ordered in February 1960. The first Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle IA is delivered on July 19 and is placed on the route to Europe and Paris at month’s end.
Enplanements for the year are 164,706.
SE-210 service is launched southward from Rabat to Bamako in July 1961. The second Caravelle IA is delivered and a third is ordered. In 1962, the fleet comprises 2 DC-3s, 4 L-749s, and 2 Caravelle IAs.
More European destinations are added in 1963-1965 as Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bastia, Bordeaux, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Geneva, Lisbon, Lyon, Marseilles, Madrid, Nice, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Vienna, and Zurich join the route network.
The three-unit Caravelle fleet is upgraded from Series IA to Series III specification. It is also increased by the addition of three more L-749As, two of which are converted into freighters.
Orders are placed for four more Caravelles in 1966. During 1968, the company shareholding is redistributed. The Kingdom of Morocco increases its majority stake (64%), with others holding lesser shares: Air France (21%), Compagnie General Transatlantique (7.6%), AVIACO (5%), and private interests (2.4%). Orders are placed for Boeing 727s in 1969.
On initial approach to Agadir on April 1, 1970, an SE-210 Caravelle III with 6 crew and 76 passengers en route to Paris crashes near Berrechid from a height of 500 ft. The fuselage breaks apart, leaving 61 dead.
The subsidiary Royal Air Inter is created to take over a number of domestic routes with Fokker F.27-600s beginning on April 2. The first B-727-2D6 is placed in service on May 15 over regional services.
During 1971-1973, the fleet grows to include 5 Caravelle IIIs and the Boeing 727-2D6; the route system now includes over 15,000 unduplicated miles.
Leased from Sobelair, S. A., an SE-210 VIN with 7 crew and 99 passengers en route from Paris to Casablanca via Tangier on December 22 of the latter year, strikes Mount Mellaline while on approach to Tangier in darkness; there are no survivors.
The workforce totals 1,954 in 1974. Orders are placed for three B-737-100s as three B-727-2B6s join the fleet and a request is made of Air France for a leased B-707-328B Stratoliner.
Enplanements reach 538,077.
B-707-328B service to New York begins on April 1, 1975, the same month the last DC-3 is retired. Late in the second quarter, weekly Stra-toliner services are launched to the Canary Islands.
A B-707-321C chartered from Alia (Royal Jordanian Airlines) to transport Moroccan workers from France for summer vacations, crashes into a mountainside near Imzizen, 30 mi. NE of Agadir, during its landing approach to the latter city on August 3; there are no survivors. A replacement aircraft, a B-707-351C, is purchased from the U. S. carrier Northwest Airlines on December 29.
Operations continue apace in 1976 as a second Northwest Airlines B-707-351C is acquired on March 17. At the request of the Moroccan government, traffic rights to South American nations are sought; however, Brazil is the only nation on that continent to accede. A weekly service to Rio de Janeiro is opened.
Reacting to an anonymous tip concerning the imminent hijacking of a company aircraft, FBI agents arrest Mohammed Fadel Musaid and Ali Elmawri after uncovering six automatic handguns and ammunition in their baggage as they are about to board an aircraft at New York (JFK) on August 10, 1977. Although the two men are indicted, the charges of attempted air piracy are dismissed in court on October 29 on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Also during the year, the B-707-328 Chateau de Pan is purchased from Air France. Four Caravelle IIIs are retired.
A B-747-2B6B combi (BC) is acquired on September 29, 1978 and is initially employed to make Hadj flights from Rabat to Jeddah in October. It is placed into scheduled service in December over the company’s routes from Casablanca to Paris, Montreal, and New York.
Additional services and frequencies are started during 1979-1983, including extra routes throughout North Africa and the Middle East, West Africa and the Canary Islands. The weekly nonstop flight to Rio de Janeiro, having been found unprofitable, is suspended. The fleet is altered and enhanced as the Caravelles and B-737-2B6s are retired and replaced by four additional B-727-2B6As and six B-737-3B6s. A B-747-133 is annually chartered from Air Canada, Ltd. to transport Hadj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
A B-727-2B6A with 100 aboard is commandeered during a May 27, 1982 flight from Athens to Casablanca, the second leg of a service originating at Damascus. Demanding that Morocco improve its morality by observing strict Islamic tenants, the pirate forces the crew to fly to Tunis where he surrenders.
Enplanements during the latter year total 1.25 million and despite an operating profit of $3 million, a $3-million net loss is suffered, reflecting the weakening of the Moroccan currency.
Chief of the Ministry of Transport’s Air Directorate, Mohamed Mek-ouar, becomes president/CEO in February 1984. In November, service is reintroduced to Rio de Janeiro.
Enplanements for the year reach 1,278,438 and an operating profit of $10.6 million is reported on revenues of $186 million.
The workforce is increased 4.9% in 1985 to 4,103. President Mekouar is elected president of IATA for the succeeding year.
The B-747SP-44 Majuba is leased from South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. on March 15. In addition to the North American service, the Special Performance Jumbojet is operated on a weekly service from Casablanca to Rio de Janeiro. Domestic fares are increased by 30% in September, but local service continues to lose money. Royal Air Inter now serves 10 domestic cities with a fleet of 2 F.27-600s, supplemented by RAM’s B-727-2B6As and B-737-2B6s. To avoid further losses by the subsidiary, it is now folded back into the main line.
Passenger boardings climb 14.6% during the year to 1,497,000 (including 44,540 flown on roundtrips from Morocco to New York and Montreal) and cargo traffic accelerates 9.3% 42.16 million FTKs. On revenues of $226.7 million, expenses are $206.9 million and the operating profit is $20.1 million. Over $30 million in trading debts are owed to the carrier by the Moroccan government, along with $7 million in subsidies for the years 1976 and 1979-1981.
In February 1986, two sophisticated B-757-2B6s are ordered to replace the two aging B-707-351Cs. The carrier is the first in Africa or the Middle East to order the 757, which will be acquired under a $95-million, 15-year lease arranged by Chemical Financing Services, a subsidiary of the Chemical Bank. The first sets a record for its type by traveling the 5,653 delivery miles from Seattle to Morocco nonstop in July. It is almost immediately placed on pilgrimage flights between Morocco and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Following Israeli Prime Minister Peres’ visit, RAM loses its traffic rights into Damascus.
When the second B-757-2B6 arrives in August, a B-707-351C is switched to all-cargo service. After its lease is completed, the SAA B-747SP-44 Majuba is purchased on September 4.
Customer bookings ascend 1.6% to a record 1,520,735.
The workforce is increased 3.2% in 1987 to 4,764 as the carrier’s thirtieth anniversary is celebrated. At this point, the B-747-2B6BC is placed largely on charter operations, including a weekly flight to Helsinki, while the B-747SP-44 takes over the scheduled Jumbojet service.
Passenger boardings leap upward by 11.8% to 1,699,774 and freight climbs 13.9% to 53.98 million FTKs.
A marketing alliance is entered into with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Areas de Espana, S. A.) in March 1988. Under its terms, the carriers agree to offer joint services on routes from Marrakech to Madrid and from Casablanca to Malaga and Barcelona. Tangier will later be added to the mix.
Early in the spring, service is initiated to Copenhagen, Basel/ Mulhouse, Nouakchott in Mauritania, and Bamako in Mali. Four B-737s are ordered in October, but traffic figures for the year are not provided.
The first of three leased Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320s is delivered on March 24, 1989 and are placed on domestic routes; two more are received in April and May, respectively. In August, the previous year’s B-737 order is modified, requiring that the last two aircraft be B-737-5B6s. Again, traffic data is not available.
During a scheduled domestic service on September 19, an ATR42-320 with 10 passengers is taken over by a lone assailant, who forces its to divert to Gran Canaria in the Spanish Canary Islands. There the air pirate surrenders, seeking political asylum.
Royal Air Maroc becomes a partner in the Amadeus reservations system in March 1990 and establishes the subsidiary Amadeus Maroc to market the computerized system to Moroccan travel agencies.
Figures are made available for the year’s first half and show enplanements of 715,617, along with freight traffic of 32.3 million FTKs.
In July, the carrier is ordered by the government to reduce its freight tariffs for various commodities as a way of increasing exports; the company, in return, receives a fuel tax reduction and a Ministry of Agriculture subsidy.
Operations continue apace in 1991 and when the initial B-737-5B6 arrives in January, RAM becomes the first airline in Africa to operate the subtype. Two more are delivered at year’s end.
The fleet in 1992 includes 3 leased ATR42-320s, 2 B-707-351Cs, 2 B-727-2B6s, 6 B-727-2B6As, 4 B-737-2B6As, 2 B-737-2B6CAs, 3 B-737-4B6s, 3 B-737-5B6s, 1 B-737-53A, 1 B-747-2B6B/C, 1 B-747SP-44, and 2 leased B-757-2B6s.
During the fall, service is inaugurated from Casablanca to Chicago and Los Angeles, as continuations of the transatlantic route to New York.
In 1993, Chairman/Director General Mohammed Mekouar oversees a workforce of 5,361. One B-727-2B6 and six B-727-2B6As are withdrawn and replaced by four B-737-2B6CAs. Orders are placed on January 18 for 12 B-737s worth $525 million. A major restructuring program is put into place designed to save $50 million over three years.
Markets now served from Casablanca are located in Morocco, North and West Africa, the Mideast, Europe, and, in the Western Hemisphere, New York, Montreal, and Rio de Janeiro; the annual advertising budget approaches $6 million. The carrier’s maintenance base at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport receives a $36-million upgrade. In November, pooled flights commence with Gulf Air over routes from Casablanca to the Gulf States.
Enplanements for the year are 2,070,000. A net $1.33-million profit is reported.
The employee population is reduced by 61 in 1994. RAM is the first airline in Africa to operate the B-737-400 after its first Dash-4B6, received in March, enters service on April 1. Two more B-737-4B6s arrive in May, at which point the B-747SP-44 is sold.
France remains the company’s largest market; service from Tangier, Fez, Marrakech, and Agadir is maintained to Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseilles, Nice, Lyons, Strasbourg, and Bastia. Point-to-point charter flights bring tourists from Nantes, Lille, and Mulhouse.
B-737-2B6CA weekly roundtrips begin from Tangier to Maastrict on June 30.
On August 21, ATR42-320 pilot Younee Khayati, who cannot be halted in a cockpit struggle with copilot Sofia Figuigu (RAM’s first female Moroccan airline pilot), commits suicide/murder. He pilots Flight 630, with its 2 other crew and 40 passengers, into the ground near Tzuo-nine, some 35 km. N of its point of origin at Agadir, 10 minutes into a flight to Casablanca. There are no survivors and among the dead is the defense minister’s brother, Sheikh Ali al-Mahmoud al-Jabir al-Sabah.
The company’s pilot union will challenge the findings of murder/ suicide, claiming that the pilot had been totally in control of himself prior to departure. A strike by company employees forces the company to suspend a number of flights, leading to costly losses.
The former South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. B-747SP-44 Majuba is sold to Corsair, S. A. on October 13.
Passenger boardings increase by a slight 1% to 2.3 million and revenues total $446 million; there is a net loss of $5 million.
The owned fleet in 1995 includes 4 each Boeing 737-2B6As and B-727-2B6As, 2 each B-737-2B6CAs, B-737-4B6, and B-737-5B6s, and 1 B-747-2B6BC. In addition, 2 leased B-737-4B6s, B-757-2B6s, and 2 ATR42-300s, 3 B-7375B6s, and 1 B-747-428 are operated. The relationship with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) is terminated.
Mohammed Hassad becomes chairman/CEO and a major cost-cutting and restructuring program is begun. Traffic figures are not released.
Airline employment stands at 5,223 in 1996 and a joint purchasing agreement is signed with Air Algerie, S. A. A B-737-2B6A is sold in March.
Designed by SABRE Decision Technologies, a frequent flyer program, Safar Flyer, is introduced.
Discussions are held concerning the possibility of code-sharing on various routes, including one to Algiers. A joint insurance agreement is worked out with Air Mauritanie, S. A., Tunisair, S. A., and Jamahiriya Libyan Arab Airlines. In October, orders are placed for nine Next Generation B-737-800s.
A total of 1,928,533 passengers are transported.
The workforce is reduced in 1997 to 4,967. At the beginning of the year, the company receives a corporate makeover. Fifteen administrative units are reduced to five major departments: commercial and marketing, finances, quality control, fleet scheduling, and strategy.
A major alliance is entered into with Air France in April. In addition to coordinated frequent flyer and maintenance programs, joint purchasing, and cooperative airport handling, code-sharing flights are planned for the routes from Casablanca to Lyon and Strasbourg. Plans are made to begin coordinated frequencies to Paris in 1998.
Customer bookings leap upward by 12.4% to 2,654,394 while freight grows 4.7% to 493.83 million FTKs. A net $25.5-million profit is reported.
Airline employment stands at 5,361 in 1998 and the fleet, 68% of which is Stage III certified, includes 25 airplanes: 2 each B-727-2D6As and B-757-2D6s, 19 B-737s, and 2 B-747s.
Before the French dual-designator service can get off the ground, another code-share partnership is entered into with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) in February. Both share their codes on roundtrips from Casablanca to Barcelona and Malaga.
On March 6, another memorandum of understanding is initialed with Air France. The pact provides for schedule coordination, harmonization of route networks, and mutual overhaul and maintenance assistance.
A strategic alliance is signed with Trans World Airlines (TWA) on July 8. Under its terms, the two companies will to share codes on their services between Morroco and the U. S. beginning on October 25.
The first of nine Next Generation B-737-8B6s is delivered on July 14, making RAM the first non-U. S. airline with regularly scheduled passenger service to receive the new model. The delivery flight departs for Casablanca the next day with a cargo of 5,000 pounds of medical supplies from Northwest Medical Teams of Portland, Oregon. The shipment will be distributed to three different hospitals in Morocco.
A little late, the first phase of the new marketing agreement with Trans World Airlines (TWA) starts on November 5. Customers of the American carrier may now book segments from the entire TWA system and connect to Casablanca on a code-shared return flight, operated thrice weekly by RAM, between New York (JFK) and Morocco.
On November 16, the company announces that it will inaugurate twice-weekly service to Gaza’s new airport just as soon as the Israeli government allows the airport in the Palestinian self-ruled area to open. A company aircraft is on hand to join the celebration when that even occurs on November 24.
A contract is signed with Saudi Arabian Airlines on December 21 under which it will transport, on behalf of RAM, up to 15,000 pilgrims to the Holy Land on direct flights between Casablanca and Jeddah during the next Hadj season in the spring of 1999.
Customer bookings climb 17.1% to 3.1 million, while cargo traffic surges 43.2% to 607.03 million FTKs. Revenues total $475.48 million and costs are $411.31 million, leaving an operating profit of $64.16 million and a net gain of $21.52 million.
Just after landing at London (LHR) on a January 31,1999 RAM service from Casablanca, two passengers are arrested by airport police, who come aboard their flight in response to a report, radioed ahead, that a female flight attendant has been groped. The men are later released after receiving a formal warning for common assault.
An order is placed with Boeing on February 15 for seven B-737-7D6s to be delivered through 2001. The first two Next Generation aircraft are to arrive by this July.
After the UN lifts its air restrictions against Libya on April 5, RAM makes plans to resume services.
With the timetable advanced, RAM receives its premier B-737-7D6 on April 23. In ceremonies at Seattle prior to the delivery flight, Chairman Hassad notes that his company is the first airline in the Mediterranean region to order and receive the advanced-technology jetliner. The new aircraft will carry 120 passengers — 12 in Zenith (business) class and 108 economy class.
Employing a B-737-4B6, twice-weekly flights to Tripoli and Benghazi resume on April 26.
A homepage is opened on the World Wide Web on June 24.
In November, the government of Morocco invites bids from local and foreign investment firms and banks for the valuation of RAM. This latest step toward privatization could lead to the sale of a 40% stake.
Although traffic figures are not revealed, it is announced that a $14.27-million net gain has been achieved.
An agreement is signed with Air Senegal (Societe National de Transports Aerien, S. A.) on February 15, 2000, under which the Moroccan airline takes a 51% ($10 million) stake in the company’s newly created long-haul division, Air Senegal International. The minority stake is held by the Sengalese government. The new subsidiary’s managing director, Mohamed Zouhair El Aoufir, indicates that RAM will provide a Boeing 737-200 with which to begin operations.
As a result of the Boeing strike, delivery of two Next Generation B-737-7B6s and a Next Generation B-737-8B6 is delayed until April 11. The carrier’s 6 B-737-2B6As, 7 Dash-4B6s, 6 Dash-5B6s, plus 2 previously received Next Generation B-737-7B6s and 4 Dash-8B6s meanwhile soldier on alongside 1 each B-747-2B6B and B-747-428 and 2 B-757-2B6s.
A marketing and code-sharing agreement is signed with Delta Air Lines on June 28. Under its terms, RAM places its code on Delta services from New York (JFK) to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D. C. (DCA). Delta places its code on RAM frequencies from Casablanca to New York (JFK), Agadir, Marrakech, and Tangiers.
On July 3, after a suspension of flights for nearly eight years, the company resumes return service from Casablanca to Tripoli, flying twice weekly with a B-737-4B6.
A code-sharing agreement is signed with TunisAir, S. A. on August 7. Under its terms, RAM flies TunisAir passengers from Casablanca to New York (JFK) and points in Europe, while TunisAir is permitted to transport RAM customers throughout the Mideast and Eastern Europe. The two companies also link their frequent flyer programs.
On October 3, CEO Mohamed Hassad informs the North Africa Journal that because the airline no longer has as high a priority for sale as other state-owned enterprises, RAM’s privatization has been postponed for between 12 and 18 months.
The thrice-weekly return flight schedule to Barcelona is increased to four times a week on October 29. Simultaneously, twice-weekly roundtrips are started from Marrakech to Milan.
Inauguration of services by Air Senegal International is delayed until February. On December 4, a de Havilland Canada DHC-8-Q300 is ordered for the new regional, which will employ it on domestic routes within Senegal as well as on regional flights to Gambia, Mauritania, Capo Verde, and Mali.
ROYAL AIRLINES, LTD.: Canada (1979-2001). Royal Airlines is founded by Michael Le Blanc at Quebec (YUL) on August 3, 1979 as the inclusive-tour carrier of its parent, Groupe Royal Aviation, owner of Royal Vacations. As a result of the energy crisis and resulting world airline depression, plans to operate the carrier are put on hold. Meanwhile, Conifair, Ltd., a small-scale charter operation, is formed to provide non-scheduled tree-spraying services, as well as transporting hunters. It will become well known for its forest fire-fighting activities and structural maintenance business. By the start of the new millennium, will be viewed by Royal as an important profit center.
Finally, plans are made in late 1991 to initiate revenue services the following spring. On January 6, 1992, the Royal Airlines division is activated. Chairman/President/CEO Michael Le Blanc recruits a workforce of 450 and purchases 1 Boeing 727-212A and 2 B-727-217As previously operated by Dan Air, Ltd./Dan Air Services. After receipt of the first trijet, flights commence on April 29 between Toronto and Vancouver. The second jetliner enters service from Montreal on November 5, while the third Boeing starts flying from Toronto on December 15.
Over the next five years, the company builds up its main hubs at Montreal (Dorval and Mirabel Airports), Toronto, and Vancouver and undertakes charter and nonscheduled flights to Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Regina, and Saskatoon. It also begins flying to the U. S. cities of Las Vegas, Newark, and Phoenix and in the winter, to Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America.
During this period, the fleet continues to grow. In early 1993, arrangements are completed for the acquisition of a former Air Canada, Ltd. Lockheed L-1011-100 TriStar. It is delivered on April 30 and is employed to fly summer inclusive tours from Montreal to Europe. The first two leased aircraft arrive at the Toronto base on September 17, one each B-727-264A and B-727-277A. Together with Sunquest Vacations, Royal shares ownership of a second ex-Air Canada, Ltd. TriStar, which is delivered to Montreal on September 27. The TriStars and two Boeing trijets are booked by Sunquest Vacations.
In November, the company files a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering. Canada’s largest tour operator, Canadian Holidays, which is also a subsidiary of Canadian Airlines International, Ltd., simultaneously becomes a client.
Another B-727-217A is purchased in 1994. It flies “sunbird” tourists out of Quebec City to warmer locales to the south. With the beginning of the summer schedule at the end of March, the Lockheeds are heavily engaged on charter flights from Montreal to London (LGW), Glasgow, and Manchester. In June, experimental winglets are added to the company’s B-727-212A. A seventh B-727-200 is purchased on June 21 and is employed for backup until it begins regular service from Ottawa in December.
Two B-727-217As are sold in 1995 and in an effort to cut costs and gain entrance to the European holiday scene, two Airbus Industrie A320-212s are leased.
The remaining B-727-217A is involved in an incident on May 11. Operating as Flight 4529, it lands short at St. John’s, Newfoundland, and overruns the end of Runway 11 by 300 feet. No evacuation is initiated and no injuries are reported.
Although traffic figures are never released, the carrier does announce in September that it has made profits so far on the year: C$13.8 million (operating) and C$612,000 (net).
The A320s are returned to their lessor at the beginning of 1996 and replaced by two A310-304s, also leased. Through September, operating income declines by 3.7% to C$104.2 million and the previous year’s gains now turn downward. Operating gain is C$12.6 million and only a net C$172,000 profit can be recorded.
The Royal fleet in 1997 includes 7 B-727s, 2 L-1011s, and 2 A310-304s.
Flight attendants aboard Flight 861, an A310-212 charter from Puerta Vallarta to Vancouver, are harassed throughout the 4 1/2-hr. flight on March 9 by 11 drunken men. The pilot radios ahead and all of the offenders, described as “bikers,” are taken in hand by RCMP. All will be required to face indictment in Richmond provincial court.
A major C$19-million charter agreement is signed on March 19 with Nouvelles Frontieres, the most important tour operator in France. Under its terms, Royal will operate the tour company’s flights from May to October between Montreal and Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseilles, Nice, and Strasbourg.
One of the “Flights for Life” charity services that planners have scheduled for May 6 is cancelled on April 29. Instead, Royal works with the Salvation Army to gather a load of clothing, sleeping bags, and blankets to send to Winnipeg flood victims.
On April 30, pop singer Celine Dion is at the departure gate at Toronto for the kickoff of the first of five “Flights for Life,” which the airline is helping to sponsor. The charity flights to 10 cities during the first 2 weeks of May are designed to raise money for the fight against cystic fibrosis.
On May 1, A310-304 summer service is inaugurated from Vancouver and Toronto to Glasgow, Manchester, and London (LGW) four times per week. The same frequency is also introduced from Glasgow to Toronto and thrice-weekly service is inaugurated from Manchester and London (LGW) to Toronto.
A third A310-212 is purchased from Airbus Industrie Financial Services on May 6; upon its delivery a week later, it will be the aircraft tapped to launch the Nouvelles Frontieres summer services to France.
Weekly roundtrips commence on June 23 from Vancouver via Winnipeg to London (LGW). Two days later, another weekly frequency commences from Toronto to Birmingham via Manchester.
On August 19, the assets of CanAir Cargo, Ltd. related to its transcontinental air cargo network, is acquired, including two B-737-2E1Fs and one each B-737-2A9C and B-737-242C. Nine Convair CV-580s are also acquired; one is out of service, the two leased units are returned, and the six remaining are sold. CanAir president Daniel Goliger joins Royal as senior vice president-cargo.
Once the little Boeings are quickly repainted, they provide nightly Royal Cargo courier and cargo service from coast to coast, landing in St. John’s, Moncton, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. One of the convertible aircraft will be configured every weekend to a passenger aircraft with a capacity of 120 charter customers for use by Royal Airlines on short-haul flights.
All of the owned B-727-200s are sold to newly formed, Miami-based CLA Canada on September 2 for C$31.5 million, which represents a gain of C$11 million. The aircraft are leased back and will be briefly employed as freighters. Thereafter the planes will be turned over to CLA (two in late September, two more in May 1998, and two in November 1998) for disposal.
Plans are announced in September for the retirement of the TriStars by late fall. They will be replaced with a fourth A310-300 during the summer of 1998.
On October 17, formation of a new Royal Express subsidiary is announced; plans call for it to inaugurate scheduled flights from Montreal (YUL), Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale on March 30.
Traffic figures are again not released. However, the company indicates that operating revenues of C$131 million are generated and there are profits: C$16.5 million (operating) and C$5.7 million (net).
Flights continue in 1998. It is reported on January 4 that the company has joined with a local Chilean investor to establish the new charter operator Chileinter, S. A. The new company leases one of Royal’s L-1011-100s, with a second scheduled to join the new entrant at Santiago within three months.
On February 20, Royal announces an expansion of its summer tour program to Europe, including additional nonstops and new service into London (STN). A total of 43 weekly flights (33 nonstop) will be offered from Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver to Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, London (STN), Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Belfast, Paris, Porto, Lisbon, Lyon, and Toulouse. Four A310-304s will help provide necessary capacity.
The process undertaken to obtain the necessary authorizations proves more time-consuming than expected and thus it is not possible for the new Royal Express subsidiary to begin service on March 30.
During its takeoff roll from Fort Lauderdale on a March 30 service to Toronto, Flight 311, a B-727-212 with 7 crew and 175 passengers, suffers an uncontained engine failure of its No. 2 engine. Takeoff is rejected and the plane is stopped on the runway; all aboard are evacuated, during which 11 people are injured, 2 seriously.
During April, Chileinter, S. A. begins to operate TriStar passenger charters to Caribbean destinations on behalf of the Argentine all-cargo carrier STAF Airlines (Servicios de Transportes Aereos Fuenguinos, S. A.).
Contract negotiations begin on May 1 between management and the carrier’s 160 pilots, which are represented by their own in-house bargaining unit.
On May 11, Royal enters into a 10-year preferred business relationship with Canada’s only national tour operator, Signature Vacations, previously the client of Canada 3000, Ltd. Signature, in turn, purchases the Royal subsidiary Royal Vacations. As Signature’s carrier, Royal Airlines becomes the primary transport for Canadian vacationers visiting the continental U. S. (principally Florida), Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is anticipated that this new arrangement will triple Royal’s business with Signature to C$200 million annually.
Royal Express finally obtains its operator’s certificate from Transport Canada on August 14. B-727-200A roundtrip charters are initiated by the new subsidiary on August 24 from Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
In an effort to rescue people stranded by the September 2 pilots’ strike, Air Canada, Ltd. wet-leases aircraft from Royal Aviation and three other domestic carriers to move people over the next week stuck in the midst of journeys.
While en route from Toronto to Glasgow on September 4, an engine oil warning light flashes aboard a leased B-757-236 piloted by Capt. David Muralt with 200 passengers aboard. Muralt immediately receives authority to divert his aircraft to the Canadian Forces Base at Goose Bay, Labrador.
Chileinter, S. A. is purchased outright by STAF Airlines (Servicios de Transportes Fueguinos, S. A.) on September 20.
The last two B-727-200s sold to CLA Canada in September 1997 are turned over during November. The carrier’s pilots, on November 30, unanimously vote to accept the company’s offer contained in a new two-year labor contract. Accomplishment of this arrangement is announced to the public on December 4.
This year’s revenues reach C$150.08 million, but net gain slides to C$2.01 million.
Flights continue in 1999. In an effort to boost the performance of
Royal Air Cargo, that division now undergoes a comprehensive restructuring. Other cost-saving measures that are also implemented include the cancellation of unprofitable flights to Germany and the discontinuance of Royal LeClub, a subsidiary specializing in hotel site management.
In response to an urgent request from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Canadian government, on May 1, quickly obtains enabling legislation permitting it to airlift in up to 5,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees and provide them with temporary housing for 3 to 6 months. The same sorts of appeals have been made to Britain, Australia, and the U. S.
Immigration officials are already working in Macedonia identifying potential transfers, while a contract is signed with Royal Airlines to undertake flights on a daily basis between Skopje and facilities established at CFB Trenton, Ontario, and CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia.
A company A310-304 is the first plane assigned to the multinational airlift of refugees to countries outside of Europe, transporting 248 ethnic Albanians (mostly women, children, and elderly) to CFB Trenton on May 4.
With the arrival of 261 additional passengers on May 9, the carrier has now brought in 1,556 Kosovars, almost a third of Canada’s quota. As quoted in the Toronto Star on May 10, Lt. Gen. Ray Henault, deputy chief of defense staff, indicates that Canadian officials and refugees alike are very satisfied with the ongoing smoothness of the airlift and settlement process.
In October, a struggle begins for control of Canadian Airlines, Ltd. The battle is won by Air Canada, Ltd. in early December and will have immense impact on the future of Royal Airlines, which will change its local status from dedicated charter airline to scheduled domestic carrier.
The fleet at the beginning of 2000 includes not only 4 A310-304s and 3 B-757-236s, but also 2 each B-737-242Cs, B-737-2E1As, and 1 B-7537-2A9C. The workforce totals 1,500.
For the quarter ending January 31, the company reports that its operating loss has improved to C$3.8 million, a 27% gain over the same period a year earlier. The turnaround is directly attributed to the company’s decision not to lease three B-757s for the winter charter season.
In February, Winnport Logistics, Ltd., having received its Canadian operators certificate, inaugurates scheduled overnight B-727-25F all cargo service on behalf of the Royal Air Cargo division between Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, and Vancouver.
On March 1, Royal opens its homepage on the Internet’s World Wide Web. To help provide a measure of competition in the wake of Air Canada, Ltd.’s acquisition of Canadian Airlines, Ltd., Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette, on March 27, authorizes Royal to begin flying seasonal scheduled service to the United Kingdom and France. Almost immediately, Royal launches spring and summer B-757-236 scheduled flights from Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal to the U. K. cities of London (LGW), Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Manchester. It also begins flying from Toronto and Montreal to Paris (CDG).
On April 15, the company begins to compete head-on with Air Canada, Ltd. on scheduled national routes. Fares, discounted 50%-75% below those of the national airline are debuted on 15 daily roundtrips. Destinations regularly visited include Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax, and Vancouver. A B-757-236 is leased to Transavia Holland, N. V. for three months, beginning on April 26.
On August 21, management and company flight attendants enter into collective bargaining for the first time.
On September 11, the number of daily domestic return services from Toronto is significantly enhanced, including those to Halifax from 2 to 4, to Montreal from 4 to 7, to Ottawa from 2 to 5, and to Winnipeg from 2 to 3. New roundtrips are launched to Vancouver from Ottawa and Toronto and to Halifax from Montreal. The number of daily roundtrips now totals 31.
A massive discount sale is held on 100,000 seats booked between September 16 and 24. Fares on domestic scheduled flights and international flights to Florida, Europe, and Hawaii are all included, with an average savings of 41% on domestic travel. Passengers may use their savings on domestic flights offered between September 16 and
April 30 and on international services operated between September 16 and October 31.
The early success of the new domestic scheduled services and a dramatic improvement in the performance of Royal Cargo allows the carrier to stage a strong fiscal turnaround in its first-quarter earnings reported on September 20.
Painted in the “old” colors of the U. S. major, a B-737-201A is leased from USAirways on October 12; it arrives wearing Royal titles and tail logo. Two more of the type will also be chartered from US Airways and will be delivered between October 27 and 31. The small aircraft, with significantly lower trip costs, provide tour operators with enhanced flexibility in scheduling charter flights to smaller southern destinations.
At a luncheon meeting with Halifax business leaders on October 19, Chairman/CEO Le Blanc announces on October 19 that 60 new jobs will soon be created to support the establishment of a new Halifax pilot base for the 24 new pilots, plus 36 flight attendants and support staff, to be hired before year’s end. He also announces the November initiation of two new daily nonstops from Halifax to Toronto, with connections to Winnipeg and Vancouver. Further, it is revealed that the company’s domestic infrastructure will be leveraged in order to help it expand its summer schedule of flights to Europe.
A former Southwest Airlines B-737-2H4 is purchased on November 3.
With the newly arrived aircraft, daily roundtrip frequencies between Toronto to Halifax are boosted from four to six on November 6. Simultaneously, the number of daily return flights from Toronto to Montreal is increased to eight.
Royal Plus service is started on December 1. The business-class product offers executives enhanced service and more legroom, for an added fee of between C$40 and C$120. For the year as a whole, approximately 2 million passengers are transported.
On January 29, 2001, Canada 3000, Ltd. will make a takeover offer of C$84 million; both its board and Royal’s have already approved the arrangement, which will require government approval. Royal stockholders are to be offered 1 share of Canada 3000 common stock for every 2.5 shares of Royal common tenders and the expected acquisition of two-thirds of the equity will result in the creation of the nation’s second largest passenger airline. It will be reported at the end of March that the arrangement has met full approval all around and that the merger of Royal, along with CanJet Airlines, Ltd., into Canada 3000 will be completed by May 1.
ROYAL AIRWAYS: United States (1928-1929). Established at Chicago in the summer of 1928, Royal begins scheduled passenger flights to Madison, Wisconsin, on July 19. Without a mail contract, the carrier is unable to generate sufficient revenue traffic to remain in business beyond February 1929.
World History
