Royal Brunei is the international airline of the Sultanate of Brunei. Established on November 18, 1974, the airline initially acquired two Boeing 737's, one of which was put on service for the airline on April 14 of 1975, when their first flight took place, from the brand new Brunei International Airport to Singapore.
Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching were also added as destinations in 1975.
1976 and 1977 saw the airline's slow but steady growth continue. Manila was added in 1976, and Bangkok in 1977.
Royal Brunei acquired a third 737 in 1980, allowing the airline to reach cities like Kuala Lumpur in 1981, Darwin, Australia in 1983 and Jakarta in 1984.
1985 was the beginning of a ground breaking period for the company. After buying three Boeing 757 aircraft, the airline started to plan flights to Europe for the first time. That period culminated with the opening in 1990 with their first route to the old continent, when they started services to Frankfurt, Germany. In between, the company also opened flights to Taipei in 1986, and Dubai in 1988, all using the newest jet on their fleet.
By then, the airline's rapid expansion made it a necessity to sell the 737s and buy Boeing 767 aircraft. The first delivery of this type of aircraft for Royal Brunei broke a world record when it flew 17 hours and 55 minutes non stop from the Boeing company in Seattle to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya., on its way to Brunei.
In 1990, the airline started flying to London Gatwick Airport, but in 1991, services were changed to London Heathrow Airport.
Seven more 767s were delivered, taking the fleet to eight 767s and two Boeing 757's. 1991 also saw the opening of a route to Jeddah.
In 1993, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Zürich, Beijing and Bahrain were added to the ruote system. In 1994, it was Brisbane, Miri, Labuan, Osaka and Balikpapan's turn to join. 1995 saw the airline arriving at Calcutta and in 1996, Royal Bruniei's jets began making their way to Bintulu and Yangon.
Several of these routes would later have to be cut off because of government or economic restrictions, among them, Cairo and Osaka.
In 1997, Surabaya was added, Kuwait in 2000 and Pu Dong International Airport, Shanghai in 2001. Currently, Royal Brunei has worked a code sharing agreement with Malaysia Airlines.
As Brunei is an Islamic society, where the sale of alcohol is forbidden, Royal Brunei does not serve alcohol on board its flights, and all meat served is halal.
