Royal Brunei seeks India, North Asia network opportunity

Royal Brunei Airlines is eyeing network opportunities in North Asia and India, as it looks to “key regions” for future network growth. Airline commercial chief Joshua Law says: “We are currently in a situation where we are evaluating a few key regions…predominantly on the North Asia side, all the way to the Indian subcontinent.” Law was speaking to FlightGlobal at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) assembly of presidents in Brunei. He notes that travel demand out of India to the Southeast Asia region has been strong since the easing of pandemic restrictions more than a year ago. The airline made its return to India – after a 20-year hiatus – on 5 November, launching thrice-weekly flights from Brunei to Chennai. Royal Brunei previously operated to Kolkata but exited the India market in 2004. On China, Royal Brunei is seeing a mixed demand picture. The national carrier in late-October suspended its twice-weekly flights to Beijing’s Daxing airport, citing “market conditions”. FlightGlobal understands that demand has been slower to recover than expected, since Mainland China’s reopening. <br/>