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| Founded | 9 December 1963; 61 years ago (1963-12-09) (asAlia Airlines – Royal Jordanian Airlines) | ||||||
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| Hubs | Amman–Queen Alia | ||||||
| Focus cities | Aqaba–King Hussein | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Royal Club[1] | ||||||
| Alliance | Oneworld | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | |||||||
| Fleet size | 38 | ||||||
| Destinations | 51 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Amman,Jordan | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Royal Jordanian Airlines (formerly known asAliaRoyal Jordanian Airlines) is theflag carrier ofJordan with its head office in the capital,Amman.[7] The airline operates scheduled international services over four continents from its main base atQueen Alia International Airport, with over 500 flights per week and at least 110 daily departures. It joined theOneworld airline alliance in 2007.[8]
The airline was established on 9 December 1963 and started operations on 15 December 1963 after a royal decree by the lateKing Hussein. It was namedAlia (orAalya) after King Hussein's eldest child,Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan (born on 13 February 1956). It is a common misconception that the airline was named after the King's third wife,Queen Alia, whom King Hussein did not marry until 1972. The airline was founded with capital from private shareholders but theJordanian government later took over the company.[9]
Alia (the Royal Jordanian Airline) started operations with twoHandley Page Dart Heralds and aDouglas DC-7 aircraft, servingKuwait City,Beirut andCairo from Amman. In 1964, another DC-7 was added and service began toJeddah. In 1965, Alia initiated service toRome, its first destination inEurope. The progress made by the airline was threatened by anIsraeli air raid during the 1967Six-Day War when the DC-7 aircraft were destroyed. They were replaced by twoFokker F27s.
In 1968, the airline joined the jet age when it introduced theSud Aviation Caravelle, and expanded the route network toNicosia,Benghazi,Dhahran andDoha. 1969 saw the addition of service toMunich,Istanbul andTehran.
In 1970, Alia phased out the F27s and orderedBoeing 707a.Frankfurt andAbu Dhabi were added to the network. The 707s were delivered in 1971. In that year, service was initiated toMadrid,Copenhagen andKarachi. During the rest of the decade,Boeing 720s,Boeing 727s andBoeing 747s were added to the fleet. A catering department was established, andduty-free shops were opened at Amman airport. Services were added to destinations includingBahrain,Dubai,Muscat,Rabat,Geneva,Amsterdam,Baghdad,Bangkok,Vienna,Damascus,New York City,Houston, andRas al-Khaimah. In 1979, Alia became a founding member of the Arab Airlines Technical Consortium.
In the 1980s,Tunis andTripoli joined the route map, and Alia'sIBM computer center was inaugurated.Lockheed L-1011 Tristars,Airbus A310s andAirbus A320s joined the fleet. In December 1986, Alia changed its name to Royal Jordanian Airlines, when Princess Alia was nearing her divorce. The airline's first woman pilot flew one of their aircraft during this decade. Service was added toBelgrade,Chicago,Los Angeles,Miami,Bucharest,Singapore,Riyadh,Kuala Lumpur – in cooperation withMAS,Sana'a,Moscow.Montreal,Delhi,Calcutta andAnkara. This decade also saw the introduction of the Gabriel Automated Ticket System – (GATS).
The 1990s saw further expansion. Royal Jordanian and nine other Arab air carriers signed up for theGalileo CRS. The IMCS maintenance and engineering system was added, a new Amman city air terminal was opened at the7th Circle of the Jordanian capital, and services to Rafah started, since then halted. The cities ofToronto,Colombo,Jakarta,Berlin,Mumbai,Milan andTel Aviv were added to the network. In November 1997, Royal Jordanian became a code-sharing partner with the US carrierTrans World Airlines and moved operations into theTWA Flight Center (Terminal 5) at theJohn F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.[10]
In 2000, the U.S.Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 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 airlines and associated investments. The airline's name was changed on 5 February 2001 toAlia – The Royal Jordanian Airlines Company, although travellers still use the popular name of Royal Jordanian.
Theflag carrier's subsidiaryRoyal Wings operated anAirbus 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 twoAirbus A321s with two new units, and order four newAirbus A319s to enter service in early 2008.
In April 2007, Royal Jordanian became part ofOneworld, thus becoming the first Arab airline to join such a globalairline alliance. The following month, the airline announced an order for a total of 10Boeing 787s, for service entry in 2010. This is the first order Royal Jordanian has placed withBoeing.[11]
Montreal was re-added to the network on 25 May 2007, after the route was cancelled in 1997. Also during May, Royal Jordanian was the sponsor of theWorld Economic Forum, which was held at theDead 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 U.S. 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 being the first destination served from Amman, using aBoeing 737.
Royal Jordanian made its first flight toBudapest, on 28 July, using anEmbraer E195. In October, RJ announced the switch of two Embraer E195 jets of its original order to two Embraer E175 jets. Royal Jordanian opened a new lounge atKing Hussein International Airport inAqaba.
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.[12] Royal Jordanian has upgraded its three Airbus A310s at a cost of over 10 millionJordanian dinars (JOD).
Royal Jordanian was privatized at the end of 2007, resulting in 71% of its assets being sold. The market capitalization of the company stands at 260 million JOD, and share-trading commenced on 17 December 2007.
On 24 December 2007, Royal Jordanian confirmedBaku as one of its new destinations for 2008, using an Embraer E195 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 toHong Kong via Bangkok, with three flights/week during winter, and five flights/week during summer, making it the airline's first route to China.[13]
TheAirbus A319 entered service on 13 March 2008, making RJ the first Middle East airline to operate three aircraft of theAirbus A320 family.[14] On 17 August 2008, Royal Jordanian opened a new route toKyiv, using Embraer E195 jets for this twice-weekly service. On 24 August 2008, Royal Jordanian opened its new lounge atQueen 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.[15]
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%.[16] 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.[17]
Royal Jordanian resumed service toBrussels on 1 April 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.
On 28 March 2010, Royal Jordanian inaugurated regular direct flights toMadinah Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia, with four weekly flights. On the 23 March, Royal Jordanian confirmed that it had ordered two A330-200s and one Embraer E175. Royal Jordanian recommenced operations to Malaysia's capitalKuala Lumpur on June 2, 2010, after it had suspended this route in 2004. Aircraft used on this route is the new Airbus A330-200 and later switched to Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In May 2011, Royal Jordanian announced that they will retire theAirbus A310 aircraft in December 2011, and January 2012. Royal Jordanian uses an Airbus A330 and an Airbus A321 for non-stop flights to London (Heathrow Terminal 3).[18]
In June 2014, Royal Jordanian announced that it had suspended services toMosul innorthern Iraq due to the capture of the airport by theIslamic State.
The first of Royal Jordanian'sBoeing 787s (267-seat, two-class configuration) entered service in September 2014, initially linking Amman withJeddah,Saudi Arabia.[19] The 787 Dreamliner is Royal Jordanian's first Boeing aircraft since the 707s and 747s, and replaced the Airbus A340-200s which had reached the end of their lives. The Dreamliners have replaced the Airbus A330-200s as leases on those aircraft have expired. The Dreamliners are generally used on Royal Jordanian's Far East destinations, to London and North America.
In May 2017, Royal Jordanian announced the appointment ofStefan Pichler, the ex-CEO of Air Berlin, Fiji Airways, Jazeera Airways, Virgin Australia and Thomas Cook as the new president and CEO.[20]Pichler developed a turnaround plan which helped moving Royal Jordanian back into profitability by the end of 2017.[21] In this context, the airline cancelled the order of the 8th Dreamliner and also withdrew the A330F from its Cargo fleet for similar reasons. The CEO also stated that the strategy of Royal Jordanian would lead to a single type narrow-body fleet, not mentioning whether it will be Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, or Embraer. In September 2020, Pichler resigned from his duties which were taken over by Chairman Saeed Samih Darwazah.[6]
On 17 January 2025, the airline announced the re-introduction of direct flights betweenAmman andDamascus commencing 31 January 2025, following a hiatus of 13 years. The service will operate four weekly flights with daily flights to begin in April 2025. Royal Jordanian joinQatar Airways andTurkish Airlines to resume flight operations toSyria.[22]
As of 2009[update], Haddadinco Engineering Company for Contracting is building the new Royal Jordanian head office in Amman.[23] The building was designed byNiels Torp.[24] The new building was completed in late 2011, and RJ employees began work in the building on January 3, 2012. In the 1960s, Alia's head office was in the Mango Building in Amman.[25]
Royal Jordanian has invested heavily in its crew training facility at its headquarters in Amman. As of 2015[update], Royal Jordanian employed 4,394 people, according to the most recent annual report.
Royal Jordanian 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 asAlexandria inEgypt toAleppo inSyria which the bigger airlines, such asEmirates, would not undertake with the larger aircraft compared to Royal Jordanian'sregional jets. As of the end of 2008, the plan had proven successful for the airline, with its main rivals beingMiddle East Airlines andEgypt Air.[26]
Since 2008, Royal Jordanian has faced increased competition within the Middle East. The arrival of many new low-cost airlines such asAir Arabia,Jazeera Airways, andflydubai have caused problems for the Jordanian airline. With the arrival of these new airlines, Royal Jordanian has focused upon improving its onboard and ground services in order to retain market share.
The key trends for Royal Jordanian are (as at the financial year ending December 31):[27]
| Year | Profit/loss (JOD m) | Employees | Passengers (m) | Seat factor | Fleet size | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3.0 | 3,008 | 1.3 | 66% | ||
| 2003 | 9.7 | 3,162 | 1.4 | 68% | ||
| 2004 | 15.3 | 3,313 | 1.7 | 71% | ||
| 2005 | 20.5 | 3,557 | 1.8 | 69% | ||
| 2006 | 6.1 | 3,799 | 2.0 | 66% | ||
| 2007 | 24.1 | 4,275 | 2.2 | 71% | ||
| 2008 | 23.4 | 4,507 | 2.7 | 72% | ||
| 2009 | 28.6 | 4,399 | 2.6 | 68% | ||
| 2010 | 9.6 | 4,700 | 3.0 | 71% | ||
| 2011 | −57.9 | 4,545 | 3.1 | 69% | ||
| 2012 | 1.1 | 4,541 | 3.3 | 73% | 29 | [28] |
| 2013 | −38.8 | 4,643 | 3.3 | 70% | 32 | [28] |
| 2014 | −39.6 | 4,543 | 3.2 | 70% | 28 | [29] |
| 2015 | 16.0 | 4,394 | 2.9 | 67% | 27 | [30] |
| 2016 | −24.5 | 4,185 | 3.0 | 65% | 26 | [31] |
| 2017 | 0.27 | 4,135 | 3.1 | 71% | 26 | |
| 2018 | −5.8 | 4,054 | 3.2 | 73.8% | 26 | |
| 2019 | 10.3 | 4,018 | 3.3 | 74.2% | 27 | |
| 2020 | −161 | 3,599 | 0.75 | 65.4% | 23 | |
| 2021 | −74.2 | 3,437 | 1.6 | 67.9% | 24 | |
| 2022 | −78.8 | 3,913 | 3.0 | 77% | 27 | |
| 2023 | −8.5 | 3,913 | 3.6 | 78% | 30 |
Royal Jordaniancodeshares with the following airlines:[32]
As of August 2025[update], the Royal Jordanian fleet consists of the following aircraft:[33]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 7 | — | 12 | 138 | 150 | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 2 | — | 20 | 142 | 162 | |
| Airbus A320neo | 10 | 10 | — | 180 | 180[34] | Order of 20 with neither variant breakup nor whether the aircraft are leased or direct manufacturer orders yet revealed.[35] First 8 A320neos leased fromAvolon.[36] |
| Airbus A321neo | — | TBA | ||||
| Boeing 787-8 | 7 | — | 24 | 246 | 270[37] | JY-BAH painted inDiscover Petra livery. |
| Boeing 787-9 | — | 6[38] | TBA | Deliveries planned to start from Q1 2026 with new business class[39] | ||
| Embraer E175 | 2 | — | 12 | 60 | 72[40] | |
| Embraer E195 | 1 | — | 12 | 92 | 104[41] | |
| Embraer E190-E2 | 4 | — | 12 | 82 | 94 | Deliveries began Q4 2023.[42] |
| Embraer E195-E2 | 4 | — | 12 | 110 | 122 | |
| Royal Jordanian Cargo fleet | ||||||
| Airbus A321-200/P2F | 1[43] | — | Cargo | |||
| Total | 38 | 16 | ||||
Royal Jordanian previously operated the following aircraft types:[44]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-200 | 2 | 1999 | 2000 | |
| Airbus A310-300 | 11 | 1987 | 2012 | |
| Airbus A319-100 | 7 | 2008 | 2024 | |
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | 2010 | 2017 | |
| Airbus A340-200 | 4 | 2002 | 2014 | |
| Boeing 707-320C | 14 | 1976 | 1996 | |
| Boeing 720B | 2 | 1972 | 1983 | |
| Boeing 727-200 | 7 | 1974 | 1990 | JY-ADU written off asAlia Royal Jordanian Airlines Flight 600. |
| Boeing 747-200 | 2 | 1977 | 1989 | |
| Bombardier Q400[45] | 2 | 2005 | 2008 | |
| Douglas DC-6 | 1 | 1966 | 1972 | |
| Douglas DC-7 | 21 | 1963 | 1967 | |
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 2 | 1967 | 1969 | |
| Fokker F28 Fellowship | 1 | 2000 | 2007 | |
| Handley Page Dart Herald | 2 | 1964 | 1965 | |
| Lockheed L-1011-500 Tristar | 5 | 1981 | 1999 | |
| Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B | 3 | 1965 | 1975 | |
| Vickers Viscount | 5 | 1961 | 1967 |
From 1963 to 1986, the original livery of Royal Jordanian Airlines consisted of a white fuselage with both red and gold cheatlines.
In December 1986, the airline changed its name from Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines to simply Royal Jordanian Airlines, which coincided the arrival of Airbus A310 and Airbus A320 airliners. The new livery consisted of a charcoal grey fuselage with the same red and gold cheatlines, similar to the earlier version. The tail consists of a golden crown with a red tip on the charcoal grey coloured aircraft tail.
In January 2024, Royal Jordanian unveiled its updated livery, with slight changes to the colour layout on the tail section, as well as the addition of the logo on the aircraft's belly. It was first unveiled on the airline's first Embraer E2, registered JY-REA.
The airline's new Airbus A320neo aircraft, as well as the Boeing 787-9, will feature the same updated livery.
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. However, the aircraft was stored in October 2024 and subsequently retired by the airline.[46]
In October 2021, Royal Jordanian unveiled "DiscoverPetra" special livery on one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, registered JY-BAH.[47]
A month later, in November 2021, the airline revealed an Airbus A321, JY-AYV, in its retro "Alia" livery. The aircraft's first flight in the new paint scheme was toLondon Heathrow.[48]
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Food and drinks served on flights leaving Amman are provided byDnata. Hot meals will be served on a flight of at least three hours in length. If the flight is shorter than one hour, the cabin crew will provide snacks and drinks throughout, or before, the flight. These flights include those toTel Aviv,Cairo,Baghdad,Beirut andAqaba from Amman.
Royal Jordanian's onboard entertainment system is called "Sky Cinema".
Interactive games are available in all classes on all flights, as well as news provided byCNN on all flights. On very short flights (from Amman to Tel Aviv, Beirut or 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 being less than 45 minutes hence movies/shows would not be complete upon arrival.
Crown Class seats on Boeing 787s are fully flat beds. Seat pitch is 83 inches on the Dreamliners and 46 inches on the short and medium haul aircraft. In Economy Class, Royal Jordanian offers 32-inch seat pitch on board its Embraer aircraft, whilst it offers 34-inch seat pitch on board its Airbus aircraft. All Royal Jordanian Economy class seats also offer a foot-rest.
Crown Class passengers can use lounges across the world including all Oneworld member airline lounges. As of August 2008[update], Royal Jordanian operates two lounges: one in Amman, atQueen Alia International Airport, and one at Aqaba, atKing 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.
Royal Club is Royal Jordanian'sfrequent flyer program.[1] Passengers are awarded miles based on the type, class of flight and destination. Royal Club members can also get miles by traveling on other Oneworld airlines. Card holders of Royal Jordanian's Royal Plus with either Silver, Gold or Platinum can use Oneworld airport services across the world while Gold and Platinum also have lounge access.
Royal Jordanian has experienced 13aviation occurrences and six hijackings throughout its history, four of them fatal. The airline's two worst accidents, both involvingcharteredBoeing 707s, happened inNigeria in 1973 andMorocco in 1975.
Since the name of the carrier was changed to Royal Jordanian Airlines in 1986, the only fatal incident was when a hijacker, seeking political asylum, was killed by the on-board security agent on 5 July 2000, on board a Royal JordanianAirbus A320 flying from Amman to Damascus.[52]
Media related toRoyal Jordanian Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
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