Royal Brunei readies for SE Asia’s first Dreamliner

COME September 2013, Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) will be the first airline in South-east Asia to take delivery of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner order.

The second Dreamliner is scheduled for delivery in October, while the third and fourth will arrive in February and March 2014 respectively. No date has been fixed for the fifth Dreamliner, which will also be delivered next year.

Said Dermot Mannion, deputy chairman, RBA: “The (Dreamliner) will replace the current B777 aircraft on the daily Bandar Seri Begawan-London route via Dubai from December 1.

“From March 1, 2014, it will replace the B777 aircraft on daily services between Bandar Seri Begawan and Melbourne.”

The Dreamliner has a seating capacity of 255 and is 25 per cent more fuel efficient than the 285-seater B777.

RBA has also enhanced its web check-in facility on May 15, giving passengers the option of printing out their boarding passes. Currently in the pilot stage, it is available only to passengers departing from Bandar Seri Begawan, said Mannion.

From July 1, iPad Minis will be part of the carrier’s in-flight entertainment for all RBA business class passengers travelling on regional routes; the service will be rolled out on long-haul routes later.

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