Royal Jordanian announced it will resume flights to India as of April, after a nearly 10-year absence. Operations will be conducted from Amman, Jordan’s capital and the airline’s hub, with Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A320neo aircraft, configured for 136, 150 or 180 passengers.

Mumbai will be Royal Jordanian’s first route to the country effective April 16th, while Delhi will return to the regular schedule from September 16th. In both cases, the airline will offer four weekly operations, providing more than 550 seats per week on each service.

Delhi and Mumbai join Washington DC, RJ’s other new route to/from Amman, as commented in our November 2024 Africa and Middle East report, which will start in March 2025. The carrier already operates in North America, with flights to three cities in the United States and two in Canada.

Schedule between Jordan and India

Amman – Mumbai · April 16th

• RJ 192  Amman AMM 00:01 · 08:10 BOM Mumbai (Monday and Thursday)
• RJ 190  Amman AMM 20:45 · 04:55+1 BOM Mumbai (Monday and Friday)

• RJ 193  Mumbai BOM 09:30 · 12:50 AMM Amman (Monday and Thursday)
• RJ 191  Mumbai BOM 06:10 · 09:30 AMM Amman (Tuesday and Friday)

The last flight to Mumbai was on September 10th, 2014. At the time, Royal Jordanian operated by Airbus A319s and Airbus A320s.

Amman – Delhi · September 16th

• RJ 194  Amman AMM 19:20 · 03:55+1 DEL Delhi (Tuesday and Sunday)
• RJ 196  Amman AMM 23:55 · 08:30+1 DEL Delhi (Thursday and Saturday)

• RJ 195  Delhi DEL 05:10 · 09:15 AMM Amman (Monday and Wednesday)
• RJ 197  Delhi DEL 09:45 · 13:50 AMM Amman (Friday and Sunday)

RJ will be the only airline with regular services in the Jordan – India market.

According to the press release published by the airline in August 2014, announcing the cessation of flights to India, its last service was scheduled for October 31st, 2014, on the Amman – Delhi route.

Royal Jordanian commented that the ending of regular flights in the Jordan – India market was due to a “synchronized plan to improve the airline’s hedged operations and financial structure. The termination comes at a time when RJ is experiencing difficulties as a result of instability in the region and the high cost of fuel. There was also low profitability because of increased regional competition and high operating costs”.

By April and May 2014, RJ had suspended services to Accra, Alexandria, Colombo and Milan, and in October 2014 it stopped flying between Amman and Lagos.

RJ’s comeback

The return to India marks an important milestone for Royal Jordanian, which aims to enhance Jordan as a tourist hub for Indian passengers, and also provide connections within the entire RJ network. At the time of publication, both routes are scheduled to be performed year-round.

“This introduction of direct flights to Mumbai and New Delhi marks a key milestone in our efforts to promote Jordan as a tourism hub for Indian travellers. These new services will showcase the unique experiences Jordan offers while positioning Royal Jordanian as a boutique airline that promotes Jordan as a distinctive destination. The new routes will also strengthen the economic and trade ties between India and Jordan”, commented Karim Makhlouf, Royal Jordanian Chief Commercial Officer.

Washington DC

In addition to the return to India, Royal Jordanian will commence a new route between Jordan and the United States as of March 23rd. The airline will operate a twice-weekly service to Washington DC from Amman.

RJ will fly every Tuesday and Sunday with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft configured for 270 passengers in two classes (24 seats in Business and 246 seats in Economy). With this schedule, the company, which will be the only operator on this route, will offer 540 seats a week per leg.

Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York JFK and Toronto are Royal Jordanian’s current cities served in North America from/to the Jordanian capital. IAD will be the sixth destination on the continent for RJ, as well as for Amman.

Tuesday and Sunday

• RJ 282  Amman AMM 11:45 · 17:45 IAD Washington DC
• RJ 283  Washington DC IAD 20:50 · 15:25+1 AMM Amman

At publication time, Royal Jordanian has 14 weekly flights between Amman and North America, of which 12 are to the United States. Following the start of IAD, the airline will reach two daily frequencies to the US including all its routes.

North America

• Chicago (ORD): 5 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• Detroit (DTW): 4 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• Montreal (YUL): 2 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• New York (JFK): 3 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• Toronto (YYZ) via YUL: 2 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
• Washington DC (IAD): 2 weekly · Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner · March 23rd

With respect to the fleet, 2024 was an important year for Royal Jordanian, with the addition of four aircraft, all of them Embraer E190-E2s new from the factory. RJ also incorporated its first Airbus A321-231(P2F), which is registered JY-RAZ.

The freighter jet was reconfigured for cargo operations in January 2024, after flying almost 15 years for British Midland International and British Airways, in both cases with the registration G-MEDU.

Regarding passenger aircraft, at time of publication, the airline’s first two Airbus A320neo (JY-RAA and JY-RAB) are in Toulouse, with the Royal Jordanian livery, awaiting their ferry flight to Amman. In September 2022, RJ had announced an order for 20 new A320neo, aiming to replace the Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A321-200 effective 2025.

Fleet

Algeria, Bahrain, Brussels, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Netherlands, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States are part of the Royal Jordanian network, and India will be the next market to join.

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Cover photo: Leon Kroesemeijer – JetPhotos