Finally Liberalized ... Aviation In Jordan

On 5th of February 2010 the exclusive right accorded to Royal Jordanian (RJ) in 2002 as the sole scheduled carrier in the country came to an end. A new era of market liberalization came into being.

In 2002 and as part of the government assistance in the privatization effort of RJ, it was agreed:

1. For 4 years RJ will be designated as the only scheduled carrier operating under any of the

bilateral agreements signed by Jordan.

2. For the remaining 2 years the government allowed other Jordanian carriers to operate

scheduled flights on any route not served by RJ and a Charter authority for routes operated by RJ.

As of today, 6th of February 2010, and if a bilateral allows for the designation of a second carrier, they any operator can request scheduled flights authority.

What does that mean to RJ and to the industr? In the short term not much.

However, in the medium and longer term it changes the economic dynamics of aviation in Jordan.

1. Potentially increases competition on existing lucrative routes (Dubai, Beirut, Cairo to name a few

2. It changes the economics of the business plan for existing and start ups alike. How so, it adds

a revenue stream and an option that did not exist before "Scheduled Flights" on routes with

a known economic potential, in a nutshell it makes it easier to start an airline, at least on

paper.

How soon are the existing operators, Jordan Aviation, Royal Falcon Air Services and Transworld Airfreighter Co., ready to take on RJ on its well established routes. The levels of service will have to improve and commercial structures have to be put in place in order to compete with RJ that offers a "One World Alliance" passenger services and extensive connectivity on a fairly new and modern fleet.

Realistically, the effects of this decision will not be felt for a few more years, but it opens real opportunities and competition on a market that has been the exclusive turf of Royal Jordanian since 1963.

Angels in the Sky

Summer holidays are almost over and by now most of us have flown and came back home. We also swapped our horror and war stories of how terrible the service on board the aircraft was or said our few kind words about how helpful the Cabin Crew/Flight Attendant(s) were.

Well, have you ever wondered why are these young (or in some cases not so young) women and men on board the flight. For most of us, they are here to do the service, and be there for our every little request. Try again, these are highly trained people, they spend five weeks doing initial training in Safety and Security Procedures, First Aid and Fire Fighting among other subject and then have periodic training to stay current.

Their main purpose in life is to make sure that the passengers remain safe and secured and finally well served with a smile.

So next time you travel don't bring on board carry on luggage that weighs more than your checked baggage and expect them to lift it for you (there is a reason why not, if one hurts their back and have to be offloaded passengers may have to be offloaded to stay within the rule of 50 passengers per Cabin Crew/Flight Attendant);

or sneak to the toilet for a cigarette and set smoke alarms or God forbid start a fire;

or horse around and be unruly (trust me they will restrain you)

Try to make their life a little easier and they will do their best to keep you safe and secure and mostly happy.

They are your Angels in the Sky.

Transitions

Life is about Transitions and how we handle and react to them. Looking back (with 20/20 hind sight) I don't think I was ready for any of the many transitions in my life whether personal or professional. Some I eased into like adulthood and others took me by storm like parenthood. Professionally, my transitions have been mixed but all great fun.
It is these transitions that shape, transform and polish/tarnish our characters, turns us into what we are now.
The most important transitions have been professional but they had the greatest impact on my personal life. These are the transitions that came with failures and successes, advancement and set back, that eventually crystallised my beliefs, core values and my passions in life. With them came the realisation that life (personal and professional) is all about People and not the technical aspects of a profession.
My passion for aviation transcends airplanes and the technical aspects of flying, into the people that make it happen, into the quality and safety aspects of the profession and industry, into the global human interaction that makes a 2 hours or a 15 hours flight a safe and great experience both in the air and on the ground and from its beginning until its end.

After all, life is all about people as we transition through it