Wikipedia

Royal Air Philippines

(Redirected from Royal Air Charter Service)
Not to be confused with PAL Express, Royal Air, Royal Air Force, or Royal Air Maroc.

Royal Air Charter Service, Inc., operating as Royal Air Philippines, is a Philippine-registered low-cost airline. The company was established on August 22, 2002, as a chartered airline. It began operations as a budget airline on December 14, 2018, with an inaugural flight from its hub in Clark, Pampanga to Caticlan in Aklan.

Royal Air Philippines
IATA ICAO Call sign
RW RYL DOUBLE GOLD
FoundedAugust 22, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-08-22)
(as Royal Air Charter Service)
Commenced operationsDecember 14, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-12-14)
(as Royal Air Philippines)
AOC #2010024[1]
Fleet size4
Destinations17
Parent companyLanmei Group
HeadquartersL1-0008AA Ground Level Landside, Clark International Airport Terminal 2, Clark Freeport Zone, Philippines

Satellite Office: Unit 707-5 Columbia Complex Bldg., Ninoy Aquino Ave., Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Key peopleEd Novillas (CEO)
Websitewww.flyroyalair.com

The airline currently operates a fleet of an Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200, and British Aerospace BAe 146 commercial aircraft, and provides domestic and international non-scheduled airline and cargo services to Manila, Lal-lo, Caticlan, Clark, Cebu, Nanning, Kalibo, Kunming, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau.

History

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Royal Air Charter Service began its operations on August 22, 2002, as a charter airline. The airline began increasing its chartered domestic and international flights after it was granted the right to provide chartered air services through a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in May 2017.[2] On June 21, 2018, the airline began regular daily flights from Cebu to Macau using ex-SWISS BAe Avro RJ100 aircraft. On July 27, the airline announced that it was working with the Philippines' Department of Tourism to establish a regular daily charter service between Macau and Subic Bay.[3][4]

On July 26, 2018, the CAB gave the airline the authority to operate as a commercial scheduled domestic and international flights. By September 2018, the company announced that it would commence daily domestic commercial operations from Clark International Airport in Pampanga on November 12, 2018, to five destinations, namely, Cebu, Caticlan in Aklan, Tagbilaran in Bohol and Puerto Princesa and San Vicente in Palawan.[5] On December 14, 2018, the airline had its inaugural domestic commercial flight from Clark to Caticlan and back.[6] The company further expanded its international charter service and domestic commercial operations after it was able to lease two Airbus A319 aircraft from Cambodian budget carrier Lanmei Airlines. The airline began offering charter flights from Cambodia and China to key Philippine cities such as Clark, Manila, Kalibo and Puerto Princesa.[7] On May 19, 2019, the airline announced the opening of its Cebu hub and launched its inaugural Cebu to Davao flight, with four flights a week between the two cities.[8][9][10]

On August 18, 2019, the airline began operating twice a week chartered flights between Macau, Cagayan North International Airport within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone in Lal-lo, Cagayan, and Clark.[11][12] The company thus became the first airline to operate in the airport, which opened in 2016.[13] However, on January 31, 2020, the airline temporarily ceased its Macau-Lal-lo flights after the COVID-19 pandemic began.[14] The airline also suspended its charter flights between Wuhan and Kalibo on January 23 following the COVID-19 outbreak there.[15]

On January 6, 2020, the airline added its first Airbus A320-200 to its fleet. The aircraft was previously in service with Lanmei Airlines and was leased from Minsheng Financial Leasing. The aircraft entered service with the airline on January 9, with an inaugural flight from Manila to Sihanoukville in Cambodia.[16]

In June 2023, all Royal Air Philippines Domestic flights transferred from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2 and all Royal Air Philippines International flights transferred to Terminal 1 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as part of the Schedule and Terminal Assignment Rationalization (STAR) Program of the Manila International Airport Authority.

Features and amenities

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Royal Air Philippines passengers currently receive 10 kg (22 lb) free check-in allowance on top of the 7 kg (15 lb) allowance on hand-carry items.[10] The airline also offers in-flight entertainment through its Sapphire In-Flight Entertainment Platform, which is a partnership with Global JD Capital Pte Ltd.[10][17] In August 2020, the airline announced a partnership with Sabre Corporation that enabled the airline to use Sabre distribution software in its ticketing systems.[18]

Destinations

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As of July 2024, Royal Air Philippines flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[19]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Cambodia Sihanoukville Sihanouk International Airport Terminated [19]
China Beijing Beijing Daxing International Airport [20]
Chengdu Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Terminated [19]
Chengdu Tianfu International Airport [19]
Guangzhou Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Terminated [19]
Haikou Haikou Meilan International Airport Terminated
Kunming Kunming Changshui International Airport Terminated [19]
Nanjing Nanjing Lukou International Airport [19]
Nanning Nanning Wuxu International Airport [19]
Ningbo Ningbo Lishe International Airport [19]
Quanzhou Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport Terminated [19]
Shanghai Shanghai Pudong International Airport [20]
Shenzhen Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Terminated [19]
Wuhan Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Terminated [19]
Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport [19]
Yichang Yichang Sanxia Airport [19]
Zhangjiajie Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport Terminated [19]
Zhengzhou Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport Terminated [19]
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport [19]
Macau Macau Macau International Airport [19]
Philippines Caticlan Godofredo P. Ramos Airport [19]
Cebu Mactan–Cebu International Airport Terminated [19]
Clark Clark International Airport Terminated [19]
Davao Francisco Bangoy International Airport Terminated [19]
Kalibo Kalibo International Airport [19]
Lal-lo Cagayan North International Airport
Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport [19]
Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa International Airport [19]
Tagbilaran Bohol–Panglao International Airport Terminated [19]
South Korea Busan Gimhae International Airport Terminated [21]
Jeju Jeju International Airport Terminated [22]
Muan Muan International Airport Terminated [19]
Seoul Incheon International Airport Terminated [19][21]
Taiwan Taichung Taichung International Airport Terminated [23]
Taipei Taoyuan International Airport [24]
Vietnam Da Nang Da Nang International Airport [25]

Fleet

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A Royal Air Philippines Airbus A320-200

As of October 2024, Royal Air Philippines operates the following aircraft:[26]

Royal Air Philippines fleet
Aircraft In Service Ordering Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 1 — 150
Airbus A320-200 2 1 180
British Aerospace BAe 146 1 — 97
Total 5 —

References

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  1. ^ "ACTIVE/CURRENT AOC HOLDERS" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. May 30, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Talavera, Catherine (July 29, 2018). "DOT partners with Royal Air for more China flights". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  3. ^ De Vera, Analou (July 28, 2018). "DOT working with Royal Air Charter Service for Macau-Subic chartered flights". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. ^ "Royal Air eyes Macau-Subic flights". Philippine News Agency. July 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  5. ^ Manabat, Ashley (September 21, 2018). "Royal Air to mount 5 domestic destinations via Clark airport". BusinessMirror. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  6. ^ Roque, Nika Roque (December 21, 2018). "Experience 'royal' service in the skies". The Manila Times. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Valdez, Denise (July 30, 2019). "Royal Air Philippines seeks to expand charter service". BusinessWorld. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Lumawag, Reuel John (May 21, 2019). "Royal Air eyes daily Cebu-DVO flights". Sunstar Davao. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Mellejor, Lilian (May 20, 2019). "Home-grown Royal Air launches Cebu-Davao route". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Fenol, Jessica Fenol (May 17, 2019). "Royal Air Philippines launches Cebu hub, boosts Central Visayas operations". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Visperas, Eva (August 20, 2019). "Cagayan airport starts international flights". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Yparraguirre, Liwayway (August 19, 2019). "Northern Cagayan airport starts commercial flights". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  13. ^ Arevalo, Rica; Lazaro, Freddie; and Basa-Inigo, Liezel (August 19, 2019). "Cagayan airport gets first direct international flight". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "All flights from Macau to Lallo, Cagayan suspended". Manila Standard. January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  15. ^ "Philippines stops accepting flights from Wuhan, origin of new coronavirus". CNN Philippines. January 23, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  16. ^ "Royal Air Philippines adds first A320-200". www.ch-aviation.com. January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "Royal Air brings the Next Generation of In-Flight Entertainment to travelers". Manila Standard. May 20, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "Royal Air Philippines selects Sabre as its preferred distribution partner to drive growth and power increased agency sales". www.sabre.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Destinations - Fly Royal Air".
  20. ^ a b "Royalair Philippines 1Q24 Borocay - China charter network expansion". aeroroutes.com. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "ROYAL AIR PHILIPPINES REVISES SCHEDULED SERVICE RESUMPTION IN JULY 2022". AeroRoutes. June 17, 2022.
  22. ^ "ROYALAIR PHILIPPINES NS23 JEJU OPERATIONS". AeroRoutes. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  23. ^ "Welcome the first chartered flight from Malina: Taichung City's Tourism Bureau welcomes passengers with hospitality". Taichung City Government. April 11, 2023.
  24. ^ "ROYAL AIR PHILIPPINES REVISES TAIPEI 1Q23 OPERATIONS". AeroRoutes. December 15, 2022.
  25. ^ "ROYAL AIR PHILIPPINES ADDS MANILA – DA NANG IN JUNE 2024". AeroRoutes. June 19, 2024.
  26. ^ "Royal Air Philippines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
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