Royal Brunei Airlines’ cabin crew have been recognised as the best in the business by World Travel Awards – here Breaking Travel News talks with chief executive Martin Aeberli to find out more

Breaking Travel News: Royal Brunei Airlines has taken the title of Asia’s Leading Cabin Crew at the World Travel Awards  - how does it feel to have won?

Martin Aeberli: The team in Royal Brunei Airlines are delighted and excited to be receiving the title of Asia’s Leading Cabin Crew from the prestigious World Travel Awards for the very first time.

As the national carrier of Brunei Darussalam, we reflect our Bruneian values in everything we do and the defining trait being the hospitality we provide to our guests.

We’re very proud this has been recognised with the amazing services our crew provide as a representation of the airline and Brunei with their personalised, warm and characteristic Bruneian hospitality.

In spite of the tough times facing the world today, it has been a huge few years for the airline where we achieved significant milestones from the host of awards, we have won to launching initiatives that support our development and growth.

On behalf of our crew and team Royal Brunei, we would like to say a big thank you to our loyal guests and supporters who have voted for us and trusted our truly Bruneian hospitality.

BTN: How do accolades such as these help build the Royal Brunei brand in the competitive Asian aviation market?

MA: This is our 45th year of flying with our commercial flights beginning on May 14th, 1975.

In this region there are a large number of carriers and we believe RB stands out as a full-serviced airline providing award-winning services and high level of standards at competitive prices to our guests.

Our service philosophy is a key point of differentiation for the RB brand and winning these accolades will support us in sharing that news to more guests who we hope we’ll be able to welcome on board in the future.

BTN: How is Royal Brunei Airlines working to overcome the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic – are operations back to normal as we enter late 2020?

MA: The health and safety of our guests and employees is of paramount importance.

We are working closely in partnership with stakeholder and governments to ensure the enhanced and precautionary measures we undertook offers peace of mind for our guests and restore their confidence when they travel with us. 

In terms of RB’s strategic direction to navigate the challenges, we have to be creative and find opportunity.

Recently we developed a concept sight-seeing flight, and the response was overwhelming.

The sight-seeing flight has helped our operating crew to keep their licenses current. Operations-wise, we are developing our operating program in response to the evolving changes in travel demand and government policy.

BTN: What can be expect from the carrier next year as it seeks to defend the prestigious World Travel Awards trophy?

MA: RB is a remarkable airline proudly serving Brunei, the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures, to the world from its hub in Bandar Seri Begawan.

At the heart of the airline are our remarkable people, Team RB, who are dynamic and constantly at the forefront to showcase the little things that make our service special.

They’re part of what makes RB the better way to fly and we are very proud of our teams who deliver this day in and day out.

The airline will continue to respond to the market and are working on a number of improvements to our products and services in order to achieve the utmost excellence in guest experience and exceed their expectations.

You’ll also see us sharing these to more people than ever before through innovative marketing campaigns when the time is right and making it even easier to interact with us through digital channels.

We’re proud to serve Brunei and showcase this wonderful country to the world.

More Information

Royal Brunei Airlines connects Brunei Darussalam to the world from its hub in Bandar Seri Begawan and has been serving the nation for nearly half a century.

The airline is a full-service carrier, offering year-round low fares with free meals, baggage and entertainment as part of its offer.

Find out more on the official website.