Falcon's tail is up...

It’s not easy being a small company in a region dominated by major national carriers. Royal Falcon’s experience since it began operations in August 2007 demonstrates both that reality and also the gritty character of Jordanians, citizens of a nation with few natural resources to cushion them from economic hardships.

President and CEO of Royal Falcon is Captain Ziad Hanandeh – although his current rank is something of a demotion considering the fact that, on leaving the Royal Jordanian Air Force in 2000, he was a major-general. (see sidebar.)

Hanandeh’s fleet until recently consisted of single examples of the Boeing 737-400, 767-200 and 767-300ER. The former generally handled scheduled flights; the larger 767s, charters.

However, in June, an initial Airbus A319-100 was added and an A320 followed later in the summer. The airline will now concentrate on the European type for its scheduled services. Both Airbuses are leased, as are the 767s.

“It’s very difficult to give plans for the fleet,” admitted Hanandeh. “We are still a small airline with a limited budget. As you know, the market for aviation is not very stable, so we’re very careful.”

Royal Falcon began life as a charter airline, but within a year had obtained a scheduled carrier’s licence and now operates a small network of scheduled services to Sharjah and Abu Dhabi (UAE), Mosul and Najaf (Iraq) and Stockholm (Sweden).

Royal Falcon chose to open its UAE services to Sharjah rather than Dubai in March this year because Royal Jordanian already operated Amman-Dubai and an exclusivity ruling at the time forbade other Jordanian carriers from competing on the same routes as the national carrier.

“It was difficult for us,” he admitted, “but we had to start somewhere. We didn’t become millionaires on the Sharjah route but we covered our expenses.”

The non-compete restriction no longer applies but, ironically, Hanandeh would still not serve Dubai. “From Dubai to Amman there are 80 flights a week and I don’t want to get involved with that.”

In June Royal Falcon started a second UAE service, this time to Abu Dhabi. The route has “some way to go before making a profit but is doing much better than expected”, he said.

Sitting among the collection of Middle East destinations, Stockholm may seem oddly out of place. But, Hanandeh explained, Jordan is a popular summer destination for Swedish tourists, while there are substantial Iraqi and North African communities in the Scandinavian nation. Amman is a convenient connection point for Iraqis and nobody else operates on the sector.

The newest destination for Royal Falcon is Khartoum. To Europeans, the Sudanese capital may seem unappealing but, according to Hanandeh, “It’s a very nice market.”

Not only does the route have significant business traffic, but Sudan’s ancient culture and relatively undiscovered status give it potential. A major component of business on the sector, he said, will come from Sudanese nationals heading to Jordan for medical treatment. He believes that up to 70 per cent of Sudan-originating traffic may fly to Jordan for this reason.

At the time of writing, the airline hoped to start services this autumn to Saudi Arabia – possibly both Jeddah and Medina. Additionally, the airline has rights to fly four scheduled services a week from Amman to Sharm-el-Sheikh on the Egyptian Red Sea coast (already a popular Royal Falcon charter destination) and is looking at establishing a link to Cairo.

Next on the agenda is a move into Eastern Europe, with Sofia or Warsaw the two contenders. Initially one of the two cities had been considered as an intermediate stop for the Stockholm flights, as Sweden “especially in winter won’t make a fortune for us”, but the Bulgarian and Polish capitals are now being looked at as destinations in their own right.

Looking further ahead, Royal Falcon hopes to start operating to London Gatwick and Düsseldorf, perhaps as soon as 2011, with Madrid, Moscow and Rome on the wish-list for coming years.

Turning east, the airline also has ambitions to start services to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Pakistan. Amman-Karachi is regarded as particularly promising for business traffic.

Basing itself at Amman’s Marka Airport, rather than the capital’s better-known Queen Alia International, has been beneficial to Royal Falcon in its early years, said Hanandeh. “It’s much easier for us because we’re the only scheduled carrier working from there so we avoid delays. It’s in a good location and this is a very strong point for us. It’s less than 10km and 15 minutes by taxi from the city centre, whereas Queen Alia is about 45km away and can take up to 60 minutes in the rush-hour.

“The Marka airport authorities appreciate what we’re doing right now and passengers and customers would like to see us stay there. We also do our own handling; if I move to Queen Alia I have to have extra money for that.”

However, Royal Falcon’s presence at Marka is about to shrink. An agreement between the Jordanian government and the national airport authority stipulates that all scheduled airlines should operate from Queen Alia and so a move to the newer airport is imminent. “I believe that by the end of the year they should be able to accommodate us there,” said Hanandeh. However, he will continue to operate charter and cargo flights from Marka.

Hanandeh has ambitions, too, for Royal Falcon’s sister company Jordan International Air Cargo (JIAC). The freight specialist set up operations in 2005 and was the result of plans by Jordan’s monarch, King Abdullah II, and his younger brother, Prince Faisal, to make the nation a regional cargo hub.

JIAC currently operates two leased Ilyushin Il-76 freighters. However, these are effectively barred from much of Europe due to noise restrictions and thus operate mainly on Middle East and African routes.

It had been apparent for some time that the aircraft’s usefulness would become increasingly limited by these restrictions and so, in 2008, JIAC ordered two of the much-improved Il-76TD-90s with their high-bypass Aviadvigatel PS-90A engines, which comply with Stage 4 noise regulations.

The arrival of the new aircraft – one is due late this year, the second in April 2011 – opens up considerable potential, said Hanandeh.

“We can’t wait to get them because they offer a saving of around 17 per cent on fuel, have increased range and their cargo capacity rises 15 tonnes to 60 tonnes compared to the earlier aircraft. That would give us the ability to cross the Atlantic after stopping at Shannon in Ireland.”

Hanandeh believes that the aircraft would fit well into the transatlantic cargo market: “It’s a very popular aircraft right now and it’s a lot cheaper than a 747.” 

Before founding Royal Falcon, Captain Ziad Hanandeh had a successful career with transport units within the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), long recognised as one of the most professional air arms in the region.

Having joined the RJAF in 1970 and being sent to the US for flight training, he graduated in July 1971 and was posted to the RJAF’s 3 Squadron, then flying the Douglas C-47 and De Havilland Dove.

During 1974-75 he was seconded to the fledgling UAE Air Force, piloting DHC-4 Caribous and DHC-5 Buffalos, then returned to Jordan to fly CASA C-212s and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

In 1978 he was posted to Jordan’s Royal Flight, where he stayed for 18 years until appointed a base commander. In 1998 he became assistant to the RJAF’s Chief of Staff for administration. He ended his military career in 2000 as a major-general.