Alia Pt2: Hashemite Crown 1976-1990

​It is perhaps in bad taste to say so but Alia benefited from the disintegration of Lebanon into civil war since it effectively ruined the previously strong transfer hub status of Beirut and provided an impetus for Jordan’s national carrier to fill the void. This is all the more ironic since it was the banishment of the Palestinian forces from Jordan and their subsequent arrival in Lebanon which did so much to bring about the Lebanese Civil War.

For Part 1 See: Hashemite Jewel 1963-1975

​Anyway by 1975 Lebanon’s position as the ‘Paris of the East’ and as a major transfer hub was in tatters thanks to the civil war. Jordan’s King Hussein, as well as being an incredibly savvy ruler was also a major aviation enthusiast and indeed an accomplished pilot, who sometimes flew Alia aircraft. I don’t doubt that he had a strong hand in the expansion of Alia into long-haul routes.

JY-AFA in her original colours in 1978. Photo by Michel Gilliand from Wikipedia

​These routes would be serviced by an order for a pair of new Boeing 747-200 Combis ordered direct from the manufacturer in 1976 for delivery the next year. The first aircraft JY-AFA ‘Prince Ali’ was delivered on April 13, 1977 and was followed by her sister-ship on May 11. The 747s allowed Alia to become the first Arabic airline to fly to the United States with a ‘Royal Jet’ service via Amsterdam to New York. Two years later the service was extended to Houston.

​At the end of 1979 the airline Alia ordered its second widebody type – the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500 with an order for 5 aircraft valued at 142 million British pounds. In the meantime a third 747 was added in March 1981 (partly to operate a new Chicago service) although clearly the smaller Tristars were better suited to the airline’s route network. A further pair of 707s had been added in 1979 but the Tristars and four additional new 727-2D3s would signal the replacement of the venerable Boeing jets in passenger service at least.

The Tristar delivery scheme on JY-AGA in 1983. Photo Felix Goetting from Wikipedia

The carrier continued to be successfully profitable making over 2 million British pounds in 1980 and a 60% increase in profits to 3.2 million GBP in 1981. Load factors sat satisfactorily at 65% for European services, 78% for the Gulf and Far Eastern routes and 70% to the USA.

Another scheme variant from 1983. This time worn by JY-AGD. Photo by Ralf Mateufel from Wkiipedia

The final livery version in 1984 on JY-AGB would also be short-lived. Photo by Steve Fitzgerald from Wikipedia

​Despite this success both the Chicago and Houston add-ons to the New York route were dropped in 1982, the same year that the airline finally decided on its new livery. Indeed the new Tristar 500s, which had begun to enter service in September 1981 had been delivered in a new scheme which never quite fully caught on. Several variants were tried prior to the fleetwide adoption of a scheme approved under the theme of ‘Jordanian Regality’. The livery had a red lower fuselage separated from the cream cabin roof by triple cheatlines coloured in black, red and green. The tailfin displayed a central golden crown over a red background. The new scheme was applied fleetwide although at least one of the 747s (JY-AFS) skipped this scheme completely.

​In May 1983 Alia’s new homebase – the Queen Alia airport at Amman opened. Expansion was still on the cards and in 1984 the airline acquired the last 5 Tristar 500s built in a deal valued at over $200 million. The first arrived on March 3, 1984 and corresponded with the launch of a new route to Los Angeles via Chicago. All this expansion came at a price however and the airline recorded a $25 million operating loss.

---

Left: This 1983 timetable shows the new airport at Amman with Tristars, 727s and a 747 present.

---

​Perhaps partly to offset this loss and due to the suitability of the new Tristars one of the 747s was sold in March 1985 to British Caledonian. The remaining pair were however kept in the fleet and JY-AFS became the first aircraft to be repainted in the airline’s new identity in November 1986 (skipping directly from the 1970s scheme to the new Royal Jordanian one).

​The new livery signaled the adoption of a drastic overhaul of the airlines identity as it shed the Alia and became simply Royal Jordanian Airlines. The lower fuselage was white with a dark charcoal grey upper half split by thin gold and red cheatlines. The Hashemite crown remained on the tail in gold but now on a background of grey with black tapered speed bands behind it up the rudder and a red banded tail top.

JY-AFA in her last scheme for RJ. Photo by Peter Bakema from Wikipedia

The 747 was still on the 1987 timetable

​The new identity went hand in hand with orders for new Airbus A310s and A320s. The latter would replace the remaining 727s whilst the A310s would allow the Tristars to replace the pair of remaining 747s. JY-AFS didn’t wear the new scheme for long as she was sold to British Caledonian in September 1987, however JY-AFA would survive until February 1989 when she was sold to the French independent UTA.

​The arrival of the first A310s in 1987 empowered the company to continue its growth, however the end of the decade was not a successful period for the airline or country. The Jordanian economy was struggling and the Dinar lost a third of its value in 1988. Meanwhile the national debt reached a level twice that of the country's GDP. As you can imagine Royal Jordanian had been a significant factor in that debt creation. Austerity measures introduced to combat the situation created unrest, which took a turn for the political. The impact on the airline was that it needed to raise capital and as well as the sale of the last 747 the two newest Tristar 500s were also sold. Both joined TAP Air Portugal.

The RJ scheme looked sharp on the A310s which continued to serve well into the 2000s. Photo by Konstantin von Wedelstaedt from Wikipedia

Nonetheless by the end of 1989 Royal Jordanian was serving 5 destinations in Asia (Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore) and 5 in North America (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Montreal) alongside 35 others. With a new young fleet the carrier was well placed to continue to showing the crown of Jordan into the 1990s and beyond.

References
​
Birtles, P.J. Modern Civil Aircraft: 8 Lockheed Tristar. Ian Allan
Henderson, S. Boeing 747-100/200 In Camera Vol 2. Scoval Press
Shaw, R. Airline Markings 4: Airbus A300 & A310
World Airline Colours: Aviation Data Centre
​1989 Jordanian Protests. Wikipedia
​Utopia BlogSpot: Royal Jordanian Pt4 1977-1989