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I love the fact that Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) are bringing in Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to Brunei Darussalam and being a jet setter myself, I can’t wait to be a passenger on the 787s. There are only less than a 100 Dreamliner flying worldwide right now but with orders of 930 worldwide. This means the respective airlines are queueing up for their deliveries within the next few years. The first airline to officially fly the Dreamliner is All Nippon Airways (Japan). However, the biggest customer so far for Boeing is the International Lease Finance Corporation with a high order of 74 Boeing 787s followed by All Nippon Airways with 66 orders. I’m proud to say that RB has ordered five Boeing 787s from Boeing Company and did you know that RB will be the first airlines in South East Asia to own a Dreamliner? Amazing!!!

You may have read my previous posts on the Dreamliner a few weeks ago during my three night stay at Seattle, Washington. For me, it was an educational trip as I learnt so much about the Boeing company and the team behind it as well as the operation side of it. You may have read about all the issues with regards to the batteries (lithium ion ones) but in actual, there are also other problems suffered by different types of airplanes. But just because Dreamliner is a new brand and with many positive vibes prior to the incident, it’s an easy target for the media to address the issue and create headlines. For now, the batteries have been modified with three additional overlapping protection methods.

What made me more confident about the Dreamliner is the Boeing Operations Center which monitors every Dreamliner at any given time and place and even on air. The Boeing Commercial Airplanes Center’s role are very crucial to their airline customers and RB is one of their clients too. Their role is not as easy as it seems – to monitor the technicality of the Boeings if the planes need urgent attention or if they have engineering issues and these guys work around the clock 24/7. They can monitor things such as the cabin pressure, the electrical brakes, fuel system and many more and they will alert the airlines before any of the components reach critical level which is a good precautionary measure.

According to RB’s statement, “We remain confident that Boeing’s internal analysis and monitoring process will identify and resolve such issues prior to our first expected B787 Dreamliner delivery. RB would like to reassure all our passengers that the safety of our operations is and will remain at all times the main focus of our attention.”

RB’s Boeing 787 being assembled at the Everett Factory of Boeing in Washington, USA.

I can’t wait to be in this plane one day

The interior feel of the plane. It will be a 220-240 seater plane if I’m not mistaken with a 3-3-3 seating format for the economy class with a better leg room space

This is where the 777s are being assembled. The production capacity (if I’m not mistaken) is at a rate of 10 (777) planes per month

Anyway, before I carry on further with my post on the Dreamliner, I will touch on RB’s strategic planning with the delivery of the 787 Dreamliner in line with RB’s rebranding program which has kickstarted October last year. I still remember the when Royal Brunei Airlines rebranding launch at the Hangar 1, Brunei International Airport and they introduced a new logo RB and that was the beginning of a new era for RB. And it’s no surprise that with the changes that they are going through in terms of rebranding, RB has taken a step further in ordering five Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Azhani Abu Daniel, RB Head of Corporate Communications, held a presentation on RB’s rebranding programme, at the Boeing office, Seattle. She said that the arrival of 787 in late September (if no delays) will be the highlight of the RB’s rebranding programme. The other good news is that 787 will fly regionally meaning that passengers can enjoy the services of the 787 heading to the likes of Singapore or KL or Hong Kong. The long haul flights with the Dreamliners will be available in the next few months and hopefully all the 787s will be in the country.

Azhani also said that RB will repositioned itself as a “boutique” airline and it aims to put Brunei back on the map. She said that the airline will focus more on the values that the passengers can relate to RB that represents Brunei. These are definitely exciting things to look forward to for RB.

Currently RB operates B777, A320 and A319 and some of the leased planes will be returned by phases when the new 787s arrive in Brunei Darussalam. Congratulations RB on your rebranding programme and thank you, Azhani and Muaz Al Rashid for hosting us from Brunei to Seattle for the Boeing trip 😀 You guys have tremendously put a lot of work into this trip and it was also great to meet up with the people from Boeing Company. The management of Boeing Company were high praises for RB saying that Royal Brunei is a visionary airline (company) as they are the first to operate the 787-8 in Southeast Asia.

Azhani Abu Daniel, RB Head of Corporate Communications, during her presentation on RB’s rebranding program at the Boeing Customer Experience Centre, Washington.

Daniel Schull, Sales Director, Southeast Asia Sales, Commercial Planes, Boeing Company, hosted us during the briefing

Marul showing Daniel how popular Boeing is on social media. Daniel admitted that Boeing hasn’t taken social media very seriously but he hinted that he might look in this matter.

 

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This is an awesome deal happening right now from Standard Chartered Bank who had a great tie up with Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and why so? Because you can travel to a destination by buying one ticket and getting the other ticket FREEEEEE!!!!!! Awesome, right?? The new destinations will be announced every Wednesday from 31st July 2013 to 14 August 2013. So for last week, it was Kuala Lumpur, one of the most popular destinations among Bruneians. For this week, the destination is featured on their website, so go check it out!!

So how does this work? Ok, here’s the deal. You really have to be quick in buying your air ticket via www.flyroyalbrunei.com on a Wednesday as only the first 50 customers who purchased via online will be eligible for the FREE ticket of that particular destination which will be Kuala Lumpur for this week. The successful recipient of the promotion of the FREE ticket will receive an SMS after one working day and an email will be sent to you accordingly. For more, T&C click here.

The travel period for the free ticket ex-Brunei is from 13th October to 28th November 2013 and 3rd January to 23rd January and 8th February to 28th February 2014. For your info, this promotion does not apply to VISA corporate, VISA Business credit cards or e-Cash Card.

So get your Stanchart credit cards prepared for tomorrow as the booking period will be only from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday 14th August. For more info, you can click here and here for their Facebook updates 😀 I’m very certain this promotion will sky rocket like crazy. Great collaboration between Stanchart and RB.

Some of the latest clothes available at Harajuku Boutique in Gadong

You might have know of the newly revamped boutique at Harajuku Boutique located at Gadong same row with Pizza Hut and Boba Tea outlet. Business have been picking up before Hari Raya after a quiet period and now the boutique place is managed by my friend Coco Kho who is familiar with the trend of fashion. Lately Harajuku had special discounts, however, the promotion is already over.

You will be able to find fashion wear that resembles recognisable brands such as H&M, Mango, Zara and many more. You can also make orders through her Facebook page if it’s not available at the shop.

Oh yeah, they also sell scarfs which is ideal for ladies who wants to wear head scarfs and Harajuku has an assistant who is able to teach customers different ways to wear the scarf. We even did a quick demo at her shop this afternoon *lol*

Harajuku Boutique opens daily from 10am to 8pm and is located at No 10 of Abdul Razak Complex Block J in Gadong. For enquiries, please call 2424929 or 8722815.

Some of the clothes at Harajuku

I love the message on this shirt

Some of the clothes at Harajuku

They have some accessories on display

Trying out some clothes at Harajuku

Some trendy scarfs for the ladies

I asked Coco to model for the Hijab look

The shop assistant knows how to wear the scarf in different ways

Almost there, Coco :p

Doesn’t she look adorable with this fashion?

Now this is rare that I requested Michelle to pose for me with the scarf

Now this looks much better on you 😀

Blue top and khaki shorts by Adidas, Sunglasses by Rayban, Brown Scarf by Harajuku, white top and beige pants unknown :p

 

KFC and Fitness Zone gives support to The Contingent of Brunei Athletes taking part in the Asian Youth Games 2013 that will take part in Nanjing, China this year by handing out sponsored attires to them yesterday at Fitness Zone Kiulap.

“In many countries, besides having a bigger population to choose talented athletes, sport development can be a costly affair and the governments sometimes collaborate with the private sector to pursue those objectives. Here we (KFC and Fitness Zone) would like to take a small step which we know would encourage other companies to join in and support the cause in the future,” says Jonathan Bong, Senior Marketing Manager, KFC (B) Sdn Bhd.

       Beside the sponsored attires, Fitness Zone is also giving the Athletes membership passes to use their fitness facilities. “It’s a small gesture from us to wish them luck and to give them support, “says Wu Chun, Managing Director, Fitness Zone.

Five athletes will be representing Brunei, aged between 14 to 17 years of age. They include national junior golfer Mohd Qazzri Fakhri Hj Aslimon, and fencers Md Hazeeq Asmui’e Md Fadzilah, Muhd Aizuddin Yaqin Hj Yahya, Mohd Haziq Asahrin and Muhd Anaqi Danish Asahrin. Md Hazeeq Asmui’e Md Fadzilah and Muhd Aizuddin Yaqin Hj Yahya will be competing in the foil individual discipline, while Mohd Haziq Asahrin and Muhd Anaqi Danish Asahrin will be representing the country in the sabre individual discipline. The Brunei delegation will be led by Umi Kalthum Hj Abdul Karim, Head of Brunei delegation to the Asian Youth Games.

As part of KFC and Fitness Zone’s dream to one day see a Brunei team competing in the Olympics in the basketball 3 On 3 category, the two brand have been actively promoting the sport since 2012, with the next tournament taking place from 20th – 29th September this year which is now open for registration. Participants who would like to register for the KFC Fitness Zone 3 On 3 Streetball Challenge can call 8713788 or 7182907 for further details.

Handing over the sponsored attire to the Brunei contingent and received by Dayang Umi Kalthum binti Abdul Karim, Head of Brunei delegation to the Asian Youth Games. Image courtesy of James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

Wu Chun of Fitness Zone and Jonathan Bong of KFC Brunei with the Brunei athletes. Image courtesy of James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.