Editing Royal Jordanian (section)

=== 1960s to 1990s ===
[[File:Boeing 707-3D3C JY-ADO Alia LHR 22.08.71 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|Alia [[Boeing 707-300]] at [[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] in 1971. This aircraft was later destroyed in the [[Kano air disaster]].]]

The airline was established on 9 December 1963 and started operations on 15 December 1963 after a royal decree by the late [[King Hussein]]. It was named ''Alia'' (or ''Aalya'') after King Hussein's eldest child, [[Princess Alia bint Hussein|Princess Alia bint Al Hussein]] of Jordan (born on 13 February 1956). It is a common misconception that the airline was named after the King's third wife, [[Alia al-Hussein|Queen Alia]], whom King Hussein did not marry until 1972. The airline was founded with capital from private shareholders but the [[Politics of Jordan|Jordanian government]] later took over the company.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trofamspotting.weebly.com/royal-jordanian-airlines.html |title=Royal Jordanian Airlines |website=Trofam Spotting |access-date=2019-05-24}}</ref>

Alia (the Royal Jordanian Airline) started operations with two [[Handley Page Dart Herald]]s and a [[Douglas DC-7]] aircraft, serving [[Kuwait City]], [[Beirut]] and [[Cairo]] from Amman. In 1964, another DC-7 was added and service began to [[Jeddah]]. In 1965, Alia initiated service to [[Rome]], its first destination in [[Europe]]. The progress made by the airline was threatened by an [[Israel]]i air raid during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]] when the DC-7 aircraft were destroyed. They were replaced by two [[Fokker F27]]s.

In 1968, the airline joined the jet age when it introduced the [[Sud Aviation Caravelle]], and expanded the route network to [[Nicosia]], [[Benghazi]], [[Dhahran]] and [[Doha]]. 1969 saw the addition of service to [[Munich]], [[Istanbul]] and [[Tehran]].
[[File:Royal Jordanian Airlines L-1011 in Geneva.jpg|thumb|[[Lockheed L-1011]] TriStar of Alia in the short-lived, experimental early-1980s livery]]

In 1970, Alia phased out the F27s and ordered [[Boeing 707]]a. [[Frankfurt]] and [[Abu Dhabi]] were added to the network. The 707s were delivered in 1971. In that year, service was initiated to [[Madrid]], [[Copenhagen]] and [[Karachi]]. During the rest of the decade, [[Boeing 720]]s, [[Boeing 727]]s and [[Boeing 747]]s were added to the fleet. A catering department was established, and [[duty-free shop]]s were opened at Amman airport. Services were added to destinations including [[Bahrain]], [[Dubai]], [[Muscat]], [[Rabat]], [[Geneva]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Baghdad]], [[Bangkok]], [[Vienna]], [[Damascus]], [[New York City]], [[Houston]], and [[Ras al-Khaimah]]. In 1979, Alia became a founding member of the Arab Airlines Technical Consortium.

In the 1980s, [[Tunis]] and [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] joined the route map, and Alia's [[IBM]] computer center was inaugurated. [[Lockheed L-1011 Tristar]]s, [[Airbus A310]]s and [[Airbus A320]]s joined the fleet. In December 1986, Alia changed its name to Royal Jordanian Airlines, when Princess Alia was nearing her divorce. The airline's first woman pilot flew one of their aircraft during this decade. Service was added to [[Belgrade]], [[Chicago]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Miami]], [[Bucharest]], [[Singapore]], [[Riyadh]], [[Kuala Lumpur]] – in cooperation with [[Malaysia Airlines|MAS]], [[Sana'a]], [[Moscow]]. [[Montreal]], [[Delhi]], [[Calcutta]] and [[Ankara]]. This decade also saw the introduction of the Gabriel Automated Ticket System – (GATS).

[[File:Alia Boeing 747-200 Gilliand.jpg|thumb|A [[Boeing 747-200]] of the airline as seen in 1978]]

The 1990s saw further expansion. Royal Jordanian and nine other Arab air carriers signed up for the [[Galileo CRS]]. The IMCS maintenance and engineering system was added, a new Amman city air terminal was opened at the [[7th Circle]] of the Jordanian capital, and services to Rafah started, since then halted. The cities of [[Toronto]], [[Colombo]], [[Jakarta]],  [[Berlin]], [[Mumbai]], [[Milan]] and [[Tel Aviv]] were added to the network. In November 1997, Royal Jordanian became a code-sharing partner with the US carrier [[Trans World Airlines]] and moved operations into the [[TWA Flight Center]] (Terminal 5) at the [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] in New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.twa.com/pressrelease/document.html?iReleaseID=142 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990913043943/http://www.twa.com/pressrelease/document.html?iReleaseID=142 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1999-09-13 |title=TWA Press Releases |access-date=2018-05-30}}</ref>