Editing Royal Brunei Airlines (section)

===Restructuring: 2003–2005===
In September 2002, Peter Foster was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO). He began major restructuring in 2003, after years of unprofitable operation. The plan was for Royal Brunei's fleet to grow from nine to twenty-four aircraft in a ten-year period, from 2003 to 2013. The fleet of six [[Boeing 767]]s would be changed to fifteen new [[narrow-body aircraft]] and eight [[wide-body aircraft]]; half of the new aircraft to be leased, and the others to be purchased. The plan also included new services to [[Auckland]], [[Ho Chi Minh City]], Sydney, Seoul, and Tokyo, as well as raising frequencies on other flights.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

The deliveries of the new [[Airbus A319]] and [[Airbus A320#A320|A320]] in 2002 and 2003, respectively, marked the start of the re-equipping exercise.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.BruneiAir.com/news/item.asp?id=76&PagePosition=20 |title=Royal Brunei Airlines receives its first Airbus A320 |website=BruneiAir.com |publisher=Royal Brunei Airlines |date=21 December 2003|access-date=9 December 2010}}{{Dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Two new [[IAE V2500|V2500]]-powered A319s were delivered on 28 August and 3 September. A320s were added on 21 December 2003 and 3 January 2005. All of the Airbus were leased from [[CIT Group]] in a seven-year contract,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.BruneiAir.com/news/item.asp?id=21&PagePosition=26 |title=Royal Brunei Airlines orders new aircraft |website=BruneiAir.com |publisher=Royal Brunei Airlines |date=11 April 2002|access-date=9 December 2010}}{{Dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> and are deployed mainly on regional routes. With their introduction, the [[Boeing 757]]s were phased out and sold to other parties.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

On 31 October 2003, a Royal Brunei Airlines aircraft touched down at [[Auckland Airport]], making it the first destination in New Zealand, and the first new destination added to the network as part of the restructuring exercise. On May the launching of ''Royal Skies'', the airline's [[frequent-flyer program]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}

At the end of 2003, Royal Brunei Airlines entered a controversial agreement with [[Royal Tongan Airlines]] of [[Tonga]]. Under the agreement, Royal Tongan Airlines [[Wet lease|wet-leased]] is one of the two remaining Boeing 757s. In return, Royal Brunei Airlines was given the opportunity to open up US markets via Tonga. However, before US routes could be planned Royal Tongan Airlines went into bankruptcy with huge debts in mid-2004, after less than six months of operation. As Royal Tongan Airlines was unable to pay the lease fees, the 757 was repossessed and stored.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

Starting in March 2004, four of Royal Brunei Airline's Boeing 767s were modified by the introduction of SkyDreamer seats in [[Business Class]], to replace the old First Class and Business Class Skyluxe seats. Business Class was renamed as Sky Executive Class, and in [[Economy class]], each seat was installed with an 8.4&nbsp;inch television. Sky Executive Class was subsequently renamed Business Class following poor response from the public.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

The unprofitable [[Taipei]] route was suspended in late 2004. Kuching and Kolkata were dropped on 31 October 2004 due to rising fuel prices, but at the same time, Sydney was added to the route network. Commencing 17 December, flights to Jeddah were routed through [[Sharjah (city)|Sharjah]] instead of Abu Dhabi.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://SHJ-Airport.gov.ae/pressair57.htm |title=Sharjah International Airport press release |website=SHJ-Airport.gov.ae |publisher=[[Sharjah International Airport]]|access-date=28 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023081039/http://shj-airport.gov.ae/pressair57.htm|archive-date=23 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the year, the airline launched ''Blue Sky Fares'', a low-cost internet booking facility, offering cheaper economy class fares on selected destinations, to compete with [[low-cost carrier]]s in the region, such as [[AirAsia]]. In August 2005, Peter Foster resigned as CEO to take up a similar post at another airline.{{cn|date=February 2024}}