Royal Jordanian has revealed its latest European route from Amman: Stockholm. It joins recent additions Lyon and Milan, which started in October 2022. Milan was last served by Royal Jordanian eight years ago. Booking data indicates that the Italian city was Amman's biggest unserved European market in 2019, followed by Stockholm. They all come as the carrier prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its origin as Alia.

Royal Jordanian to Stockholm

Some 2,102 miles (3,383km) apart, Amman and Stockholm Arlanda will again have nonstop flights after a long absence. Then, it was by now-defunct Royal Falcon, mainly using 737-400s, but it is now the turn of the country's flag carrier, Royal Jordanian.

With flights by two-class, 150-seat A320s, Royal Jordanian will serve Stockholm on Mondays and Thursdays. The first is set for March 27th, the second day of the northern aviation summer season. Note that it is not bookable as of December 19th. It is scheduled as follows, with all times local:

• Amman to Stockholm Arlanda: RJ123, 11:00-15:15
• Stockholm Arlanda to Amman: RJ124, 16:15-22:00

Click here for Stockholm-Amman flights.

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Similar times to other Europe routes

As you'd expect, the timings are very similar to its other European routes, as shown in the following figure, where green is for European departures, and blue is for arrivals. This coordination is to ensure connectivity over its Amman hub.

Indeed, assuming a four-hour or so wait in Amman, analyzing connection opportunities indicates that Stockholm passengers can connect on a two-way basis, particularly across the Middle East. They can connect to/from Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Basra, Beirut, Cairo, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Erbil, Jeddah, Kuwait, Medina, Riyadh, Sulaimaniyah, and Tel Aviv.

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Over 700,000 passengers

Booking data shows that the 15 places mentioned above had approximately 719,000 roundtrip Stockholm passengers in 2019. Excluding those who flew nonstop, as they're unlikely to switch to a one-stop, the opportunity is around 320,000, of which Royal Jordanian will, of course, capture only a tiny proportion.

Lebanon will be a key target for Royal Jordanian, likewise Iraq. Even excluding Baghdad, which doesn't connect in two directions, Stockholm-Iraq is still a market of about 80,000. It is driven by the Kurdish and Iraqi diaspora in Sweden; Iraqis are among the largest minority groups in the country. Despite the backtracking, in 2019, more passengers flew between Stockholm and Iraq with Qatar Airways via Doha than any other, followed by Turkish Airlines via Istanbul Airport.

Click here for Stockholm-Erbil flights.

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The third recent European addition

The Swedish capital is the latest new route for Royal Jordanian, although technically, Milan is simply a resumption, just returning after quite a long time. It joins the following. Note that the carrier launched Lyon following the end of the route by Transavia France in early 2020.

• October 1st: Lyon, 2 weekly using A320s
• October 1st: Milan Malpensa, 3 weekly by A320s (very occasionally A319s and A321s)
• March 27th: Stockholm Arlanda, 2 weekly by A320s

It'll serve 17 European airports

The latest data from OAG shows that Royal Jordanian will have more capacity to Europe next summer than any previous summer. As of December 19th, it has 481,000 departing seats scheduled, a 30% increase over summer 2019 and 20% more than summer 2022.

In order of capacity, it'll serve these places from Amman, although some readers may disagree about including Turkey: Istanbul Airport, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Frankfurt, Antalya, Rome, Madrid, Larnaca, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan Malpensa, Geneva, Zurich, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Lyon, and Athens. Some Geneva/Zurich flights are one-stops; they operate triangularly via the other Swiss city.

What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comment section.