Royal Jordanian (RJ) has signed a deal with Oasis 500 whereby the latter will invest and help accelerate business ideas generated by the airline across its entire value chain.

The partnership was signed by RJ president and CEO Captain Haitham Misto and Yousef Hamidaddin, CEO of Oasis 500, a leading early-stage seed investor and business accelerator.

“RJ is pleased to be the first airline in the Arab region that signs such an agreement to enhance research and development methodologies aimed at enabling the airline to drive superior performance,” said Captain Misto.

“We want to encourage current employees, selected former employees and RJ’s employment applicants to submit their innovative solutions for airline industry challenges in all areas (pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight). RJ will also reach out to its partners’ base and frequent flyers to create a collective platform for innovation,” he said.

Hamidaddin noted that Oasis 500 and RJ will create the RJ-Oasis 500 innovation open lab to push for innovation across all aspects of the airline’s operations and infrastructure. The lab will support developing regulatory frameworks and legislation for the aviation sector’s adoption of innovation, such as unmanned aircraft systems.

The lab will also help RJ attract investments for the early stage investment ecosystem through leveraging its different touch points, like the in-flight entertainment system, Crown Lounge and the frequent flyer programme.

Hamidaddin also highlighted the significance of the partnership in improving Jordan's competitiveness index through capacity for innovation, corporate spending on research and development, and procurement of advanced tech products. – TradeArabia News Service