Haider Al lawati -
haiderdawood@hotmail.com -
Oman Air is launching its latest destination to Kenyan capital Nairobi next week, with four weekly flights to the African country. There are also plans to operate flights to Manchester, UK, in the upcoming period.
Manchester is one of the cities scheduled as part of the company’s expansion programme since the beginning of last year, but the it was delayed due to certain circumstances. These flights will undoubtedly benefit passengers travelling through Muscat International Airport to connect and continue their trips to other destinations bound for the Far East, Indian subcontinent, Europe and the GCC.
Moreover, the scheduled flight to Nairobi will support commercial activities and increase the volume of trade exchange between the Sultanate and Kenya during the upcoming period, as well as broadening the horizons of mutual investment projects. Today, Oman Air is seeking to create a more diverse alternatives and multiple options to discover distinct business and leisure destinations, facilitating the travellers flying from the Sultanate to other destinations without the need for transit at other airports, which provides them with a myriad of opportunities to pursue business and leisure between Muscat and other international cities.
The launch of the new destination is a step forward in Oman Air’s ambitious expansion plan of its fleet and network of destinations.
The launch of new destinations is part of the company’s policy after receiving a number of modern aircrafts.
In the meantime, the company is planning to launch other new destinations in the coming years, while seeking to provide the best products and services for travellers to ensure highest level of comfort on its flights as per the ambitious expansion programme it launched during the last quarter of 2014, which is on track since 2013 according to the development plan approved by the board of directors.
Oman Air is a government-owned company established in 2003 as the national a carrier of Oman.
Today, it flies to various destinations in the East and West of the world, with growing numbers of destinations and employees, whether citizens or expatriates.
With the addition of new fleet of aircraft, Oman Air freight and catering operations witnessed positive growth, in addition to other tourist and hotel operations in the country, and providing more jobs for Omanis.
Although global economic situation has cast a shadow on the operations of many companies worldwide — positive or negative — the aviation sector has benefited from this due to the drop in global oil prices, which had its effect on Oman Air in two different ways according to the company’s report last year.
The drop in oil prices caused jet fuel prices to nosedive, which allowed the company to save on energy consumption and thus minimise losses.
Therefore, Oman Air is expected to achieve good revenues for the year 2016, while cutting losses for the third year in a row. Higher revenues, the ongoing expansion programme and record cut in losses means that the company is able to progress and face the decreased level of financial support from the government.
Meanwhile, the company is working on achieving its goal of reaching financial parity by the end of the year 2017.
In the past few years, Oman Air has become a major contributor in promoting the country through the global activities and exhibitions it takes part in, the most recent is Berlin International Tourism Fair (Berlin ITB) held last week in the German capital.
This emphasizes the fact that the company is committed to showcase the deep-rooted culture, heritage and civilization of ancient Oman domestically and globally.
The company is also promoting the capital “Muscat” as a major air traffic hub across the Middle East that plays a pivotal role in boosting commercial, industrial, tourist and cultural activities in the Sultanate.
This is in addition to providing its fleet with the latest devices and equipment to offer excellence in services and maintain the highest safety and performance levels in general to be at the forefront of the aviation industry in the region and the across the world.
Hence, the company make adjustments so from time to time to its programmes and operations to meet the requirements of the next phase of aviation and face competition in this field.
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