Muscat: The National airline, Oman Air, has revealed that its main objective will be to identify routes that connect Oman to the world, contribute to Oman’s economy, and promote tourism, business travel to Oman and the Sultanate as a destination.
Abdulaziz Al Raisi, chief executive of Oman Air, told the Breaking Travel News portal that the severe reduction in global passenger demand caused by the pandemic as well as travel restrictions across the network led to a temporary suspension of some routes, and limited frequency on remaining routes.
"As vaccination rates pick up globally, we aim to increasingly reopen our routes - however, this will depend on the relaxing of travel restrictions worldwide and the gradual recovery of global demand for air travel," he said.
The airline, he said, will also continue to strengthen relationships with codeshare partners to offer our guests even more destinations to fly to. Finally, we plan on streamlining our fleet of aircraft by replacing and retiring older aircraft with newer aircraft offering greater fuel efficiency and fewer emissions while enhancing passenger comfort.
"Domestic tourism in Oman is an important part of our business, especially in Khasab, a popular port city on northern Oman’s breath-taking Musandam peninsula, and Salalah in Oman’s southern Dhofar province, a destination renowned for its spectacular beaches and lush, green landscape during monsoon season (Khareef)," he said.
"The sultanate’s attractiveness as a tourist destination is clear: an enviable location between Asia, Africa, and Europe puts two third of the world’s population within eight hours flying time, one third within four; the sultanate is one of the safest and most secure places in the world - not just in the region - and offers exceptional nature, climate, leisure, culture, and history."
He added, "Oman Air plays a vital role in Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy by connecting inbound tourists from source international markets to Oman’s tourism ecosystem. Aviation feeds the tourism sector as much as tourism feeds aviation, and both sectors share a common objective - entice more international travellers to Oman and diversify the economy for sustainable growth."
Oman Air was picked as the Middle East's Leading Airline, Middle East's Leading Airline: Customer Experience, and Middle East's Leading Airline: Economy Class at the prominent World Travel Awards 2021, voted for by air travellers based on their own experiences. The awards were announced online this year and recognize Oman Air’s excellence for its on-board products and services, customer care and passenger experience. This year’s award for Middle East’s Leading Airline: Economy Class follows consecutive wins in the same category from 2014 to 2020.
Raisi said, “Oman Air is delighted to once again be recognized for our outstanding products, services, and customer care, both in the air and on the ground. Our commitment to deliver a truly exceptional journey for all our valued guests has always been a priority, and these latest accolades from the World Travel Awards let us know that we’re delivering on that promise. They inspire us to keep innovating our product offering and elevating our service levels which consistently reflect the premium flying experience that Oman Air is renowned for.”
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