Muscat: The national airline, Oman Air, has improved its financial performance in 2023 by reducing operating losses by 40 percent to 24 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA )) compared to 2023 and operating losses in (earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) ) by 25 percent to 76 million from 2023.
The on-time performance was among the top two airlines in 2024 at 92 percent while the Omanisation rate increased by five percent from 2023 to 79 percent in 2024.
The point-to-point share increased to 40 percent, an increase of 49 percent from 2019 and 18 percent from 2023.
The average fare was RO65, an increase of nine percent from 2019 and the same as in 2023.
The load factor was 75 percent in 2024, an increase of one percent vs 2023 and a decrease of 4 percent from 2019.
The airline now has a fleet of 32, a decrease of 29 percent compared to 2023, and a decrease of 40 percent from 2019.
The airline carried 5.4 million passengers in 2024, a decrease of 13 percent from 2023 and 44 percent from 2019.
Airline fleet is now at 32
Load factor at 75% in 2024
5.4 million passengers used the airline in 2024
The airline said that since the transformation in 2023, and particularly in its first full year, Oman Air has made significant strides towards achieving financial sustainability while serving the needs of Oman and maintaining high levels of operational excellence.
"A comprehensive assessment was conducted focused on achieving financial sustainability and commercial viability by increasing service to key profitable destinations and increasing the load factor, while strategically reducing less profitable ones. This included modernizing the fleet by adding a new aircraft and retiring older, high-operating-cost planes, resulting in a 40% improvement in EBIT since 2019," it added.
Financial liquidity improved during the year, with a 40 percent improvement in EBITDA compared to 2023.
This allowed the company to settle long overdue payables totaling RO45 million in 2024 without resorting to borrowing
Overall revenue quality was significantly enhanced, attributed to the comprehensive study undertaken to modernize the fleet and network, emphasizing the focus on point-to-point traffic, which constituted 40 percent of total revenue in 2024 vs 27 percent in 2019.
"Consequently, the airline is effectively contributing to the growth of tourism and the overall economy through this shift."
The company streamlined the organizational structure and workforce by 24 percent, resulting in estimated annual financial savings of RO18 million, while prioritizing the replacement of expatriates with Omani nationals, achieving an increase in the Omanisation rate to 81 percent compared to 74% percent in 2023.
Eng. Saeed bin Hamoud bin Saeed Al Mawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology and chairman of the Board of Directors of Oman Air, told the media on Wednesday, "No company, private or government can not stand without a proper financial stability." He said the company has to balance its financial stability with factors like tourism and connectivity."
The process of achieving financial stability for Oman Air did not start in 2023 but much before due to the efforts of the Oman Investment Authority and the Finance Ministry.
Losses of the national carrier were counted at RO 340 million in 2021.
He said the airline has still managed to improve performance across various parameters after the pandemic.
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