- Oman Air
-
Oman Air 
IATA
WYICAO
OAS/OMACallsign
OMAN AIRFounded 1981 Hubs Muscat International Airport Frequent-flyer program Sindbad Frequent Flyer Airport lounge Oman Air Lounge Fleet size 26 Destinations 41 Company slogan Modern Vision. Timeless Traditions... Parent company Government of Oman Headquarters Muscat International Airport
Muscat, OmanKey people Peter Hill (CEO) [1] Website www.omanair.com Oman Air (Arabic: الطيران العماني) is the national airline of Oman. Based on the grounds of Muscat International Airport in Muscat,[2] it operates scheduled domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. Its main base is Muscat International Airport. Oman Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. As of 1 March 2010, Oman Air has become the first airline in the world to offer both mobile phone calling, SMS,Wi-Fi Internet services on selected routes. In April 2011, Oman Air was upgraded to a four star airline, with its business class being recognised with five stars and it was named the World's Best Business Class Airline Seat award at the 2011 World Airline Awards hosted by Skytrax.[3]
In 2011, Oman Air won the Gold award for the "Airline of the Year" at France’s Laurier d’Or du Voyage d’Affaires.[4]
Contents
History
In the beginning
Oman Air can trace its root back to 1970, when Oman International Services (OIS) was established. The company became a civil aircraft ground handling provider at Beit Al Falaj Airport.[5] In 1972, OIS moved its operations to the new terminal at Seeb International Airport. The company took over Gulf Air’s Light Aircraft Division in 1977, before establishing Aircraft Engineering Division in the same year. Rapidly expanding civil aviation industry of Oman led OIS to the building of several facilities – including hangars, workshops and in-flight catering – to cater for the increase in activity.[5]
In 1981, Oman Aviation Services became a joint-stock company. OAS also purchased thirteen aircraft from Gulf Air, allowing the company to replace its turboprops Fokker 27-600 with the −500 series.[5] The following year, Oman Aviation Services jointly commenced jet services, along with Gulf Air, to Salalah. From 1983 to 1993, the company purchased new equipment, including the Cessna Citation,[5] and new facilities to help it improve its services.
New airline: 1993
An Oman Air aircraft with the initial colors before the new blue scheme was brought in
In 1993, Oman Air was founded. The airline's first flight was in March, when a wet-leased Boeing 737-300 from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) flew from Muscat to Sulalah.[6] In July of the same year, the airline's first international flight was operated to Dubai, also using a Boeing 737–300.[5] Flights to other destinations quickly followed, with Trivandrum services starting in November, Kuwait and Karachi in January 1994, and Colombo in October.[5] In 1995, two Airbus A320s were wet-leased from Region Air of Singapore to replace the 737s. From 1995 to 1997, services were commenced to Mumbai, Dhaka, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Chennai. In October 1998, Oman Air was admitted in the international aviation industry trade group International Air Transport Association (IATA). By the end of the following year, Gwader, Peshawar, Jeddah and Al-Ain were included in the airline's ever-expanding route network, although the former two, along with a host of other destinations, were withdrawn in 2000.[5]
The Muscat International Airport serves as the international hub for the Oman Air - Here an Oman Air plane is seen parked at the airport
In March 2007, the Omani government recapitalised the airline, which saw the government increasing its stake in the airline from approximately 33 to 80 percent.[7] It was also announced that Oman Air would be re-evaluating its strategic plans, with a possibility of entering the long-haul market.[7] This culminated in the announcement by the government in May 2007 that it would be pulling out of Gulf Air, and would instead concentrate on developing Oman Air.[8] Oman Air commenced its long-haul services on November 26, 2007 by launching flights to Bangkok and London.[9][10] With the arrival of its new Airbus A330-200/300 aircraft further long haul routes are planned. As of November 2010, the Omani government holds a 99.8% stake in the airline.[11]
Destinations
Main article: Oman Air destinationsAs of December 2009, Oman Air operates 296 flights a week within a network of 36 destinations in 19 countries out of its primary hub in Muscat.
Oman Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
- BMI (Star Alliance)
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines (future Star Alliance member)
- Gulf Air
- Malaysia Airlines (future Oneworld member)
Fleet
An Oman Air Airbus A330-300 at Frankfurt am Main Airport. (2011)As of May 2011, the Oman Air fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4.1 years:[12]
Oman Air Fleet Aircraft In Service Orders Options Passengers Notes P J Y Total Airbus A330-200 4 — — 0 20 196 216 Airbus A330-300 3 — — 6 20 204 230 ATR 42-500 2 — — 0 0 46 46 Replacement Aircraft: Embraer 175 Boeing 737-700 2 — — 0 12 102 114 Boeing 737-800 13 4 — 0 12 142 154 Deliveries: 2009–2011 Boeing 787-8 — 6 — TBD All to be leased from ALAFCO[13]
Entry into service: 2014Embraer 175 2 3 5 0 12 60 72 Total 26 13 5 On 2 April 2007, Oman Air announced it had placed a firm order with Airbus for five Airbus A330 aircraft for delivery in 2009. At the Dubai Air Show of the same year, Oman Air finalised the order, which involved three A330-300's and two A330-200's. Deliveries started during the third quarter of 2009. In February 2009, Oman Air announced intentions to lease another two A330-200 from Jet Airways.[14] It will only have Business and economy class.[14]
During the 2009 Dubai Air Show, Oman Air Air finalised an order for five Embraer 175 aircraft with another five options, which the airline will receive from 2011 onwards. Whilst four of these aircraft will operate on Oman Air's domestic and Middle East network, the fifth will be used by the Royal Oman Police.[15]
Frequent flyer program
Sindbad is the airline's frequent flyer program, launched in 2007. Sindbad has a partnership agreement with the respective programs of Etihad Airways and Gulf Air.
References
- ^ Peter Hill CEO for Oman Air. Zawya.com (2008-07-04). Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
- ^ Contact Us, Direct image link. Oman Air. Retrieved on 3 December 2010.
- ^ Oman Air wins award for the world's Best Business Class airline seat
- ^ Oman Air wins ‘Airline of the Year’
- ^ a b c d e f g "History". Oman Air. http://www.omanair.com/wy/about-us/corporate-information/history. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
- ^ MAX KINGSLEY-JONES (MAX KINGSLEY-). Emerging power. Flight Global. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1999/1999%20-%200897.html. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
- ^ a b Kaminski-Morrow, David (19 March 2007). "Oman Air goes long-haul.". Airline Business. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-30296485_ITM. Retrieved 2008-04-04.[dead link]
- ^ "Oman looks to its local carrier after Gulf Air move.". Flight International. 15 May 2007. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-30800765_ITM. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ "Expansion 2007". Oman Air. 25 November 2007. http://www.omanair.com/wy/aboutus/aboutus_media_center/about_media_presrelses/releases_146.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-21.[dead link]
- ^ "Expansion 2007". Oman Air. 11 January 2008. http://www.omanair.com/wy/aboutus/aboutus_media_center/about_media_presrelses/releases_155.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-21.[dead link]
- ^ "Fact Sheet". Omanair.com. http://www.omanair.com/wy/about-us/corporate-information/fact-sheet. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ "Oman Air fleet list at planespotters.net. Retrieved 2011-05-26". Planespotters.net. http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/Oman-Air. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ "Oman Air to lease six 787s | Travel and Aviation". Ameinfo.com. http://www.ameinfo.com/132921.html. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
- ^ a b Times of Oman. Times of Oman (2009-06-22). Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
- ^ Oman Air buys 5 Embraer 175 E – Jets. Zawya.com (2009-11-17). Retrieved on 2010-12-10.
External links
Members of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) Afriqiyah Airways · Air Algérie · Air Arabia · Air Cairo · EgyptAir · Emirates · Etihad Airways · Gulf Air · Iraqi Airways · Jordan Aviation · Kuwait Airways · Libyan Airlines · Middle East Airlines · Oman Air · Palestinian Airlines · Qatar Airways · Royal Air Maroc · Royal Jordanian · Saudi Arabian Airlines · Sudan Airways · Syrian Air · TMA Cargo · Tunisair · Yemenia
Categories:- Airlines of Oman
- IATA members
- Arab Air Carriers Organization members
- Airlines established in 1981
- Muscat
- Government-owned companies
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
