Oman Air marked 25 magnificent years of service to India since its first flight from Muscat to Trivandrum in 1993. The airline which is the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman and an Official 4 Star airline (Skytrax 2011) has had a remarkable journey to date with its growing ties with India.
In a recent conference hosted to announce its future plans, Oman Air announced that its seat factor is touching 80 percent mark and its premium cabin has grown in overall double-digit at 25 percent, vis-à-vis last year.
The airline also declared an estimated growth of over 18 percent to the 3.21 lakh Indian visitors received in 2017, owing to the growing demand from leisure, wedding, adventure, and MICE travelers. This will further strengthen the airlines’ growing international network and significantly enhance connectivity for passengers.
Oman Air currently operates 161 flights weekly to India (3 flights) daily). There has been significant growth in the past 25 years, with a fleet of 2 aircraft serving 3 destinations – to its present-day fleet of 54 aircraft, serving 51 destinations.
“We have seen a huge increase in passengers travelling between Muscat and India, but we strongly believe that the Indian market still has huge potential, not just between Oman and India, but also beyond to connecting destinations. The dynamic travel industry and forward-thinking aviation sector in India, (which is currently the third largest in the world), has helped make India a very important market for us,” said Sunil V A, Regional Vice President – ISC.
In addition, Oman Air’s new destinations for this year are Istanbul (Turkey), Casablanca (Morocco) and Moscow (Russia) besides the Maldives which resumed operations in October this year.
Eng, Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Air said; “India is a significant destination for Oman Air both in terms of increasing tourism traffic and in promoting vital trade agreements between the two countries. We are very grateful to the cooperation between the governments of Oman and India whose agreement has allowed us to increase the number of frequencies and available seats.”
Currently, Oman air flies to eleven destinations in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Chennai, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Paul Starrs, Chief Commercial Officer, Oman Air, said, “These routes have proven increasingly popular and it has been fantastic to see the service grow both in terms of destinations and frequency. We are very proud that we can offer our guests the choice and convenience that comes with such frequent flights. Our passengers continue to commend the excellent service that they receive onboard with Oman Air and the 25-year milestone is a testament to this success.”
Oman Air’s outstanding aircraft interiors include its First Class Private Suite, which provides each of the First Class passengers with fully enclosed, extra tall, sites with doors to ensure privacy and converts to a very comfortable lie-flat seat in the skies. The outstanding Business Class seats each provide easy aisle access, ample storage space, and the latest technological amenities. Economy Class seats offer adjustable head and leg rests, together with generous leg and elbow room. State of the art in-flight entertainment systems feature individual seatback screens, audio, and video on demand and live satellite TV. In addition, Oman Air has pioneered both mobile telephony and internet connectivity on board its wide-bodied flights and this is available in all three lasses.
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