Continued fleet and network expansion together with a renewed focus on on-board services and developments will be a priority for Oman Air this year, ensuring the airline of Oman continues to drive up revenues, increases its growing contribution to the national economy and delivers against its ten year development plan.
This message was reiterated at Oman Air’s major global conference held in Muscat on Thursday. The conference was opened by Maitha bint Saif bin Majid Al-Mahruqi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and deputy chairman of Oman Air, and hosted by Paul Gregorowitsch, chief executive officer of Oman Air.
Hundreds of staff from all over the world congregated in Muscat, where they heard an update on 2016 results and discussed the outlook for Oman Air this year.
Even in the context of increasing global volatility, economic downturn and drastically reduced government support from over OMR 100 million to just OMR 20 million in 2016, Oman Air increased its contribution to Oman’s GDP by 6 percent last year to OMR 415 million. This is projected to grow further to a staggering OMR 900 million in 2017, creating employment opportunities for Omani nationals, bringing tourists to the Sultanate, building global connections and, supporting small and medium enterprises.
This positive contribution to Oman’s economy can only be achieved by continuing to generate demand for Oman Air’s expanding network, fleet and services. Continuing to differentiate will be a key focus for the coming year to ensure the airline maintains the positive revenue trajectory achieved over the last two years.
Increasing global competition and pressure from other carriers makes it imperative that Oman Air continues to stand out in an increasingly crowded market place.
The airline has continued to prove its worth on the international stage in 2016 with a raft of industry awards to add to its growing collection.
Recent awards in 2016 include World’s Leading Airline — Economy Class at the World Travel Awards in the Maldives, and Foreign Airline of the Year by Sector to the Middle East at the annual KLIA Awards, introduced in 2006 to recognize the best in Malaysian aviation industry. The accolades are not limited to the passenger operation; Oman Air Cargo was also awarded “Best Cargo Airline for Valuable Goods — North and East” at the India Cargo Awards 2016 held in Delhi.
A major milestone at the end of 2016 was the introduction of Oman Air’s first destination in China, Guangzhou, launched in December and the commencement of the four times weekly flight to Najaf, Iraq in November last year.

Source: Arab News