Oman Air said there had been a significant increase in the usage of inflight connectivity on its OnAir-equipped Airbus A330s in the past year.

The volume of data exchanged also rose dramatically in the Sultanate's national airline, which has seven A330s fitted with both Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir.

From 2012 to 2013, the number of Oman Air’s passengers logging on to the OnAir networks increased by 45 per cent, and 85 per cent more data was used, said the airline in its statement.

Oman Air pointed out that it had worked on increasing usage by implementing a series of creative new marketing initiatives. These have included a promotion allowing passengers to use Frequent Flyer miles to purchase Wi-Fi codes, as well as offering free vouchers to First and Business class passengers in three or four different periods throughout the year.

OnAir predicts that Oman Air will see a doubling of Wi-Fi usage in 2014, thanks to its innovative approach to marketing and providing passengers with value-added services around connectivity.

 “Having been the first airline in the world to offer both services, Oman Air has now been providing Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir for over four years. We also have plans for adding the services to more aircraft, as our fleet grows over the next few years,” remarked Andrew Walsh, the chief officer (Service Delivery) at Oman Air.

“Our customers have warmly welcomed the services and, thanks to our creative and proactive approach to marketing onboard connectivity, we have seen a big growth in passenger usage in 2013. We actively encourage passengers to use Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir and we are confident that both will continue to meet service expectations,” he added.

OnAir said has a unique network of regulatory authorizations from over 100 countries and more than 350 roaming agreements with mobile network operators. These are complemented by Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, the only satellite network specifically designed to provide worldwide coverage.

OnAir CEO Ian Dawkins said: "We are always excited to see passengers making the most of the services we provide. It’s clear that Oman Air, having pioneered full onboard connectivity, has used several appealing marketing initiatives to encourage users to connect to the inflight GSM and Wi-Fi."

“The usage numbers show passengers are using the service again and again, so they must recognise that it more than lives up to its reputation. Passengers now expect to fly in a connected aircraft, making inflight connectivity a must-have,” added Dawkins.-TradeArabia News Service