Flag carrier Oman Air carried over 7.7 million passengers in 2016, a 21 per cent increase compared to the 6.4 million passengers recorded in 2015.

This was highlighted in an annual report released by Oman Air, reflecting the accomplishments achieved by the company.

Reviewing the annual report on behalf of the Board of Directors of Oman Air during the Extraordinary General Meeting and the 35th Ordinary General meeting in Muscat, Darwish Bin Ismail Bin Ali Al Balushi, chairman of Oman Air's Board of Directors, highlighted the achievements of 2016. They included:
• Fleet expanded to 47 aircraft.
• Increase in the seat factor up to 20%
• Increase in the number of passengers to 7.7 million, or 21 per cent
• Launch of Oman Air Flight Training Centre (OAFTC)
• Freight operations increased to 159,618 tonnes
• One million extra meals produced by Oman Air Catering Services

Further fleet expansion
Al Balushi said, "2016 was a year of both change and consolidation for Oman Air. Oman Air has continued its ambitious programme of expansion in 2016 with the introduction of four brand new Boeing 737-800s joining the Oman Air fleet. The carrier has operated B737s for many years and the aircraft provide the backbone of the airline’s long and medium haul fleet. We have continued to upgrade our Airbus fleet. The first Airbus 330 to benefit from a comprehensive retrofit landed at Muscat International Airport from Paris in October 2016. This reflects our commitment to continue to invest in our award winning on board experience.”  

He added that the previous A330 interiors attracted enormous international acclaim when they were first unveiled in 2009 and the new A330 interiors surpass those high standards and customers are already delighted with the results. With the addition of the new Boeing 737 – 800, Oman Air’s fleet stands at 47. Currently Oman Air’s fleet consists of four Boeing 787 Dreamliners, six Airbus 330-300s, four Airbus 330-200s, five Boeing 737-900s, 23 Boeing 737-800, one Boeing 737-700 and four Embraer 175s. Three more Boeing 737 – 800s are scheduled to join the fleet and this year, Oman Air will be unveiling new B787-9 Dreamliners and revamping the existing Airbus fleet.

Significant operational results
“The results speak for themselves. The number of available seat kilometres grew to 24.8 billion, an increase of 20 per cent. Oman Air’s capacity has increased significantly over the last year recording an increase in flight movements by more than 4000 flights to nearly 51,952 flights, an increase of 9% compared with 2015. The number of round trips Oman Air offered in 2016 rose to 30,978 trips from the previous year’s 28,270 trips.

While the fluctuating oil prices continue to affect the global economic outlook in general negatively, Oman Air’s revenues have increased during 2016 to RO472 million ($1.2 billion), an increase of 1 per cent on 2015,” Al Balushi said.

He also said that among the developments in 2016 are: the introduction of a double daily service to London Heathrow; from five times a week, to daily flights to Paris and increased frequencies on other European routes. The other recent additions to our network include, Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, Goa, Dhaka and Mashhad. The introduction of Guangzhou, China and Najaf, Iraq were the other major milestones of 2016. We also announced the start of our second destination in the UK with the new Muscat to Manchester daily service in May 2017.

Priority to man-power development
“Oman Air is continuing with its broad human resources strategy of appreciating the skills, abilities, commitment and contributions of all staff, regardless of their backgrounds. The company has worked hard to increase the employment of Omani nationals and now over two thirds of the workforce originates from Oman.

2016 also saw a move to put Oman Air at the forefront of pilot and cabin crew training with the launch of the Oman Air Flight Training Centre (OAFTC) in October. It is a state-of-the-art facility that is the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman,” His Excellency Darwish Bin Ismail Al Balushi said.

Other sectors, sustained growth
Al Balushi noted that Oman Air continues to excel in other areas of the business. The amount of cargo that Oman Air handled in 2016 increased from 138,972 tonnes to approaching 159,618 tonnes. The Catering Services Division has won several new contracts including a three and a half year contract with British Airways. In the past year Oman Air Catering Services produced an extra one million meals than were originally budgeted for, increasing productivity without compromising on quality. Extensive work continues to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of every area of the business. Oman Air’s engineering division is preparing to move to a much bigger facility, productivity can only increase.

Contribution to the National economy
“As a national carrier, one of our mandates is to contribute to the economic growth of the Sultanate by creating “air bridges” with brotherly and friendly countries to bring tourists from abroad, which is supporting tourism, and creating business opportunities between national businessmen in Oman and abroad. The infrastructure to do this is now practically fully available; Muscat’s new airport is nearing completion after the opening of the new passenger terminal in Muscat, meaning that the home base for Oman Air will be state of the art,” His Excellency Darwish Bin Ismail Al Balushi said.

He added that the contribution from Oman Air, as national airline, to the economy of the Sultanate of Oman is estimated at about RO600 million ($1.5 billion).

“On behalf of myself, the Board of directors and the Executive Management, I would like to thank His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and his Government for their invaluable advice, timely encouragement and wise guidance. My colleagues on the Board and within Oman Air’s management would once again like to join me in expressing our gratitude to His Majesty for his vision, his kind benevolence and his support,” Al Balushi said. - TradeArabia News Service