Company Insights Oman Air Aviation Oman Air Overview Oman Air, the flag carrier of Oman, operates from Muscat International Airport, offering domestic, international, regional air taxi, and charter flights. Originally a founding shareholder in Gulf Air, Oman exited in 2007 to focus on its own airline. It began in 1970 as Oman International Services, a ground-handling provider, which expanded into aircraft engineering and in-flight catering, becoming a joint-stock company in 1981. Oman Air officially launched in 1993 with its first flight to Salalah in southern Oman and soon began international services, starting with Dubai. Following recapitalisation in 2007 the Omani government increased its ownership in Oman Air to 80 percent, launching long-haul flights to London and Bangkok. Since then Oman Air has expanded its fleet and was the first airline to offer in-flight mobile and wifi connectivity in 2010. It plans to join the Oneworld alliance by mid-2025. In 2023 Oman Air announced it was undergoing a restructuring process to reduce ongoing losses and debt accumulation. This includes re-evaluating its network and assessing whether to still fly to certain destinations. Oman Air News Aviation Oman Air cuts a quarter of workforce after losses Loss-making national airline Oman Air has let go of at least 900 people – equivalent to almost a quarter of its workforce – after posting yet another loss last year, newspapers including the Times of Oman reported. Of the 900, more than 500 are expatriates and the remaining 400 Omani nationals, Saeed bin Hamoud Al […] April 28, 2025 Aviation Oman Air posts 2024 loss while airport passenger numbers rise Oman Airports, the company managing Muscat International Airport and three others, posted a 15 percent increase in net income last year on more passenger throughput, a local newspaper reported. At the same time, national carrier Oman Air reported a OR72 million ($187 million) loss, before interest and taxes, for 2024. The airline has made an […] April 25, 2025 Tourism Thai earthquake increases Omani Eid bookings to Dubai The earthquake which has devastated parts of southeast Asia has forced many Eid holiday makers from Oman to divert from flying to Thailand and to choose Dubai instead as is a preferred destination. Travel agents in Oman have seen a surge of bookings to Dubai with most of them leaving by air. “In last year’s […] April 2, 2025 Aviation SalamAir adds planes and routes in Oman tourism drive Oman’s only low-cost airline, SalamAir, plans to double its fleet size and almost treble passenger numbers over the next three years, its CEO has told AGBI. Adrian Hamilton-Manns said SalamAir’s fleet would increase from 13 Airbus planes today to 25 aircraft in 2028. It is aiming for annual passenger numbers of 8.5 million in three […] March 4, 2025 Aviation Oman Air cuts fleet size by 29% to reduce losses Oman Air, the Gulf state’s flag carrier, last year cut its fleet size by 29 percent year on year to 32 aircraft, lowering its operational cost as part of its turnaround strategy. The airline carried 5.4 million passengers, down 13 percent year on year. Annual Ebitda rose by 40 percent to OR24 million ($62.2 million), […] January 27, 2025 Opinion Tourism Oman hopes tourism can foster entrepreneurship and create jobs The sultanate has only recently begun to use its history as an economic attraction January 16, 2025 Analysis Aviation Middle East airlines expected to ride out delivery delays Aircraft delivery delays will continue to dog Middle East airlines in 2025, according to the International Air Travel Association (Iata). The issue will have little bearing on the bottom line, however, and the industry is expected to continue growing regardless. Globally, Iata forecasts that 1,802 aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months, down […] December 24, 2024 Trade Oman-China trade value hits $15bn Bilateral trade between Oman and China increased by 8 percent year on year in the first five months of 2024, reaching more than $15 billion, according to local media. Officials said during an Omani-Chinese friendship forum in the southern city of Salalah that the major joint projects with China currently being implemented in Oman are […] August 9, 2024 Video length: 04:49 VIDEO Aviation ‘It’s survival of the fittest’, says Oman Air CEO Oman Air is continuing to reduce its losses and increase revenue, but its new CEO believes that adding more airlines to the market would not be sustainable. “There’s certainly a huge amount of aircraft coming to this region,” said Con Korfiatis, CEO of Oman Air, speaking at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai in May a […] June 12, 2024 Aviation Oman seeks investors for new low-cost airline Oman plans to launch a new low-cost airline amid a global tourism rebound and the continued expansion of the Gulf state’s aviation sector. In a post on the social messaging platform X (formerly Twitter), the country’s civil aviation authority (CAA) announced an investment opportunity for a new low-cost airline operator in the sultanate. No further […] May 29, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 3 Next
Aviation Oman Air cuts a quarter of workforce after losses Loss-making national airline Oman Air has let go of at least 900 people – equivalent to almost a quarter of its workforce – after posting yet another loss last year, newspapers including the Times of Oman reported. Of the 900, more than 500 are expatriates and the remaining 400 Omani nationals, Saeed bin Hamoud Al […] April 28, 2025
Aviation Oman Air posts 2024 loss while airport passenger numbers rise Oman Airports, the company managing Muscat International Airport and three others, posted a 15 percent increase in net income last year on more passenger throughput, a local newspaper reported. At the same time, national carrier Oman Air reported a OR72 million ($187 million) loss, before interest and taxes, for 2024. The airline has made an […] April 25, 2025
Tourism Thai earthquake increases Omani Eid bookings to Dubai The earthquake which has devastated parts of southeast Asia has forced many Eid holiday makers from Oman to divert from flying to Thailand and to choose Dubai instead as is a preferred destination. Travel agents in Oman have seen a surge of bookings to Dubai with most of them leaving by air. “In last year’s […] April 2, 2025
Aviation SalamAir adds planes and routes in Oman tourism drive Oman’s only low-cost airline, SalamAir, plans to double its fleet size and almost treble passenger numbers over the next three years, its CEO has told AGBI. Adrian Hamilton-Manns said SalamAir’s fleet would increase from 13 Airbus planes today to 25 aircraft in 2028. It is aiming for annual passenger numbers of 8.5 million in three […] March 4, 2025
Aviation Oman Air cuts fleet size by 29% to reduce losses Oman Air, the Gulf state’s flag carrier, last year cut its fleet size by 29 percent year on year to 32 aircraft, lowering its operational cost as part of its turnaround strategy. The airline carried 5.4 million passengers, down 13 percent year on year. Annual Ebitda rose by 40 percent to OR24 million ($62.2 million), […] January 27, 2025
Opinion Tourism Oman hopes tourism can foster entrepreneurship and create jobs The sultanate has only recently begun to use its history as an economic attraction January 16, 2025
Analysis Aviation Middle East airlines expected to ride out delivery delays Aircraft delivery delays will continue to dog Middle East airlines in 2025, according to the International Air Travel Association (Iata). The issue will have little bearing on the bottom line, however, and the industry is expected to continue growing regardless. Globally, Iata forecasts that 1,802 aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months, down […] December 24, 2024
Trade Oman-China trade value hits $15bn Bilateral trade between Oman and China increased by 8 percent year on year in the first five months of 2024, reaching more than $15 billion, according to local media. Officials said during an Omani-Chinese friendship forum in the southern city of Salalah that the major joint projects with China currently being implemented in Oman are […] August 9, 2024
Video length: 04:49 VIDEO Aviation ‘It’s survival of the fittest’, says Oman Air CEO Oman Air is continuing to reduce its losses and increase revenue, but its new CEO believes that adding more airlines to the market would not be sustainable. “There’s certainly a huge amount of aircraft coming to this region,” said Con Korfiatis, CEO of Oman Air, speaking at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai in May a […] June 12, 2024
Aviation Oman seeks investors for new low-cost airline Oman plans to launch a new low-cost airline amid a global tourism rebound and the continued expansion of the Gulf state’s aviation sector. In a post on the social messaging platform X (formerly Twitter), the country’s civil aviation authority (CAA) announced an investment opportunity for a new low-cost airline operator in the sultanate. No further […] May 29, 2024
