Oman Air

Background

Oman was one of the four shareholders of Gulf Air, alongside the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. It was also the last nation to exit from the carrier, leaving in 2007.

Oman Air traces its roots back to 1970 when Oman International Services (OIS) was established. The company became a civil aircraft ground handling provider at Beit Al Falaj Airport. In 1973, OIS moved its operations to the new terminal at Seeb International Airport. The company took over Gulf Air's Light Aircraft Division in 1977, before establishing its Aircraft Engineering Division in the same year. Oman's rapidly expanding civil aviation industry led OIS to build several facilities – including hangars, workshops and in-flight catering – to cater to the increase in activity.

In 1981, Oman Aviation Services became a joint-stock company. OAS also purchased 13 aircraft from Gulf Air, allowing the company to replace its turboprop Fokker F27-600 with the −500 series. The following year, Oman Aviation Services jointly commenced jet services, along with Gulf Air, to Salalah. From 1983 to 1993, the company purchased new equipment, including the Cessna Citation, De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and new facilities to help it improve its services.

Foundation

In 1993, Oman Air was founded. The airline's inaugural flight took place in March 1993, when a leased Boeing 737-300 from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) flew from Muscat to Salalah. In July of the same year, the airline's first international flight was operated to Dubai, also utilising a Boeing 737-300. Flights to other destinations quickly followed, with Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) services starting in November, Kuwait and Karachi in January 1994, and Colombo in October 1994. In 1995, two Airbus A320s were wet-leased from Region Air of Singapore to replace the 737s. From 1995 to 1997, new services were introduced to Mumbai, Dhaka, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Chennai. In October 1998, Oman Air became a member of the international aviation industry trade group International Air Transport Association (IATA). By the end of the following year, Gwadar, Peshawar, Jeddah and Al Ain were included in the airline's expanding route network, although the former two, along with a host of other destinations, were discontinued in 2000.

Recapitalization

In March 2007, the Omani government recapitalised the airline, which saw the government increasing its shareholding from approximately 33 to 80 percent. It was also announced that Oman Air would be re-evaluating its strategic plans, with a possibility of entering the long-haul market. This culminated in May 2007 when Oman withdrew from Gulf Air to focus on the development of its national flag carrier, leaving Bahrain as the sole owner of the airline. Oman Air commenced long-haul services on 26 November 2007 by launching flights to Bangkok and London.

On 2 April 2007, Oman Air announced it had placed a firm order with Airbus for 5 Airbus A330 aircraft, with delivery scheduled for 2009. At the 2009 Dubai Air Show, Oman Air finalized the order, which involved 3 A330-300s and 2 A330-200s. Deliveries started during the third quarter of 2009. In February 2009, Oman Air announced intentions to lease another 2 A330-200s from Jet Airways. During the 2009 Dubai Air Show, Oman Air also finalised an order for five Embraer E175 aircraft with another 5 options, which the airline received from 2011.

In March 2010, Oman Air became the first airline in the world to offer both mobile phone and Wi-Fi connectivity on selected routes.

Developments since 2010

By November 2010, the Omani government held a 99.8 percent stake in the airline. In 2010, Maitha Al Mahrouqi was appointed Country Manager.

In September 2013, the CEO stated that Oman Air was planning to have a 50 aircraft strong fleet by 2017. In April 2015, Oman Air announced it would phase out its smaller aircraft to focus on an all Airbus and Boeing fleet. Two ATR 42-500 aircraft were withdrawn by the end of 2015, while the four Embraer E175 and the Boeing 737-700 aircraft were both retired by the end of 2016. In April 2017, Oman Air announced plans to replace its A330s with Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s. In October 2018, the CEO of Oman Air, Abdulaziz bin Saud al Raisi, announced that the airline was aiming to add over 60 new destinations and 70 new aircraft by 2022.

In June 2019, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) granted the level 4 New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification to the airline. The carrier became one of the first airlines to function on the latest standards, adding the title to its existing level 3 NDC certification. Oman Air and Kenya Airways announced the expansion of their codeshare cooperation, which was first signed in August 2017.