Oman Air flew 47% more passengers in 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Oman Air, which saw a 47% growth passenger numbers out of Kuala Lumpur last year from 2015, is targeting 10 to 10½ million flyers from all its routes this year amid the Qatar crisis.
Oman Air carried 90,000 passengers in 2015 and in 2016 it carried 132,000.
“Obviously we want more Malaysians flying with Oman Air. A target may not be the real objective. The main thing is we want repeat customers,” said the airline’s regional vice-president Far East, Gerry Oh at a media briefing held in conjunction with the airline’s seventh anniversary in Malaysia yesterday.
The airline is, however, uncertain if the number of 10-10½ million for this year is achievable, as demand has been reducing from one end in the Middle East while growing at the other, due severed transport links between Qatar and Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Speaking at the same event, Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch said Oman Air has also seen a 39% increase in forward bookings for the month of June to December 2017, for the Kuala Lumpur-Muscat route.
In addition to that it also saw a 21% increase in capacity on flights bound to and from Kuala Lumpur year-to-date, following the cancellation of its Kuala Lumpur-Singapore stopover service.
Gregorowitsch also alluded to an increase in flight frequency for the Kuala Lumpur-Muscat route, from two trips daily to three times a day, if there is demand.
However, he also did not rule out the possibility of reducing the frequency to 12 weekly flights during periods of low demand, such as winter.
“We will use this time to do some maintenance and refresh our cabins,” he said.
The airline, which flies to 53 destinations worldwide, is looking to increase the number to 75 within the next six years.
As part of its expansion plans, it also expects to increase its fleet size from the current 47 planes to around 68 by 2023.
Its current fleet comprises Dreamliners, Airbus 330-300s, 330-200s, Boeing 737-900s, 737-800s and Embraer 175s.