Oman Air is one of my favorite “boutique” airlines, as they have a fantastic onboard product , with great business class seats and Omani hospitality. Well, the airline is once again claiming that they plan to launch flights to the USA soon… but will they actually follow through on it this time? Oman Air’s Past Promises Of US Service
In early 2016 I wrote about how Oman Air executives claimed that the airline would offer daily flights to New York by 2018. In 2018 the airline even filed for permission with the DOT to operate such a route, and it was granted in early 2019, but the airline never followed through with the service. Oman Air’s excellent 787 business class Oman Air is one of a countless number of national airlines that has eyed New York service, even if the chances for profitability are slim.
Kenya Airways is the perfect example of this — they took so much pride in launching Nairobi to New York flights a couple of years back, and the route was called a “game changer.” Kenya Airways flies to New York, but doesn’t make money doing so Yet just months after launching service, the company’s CEO said “there is nothing lucrative about flying to New York.”
Oman Air never followed through with their 2016 promise, though in fairness the company also had management changes, and airlines with frequent management changes almost never seem to follow through on things like this. Oman Air Wants To Fly To USA By 2022
As reported by Business Insider , Oman Air Aviation Group CEO Mustafa Al Hinai has indicated that Oman Air plans to offer regularly scheduled service between Oman and at least one destination in the United States by 2022 at the latest . As Al Hinai explains it: “Flying to the US will happen in through a codeshare in the meantime, but in late 2021, 2022, we’ll be focusing into the US market. Because it’s a very big market. But we need to really understand the market first, it’s very complex, each and every city. I think we need to invest into this market by understanding the nature of travelers, the type of travelers, what they like, what they dislike.” Currently Oman Air has a codeshare agreement with Air Italy, meaning that Oman Air passengers can fly Oman Air from Muscat to Milan, and then Air Italy […]
