La Reuters, senza andare troppo indietro nel tempo (2 aprile 2007), riporta questa notizia che viene direttamente dal vettore. A mio avviso è prevedibile un'espansione come quella di EY, prima i mercati primari europei (UK e Germania) e poi altre destinazioni.
MUSCAT, April 2 (Reuters) - Oman Air said on Monday it had agreed to buy five A330-200 aircraft from Airbus and is considering more purchases from the European planemaker and U.S. rival Boeing Inc. (BA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) as it expands its route network.
Oman Air is preparing for an overhaul after getting more investment from Oman's government, which is cutting its holding in regional carrier Gulf Air [GULF.UL], jointly owned with Bahrain.
"Deliveries will start in 2009," Ziad Karim al-Haremi, chief executive of the Oman Aviation Services (OMAV.OM: Quote, Profile , Research), Oman Air's parent, told reporters in the capital Muscat.
He declined to give the value of deal, saying only the aircraft typically cost between $90 million and $100 million each.
The government of Oman owns 82 percent of Oman Aviation, having raised its stake from 34 percent in February. Oman Aviation approved a measure in March to nearly quadruple its capital to 50 million rials ($129.9 million) to expand operations and acquire new planes.
"We don't know how many aircraft we need," said Haremi, adding Oman Air had was hiring to consultants to rebrand the airline and develop a strategic plan.
"They will devise new strategies, a restructuring plan. Based on that, we will start negotiating with aircraft manufactur
The ideal plane for our operations is an aircraft with 230-240 seats," he said. The airline would consider models from Airbus, in which EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) is a shareholder, and Boeing.
Oman Air, which flies to destinations in the Middle East and Indian sub-continent, has six Boeing 737s and four ATR 42-500s. Three Boeing 737s-800s are on order.
The national carrier is planning to operate long-haul routes and to expand in a region which is home to some of the world's fastest growing airlines, such as Emirates [EMAIR.UL] and Qatar Airways.
Oman Air looking to fly to European destinations such as
London, Frankfurt, Munich and Milan and in Asia to
Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Haremi said.