Muscat, Oman–Looking to address its mounting debt, Oman Air has backed a restructuring program to reduce its losses by 15 percent in the ongoing fiscal year while aiming to reach a break-even point by 2026.
The airline in May made a forecast of reducing its net loss by a further 56 percent in 2023, compared to a reduction of 35 percent in 2022.
The carrier looks to increase its total revenues by 236 percent this year compared to 2020.
The program to be implemented over the next three to four years looks to address ongoing losses and the accumulation of debt.
Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology Saeed bin Hamoud Al-Maawali at a press conference announced that the airline’s board of directors has approved a comprehensive program to restructure the national carrier based on a specialized study.
Al-Maawali, who is also the chairman of Oman Air, stated that the program has four primary pillars: Financial sustainability, corporate governance, commercial factors, and human capital.
The program includes changes in senior and middle management, cost-cutting, increasing the quantity and quality of financial return, and limiting debt and other financial commitments.
The minister said that to achieve a radical and sustainable transformation of the airline they will look at onboarding highly qualified specialists, who would be both domestic and foreign experts.
He expects Oman Air to reduce its losses by 15 percent during the current year, with performance to improve further in the next year in light of the rising demand witnessed in the regional aviation sector.
Oman Air in June was designated “Best Airline Staff in the Middle East” at the Skytrax 2023 World Airline Awards.
In June last year, Oneworld said that Oman Air will join the alliance membership, and it could be included in Oneworld in 2024. Post the inclusion, it will provide all the Oneworld benefits to its flight customers on around 1200 destinations across 170 countries.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) which followed IATA’s Annual General Meeting.
Qatar Airways will act as a sponsor for Oman Air’s entry into Oneworld, providing guidance and support as the airline integrates into the alliance.
Members of Oman Air’s Sindbad frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem miles on all Oneworld member airlines.
This includes top-tier members receiving additional benefits including lounge access when traveling with other Oneworld members.
Oman Air’s entry into Oneworld will provide more flights and destinations to customers planning global travel across the alliance’s members.
It makes Oneworld the only global airline alliance with three members in the Middle East after Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian.
Oman Air’s joining will add new destinations to the Oneworld network including Duqm and Khasab in Oman and Chittagong (Bangladesh).