More Oman India flights likely in future
Date
9/28/2015 3:07:17 AM
(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-
Oman is in talks with the Indian
government to enhance its quota of airline seats as Oman Air looks to expand and increase frequencies not only to some of India's metro cities but also Tier II and Tier III cities.
(PACA) have had a meeting with Indian counterparts recently for an amendment to the existing bilateral air services agreement. 'We have another meeting planned in Muscat some time in October with Indian officials. We are looking to get the maximum number of seats possible under the new agreement' said Anwar bin Abdullah al Raisi director general of civil aviation regulations PACA. The last air services MoU between Oman and India was signed in November 2012 which paved the way for increasing the number of seats offered by airlines from India and Oman to 16016 per week up from the previous 11550. India is Oman Air's largest market with 11 destinations accounting for about 25 per cent of its total international seat capacity. Oman Air operates more than 100 flights per week to 11 destinations in India - Bengaluru Chennai Delhi Goa Hyderabad Jaipur Kochi Kozhikode Lucknow Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. With a load factor of more than 95 per cent on the Indian sector Oman Air is keen to add capacity. But the existing bilateral air services agreement between India and Oman ties the airline's hands limiting the national carrier's operations by aircraft type and the number of weekly seats it can offer. Paul Gregorowitsch CEO Oman Air was quoted by an aviation magazine recently saying that negotiations have duly been launched with India's new government and he is 'optimistic' that a 'more liberal regime' can be agreed. 'With Prime Minister Modi there is absolutely the understanding that this [planned expansion by Oman Air] is not affecting the Indian economy negatively but it can stimulate further growth and bring more prosperity' he stressed. 'We put a lot of money in the [Indian] economy. Oman is planning further construction work so we are employing a lot of Indians. The moment that the restrictions are lifted we can deploy [larger Boeing] 737-900s and Airbus 330s to our destinations carrying more Indian workers' he said. Besides upgrading aircraft and boosting frequencies Gregorowitsch said Oman Air would consider launching new routes to Kolkata and several Tier II or Tier III cities. India has unveiled plans to build up to 200 airports in secondary cities over the next two decades easing congestion at existing hubs and propelling the growth of new economic centres in the country. Continued expansion in India is a key driver of Oman Air's mid-term strategy which envisages the 48-point route network rising to 75 destinations by 2020. Its fleet is forecast to reach 70 aircraft over the same time frame.