Oman Air defers 787s, scales down hub plans

Oman Air (WY, Muscat) has deferred the deliveries of “some” of its outstanding B787-9s, originally scheduled for 2023-24, as it plans to reshape its network around inbound traffic, Chief Executive Abdulaziz Al Raisi told aviation journalist Kurt Hofmann.

“In December, Oman Air planned to take two B737-8 deliveries and two B787s. But some of the B787s, which were supposed to come in 2023 and 2024, were deferred until the whole process [of joining Oneworld] is finished,” he said.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Oman Air has eight B787-9s due from Boeing and one from Air Lease Corporation, on top of two B787-8s and seven -9s already delivered to the carrier. In terms of B737 MAX, the airline operates eight -8s (three of which have been delivered since the type’s ungrounding in 2021) with a further seven on order. Al Raisi underlined that the state-owned carrier has not cancelled any of its orders.

Oman Air hopes to become a full member of Oneworld by the end of the year. Its accession is being sponsored by Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int’l) a partner whose cooperation will be crucial going forward, Raisi added. The Omani carrier has trimmed its in-house long-haul ambitions and no longer plans to serve North America. It will instead rely on connecting services with alliance partners Qatar Airways via Doha Hamad Int’l and American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) via London Heathrow instead. For its part, Oman Air plans to focus on serving the inbound leisure traffic.

“As tourism is so important for our country and Oman Air is also promoting the destination, in the future we will have less focus on the transfer business at our hub in Muscat,” he said, adding that for this reason, Oman Air should not be seen as a competitor for Qatar Airways, Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l), or Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int’l).