“Whilst Oman Air made a loss of 78 million rials, largely as a result of major investments in the fleet, technology and infrastructure of the airline, this sum is in line with Oman Air Group’s financial projections for year one of its five year plan,” the statement said.

The statement did not say how much the company made in the previous year but a 2009 financial report showed that Oman Air incurred a net loss of 64.3 million rials ($167 million) during the year.

The carrier flew 3.3 million passengers in 2010, up 38 percent a year earlier, the statement added.