MUSCAT, 9 September — Oman Aviation Services (OAS), which owns and operates the sultanate’s national carrier Oman Air, is hopeful of getting the government’s approval for raising its capital from the present 10.5 million Omani riyals ($27.3 million) soon, a newspaper reported yesterday quoting the company’s chief executive.
Abdulrahman Al-Busaidy also said that the airline had returned to profits this year after a setback in operations in 2001, according to the UAE daily Khaleej Times.
"There is a dire need to increase the capital," he said, pointing out that the existing capital was set in 1981 when OAS was just a ground handling and catering company.
Since then it had expanded considerably, especially after the launch of Oman Air, Al-Busaidy said, adding that this has put a strain on the company.
"We are seeking a decision from the government for an increase in the capital of the company. After we receive the approval, we will decide on the modalities of effecting the increase," Al-Busaidy said.
He added that the company was hopeful of the approval coming through before the end of the year.
He was speaking to reporters at Oman Air’s CBD office where the first draw of the airline’s "Fly for Forever" campaign was held. He said the airline had earned a small profit of 76,000 Omani riyals in the first seven months of the year, compared to a loss of 1.5 million Omani riyals in the same period last year.
"Overall, OAS has reached a break-even situation," he added. The company’s performance, he explained, would have been better had Gulf Air not moved its Muscat operations to Abu Dhabi for economic reasons.
Speaking about Oman Air’s expansion plans, he said by April next year it planned to launch operations to London, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. But the plans depended on the government’s decision whether Oman would continue to be a part of Gulf Air or not, he pointed out.
Gulf Air is jointly owned by Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
"If the government decides to continue with Gulf Air, we will only be operating on some of these routes," Al-Busaidy said.
He said pulling out of Gulf Air would not only be an economic decision, but it is also for political reasons. He explained that employment opportunities for Omani nationals and support for the country's own tourism drive were important considerations.
Al-Busaidy said in line with the company’s planned network expansion, Oman Air was proposing to acquire four new wide-bodied and one small aircraft, increasing the size of its fleet to nine from the present five.
The plan, he said, was to lease the aircraft initially and buying them when new routes were launched.
After adding eight new destinations since last August, Oman Air currently flies to 20 cities in 11 countries.
