Oman Air was named winner of the World's Best Business Class Airline Seat award at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held in the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show.
The runners-up in this Best Business Class Airline Seat category are Singapore Airlines taking 2nd place in the category, ahead of Qatar Airways in 3rd position. The national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman was presented with the Best Business Class Seat award at a ceremony attended by more than 50 airlines.
The awards are based on the views of nearly 20 million air passengers, who were surveyed by Skytrax over the last year.
Oman Air's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Hill, commented:
"We are delighted that Oman Air has been named as winner in the Best Business Class Seat category of the World Airline Awards, which are the most prestigious accolades available within the global airline industry.
"Our Business Class seat is regularly mistaken for First Class. It offers unparalleled levels of space, comfort and amenity and has proved extremely popular with our customers.
"Competition at the World Airline Awards for the title of 'Best Business Class Seat' is fierce and it is enormously satisfying to know that air travellers regard our seat as the best in the world.
Oman Air's award-winning Business Class seat offers comfort and luxury within an 82-inch pitch, direct aisle access for every passenger and converts to a 77.5-inch long fully lie-flat bed. A 17-inch inflight entertainment screen gives access to a huge range of movies, music and games, whilst a universal power point, USB port and iPod sockets enable passengers to personalise their entertainment options by plugging in their laptops, smart phones, tablet PCs or games consoles. Retractable privacy screens, buddy seats and ample storage add to the experience, putting the passenger fully in control of their personal space.
The World Airline Awards, also known as the Passenger Choice Awards, are recognised as the benchmark for excellence in the airline industry. They are informed by a survey carried out over a period of 10 months by renowned independent airline experts Skytrax. The views of 18.8 million air travellers, from more than 100 different countries, are surveyed and responses cover over 200 airlines of all sizes. Standards across nearly 40 different items of airline front-line product and service are measured and analysed, from check-in to boarding, onboard seat comfort and cabin cleanliness to food and beverages, and from IFE to staff service.
Oman Air's success in the World Airline Awards follows a period of rapid change for the airline, during which it has emerged as a niche luxury carrier. Having introduced a fleet of new Airbus A330 aircraft with outstanding interiors, as well as state-of-the-art Embraer 175 short haul jets, Oman Air has expanded its network to include more than 40 exciting destinations. In addition to offering audio and video on demand and live satellite TV onboard its A330s, Oman Air pioneered inflight mobile phone and Wi-Fi connectivity and has received acclaim for its inflight dining, refreshments and amenity kits.
Having recently unveiled ultra-luxurious First Class and Business Class lounges at Muscat International Airport, the airline has just launched a new First Class lounge-to-aircraft limousine service, with a chauffeur-driven fleet of Audi A8s.
Peter Hill added:
"Oman Air offers unbeatable luxury, hospitality and value for all our customers. We are continuously seeking new ways to surprise and delight passengers and we look forward to announcing fantastic new products and services which will offer even greater 'passenger choice."
Corporate Communications & Media
Oman Air
25 June 2011
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About Oman Air
Oman Air is the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman. Founded in 1993, the airline has since witnessed massive growth and has played a major role in making Muscat an important traffic hub in the Middle East, supporting the commercial, industrial and tourism sectors.
The airline currently operates direct international flights from Muscat to Gulf destinations, such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Kuwait and Al Ain. Within the Middle East region, Oman Air flies to Cairo in Egypt, Beirut in Lebanon and Amman in Jordan.
In addition, Oman Air flies to ten destinations in India - Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Kozhikode and Jaipur. Within the Subcontinent, Oman Air also flies to Chittagong in Bangladesh, Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, Oman Air flies to the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, besides the Capital City of Nepal, Kathmandu. Within the Far East, Oman Air destinations include Bangkok in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Among its European destinations are: London in the United Kingdom, Milan in Italy, Munich and Frankfurt in Germany and Paris in France. Oman Air also flies to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania since June 2010. The most recent destination added to the expanding network of Oman Air is Zanzibar, which was restarted from May 16th 2011.
Oman Air's fleet consists of Airbus A330s, Boeing 737s, Embraer E Jets and ATRs. Currently, the fleet strength stands at 15 B737-700s/800s, four A330-200s, three A330-300s, two Embraer E 175s and two ATRs 42-500.
The Embraer aircrafts' induction into the Oman Air fleet follows the contract that Oman Air signed with Embraer for the purchase of five Embraer 175 aircraft from the E-Jets family, with purchase rights for another five aircraft. The remaining Embraier aircrafts are due to arrive within the next three years.
For the future Oman Air has ordered 6 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which are scheduled for delivery in 2014.
Oman Air unveiled its First Class Mini Suite in October 2009 which marked a further milestone in Oman Air's ongoing drive for quality and comfort. Earlier in 2009, Oman Air had unveiled its new, lie-flat Business Class seat, which offers greater levels of comfort and amenity than many other airlines' first class products and is fitted on all the new Airbus wide-body fleet.
Marking a pioneering milestone in the history of aviation, Oman Air has become the first airline in the world to offer both mobile telephony and Internet connectivity on board its flights.
Oman Air and Malaysia Airlines entered a code-share partnership in June 2010, opening up more international destinations to their customers. Oman Air's passengers, who currently enjoy direct flights to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, will now be connected to 4 new destinations in Malaysia - Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Kuching, and 2 new destinations in Asia - Singapore and Hong Kong. In turn, passengers flying from Kula-Lumpur to Muscat will be able to connect seamlessly to Amman and Kuwait City, with more options from Oman to Dubai and Beirut as well.
More recently Oman Air entered a code-share partnership with British Midlands International (BMI) announced a code-share agreement that will allow Oman Air's customers to book flights from Oman's capital of Muscat to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Belfast or Manchester, via London Heathrow. BMI's customers will be able to book flights from any of the airline's UK departure points through to Muscat. The code-share agreement is effective since 1st April 2011 and customers will be able to book flights through either Oman Air or BMI outlets.
© Press Release 2011
