Tourism & Hospitality | Wednesday 5 October, 2016 4:29 am |

Oman Air has been named ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Business Class’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Economy Class’ at the World Travel Awards Middle East 2016.

 

The awards were presented at a glittering red-carpet ceremony, hosted by Shereen Mitwalli at the St Regis, Dubai on 29th September. They were accepted by Mohammed Al Shikely, Vice President Marketing at Oman Air, on behalf of Chief Executive Officer Paul Gregorowitsch.

 

Mr Gregorowitsch commented:

 

“Oman Air is delighted to accept these prestigious awards, in recognition of the high quality of our Business Class and Economy Class services. This is the fourth consecutive year that Oman Air has been named as ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Business Class’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading Airline, Economy Class’ at the World Travel Awards Middle East. Such consistent acclaim demonstrates that Oman Air’s commitment to offering customers the very best in 21st Century air travel remains absolute.

 

“On behalf of all my colleagues at Oman Air, I would like to thank the jury and all those knowledgeable and experienced professionals from the travel and tourism and the consumer travel buyer sectors whose votes have contributed to our success.

 

“Most of all, however, I would like to express my gratitude to the millions of guests who have booked and flown with Oman Air over the last year.”

 

World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel tourism & hospitality industry. Today, the World Travel Awards brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

 

Since late 2014, Oman Air has been engaged in an ambitious fleet and network expansion programme which has seen the delivery of brand new Airbus 330, Boeing 737 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Each features newly-designed cabins and seats, as well as the latest IFE technology, providing the perfect setting in which to relax and enjoy the flight.

 

Oman Air’s new long haul business class cabin offers 24 seats, each of which converts to a long, fully lie-flat bed within an 82-inch pitch. The seats are fitted in a 2-2-2 configuration and, thanks to an ingenious cabin layout, provide direct aisle access for every passenger. In addition, every seat includes electrically-controlled backrest, leg rest and seat depth features.

 

Inflight entertainment (IFE) is provided via the new Thales AVANT in-seat audio video on demand (AVOD) system. This is accessed via a neat IFE handset and offers an expanded range of movies, music, games and information. Furthermore, the huge 17-inch/43cm personal monitor can also be used to screen the content of laptops or personal devices, and Oman Air’s ALNA connectivity system enables live in-seat internet connections via the onboard wireless network, as well as mobile (GSM) telephone usage.

 

The business class seats on Oman Air’s new short and medium haul B737s are also brand new. The backrest, leg rest and seat depth of each of the 12 seats in the business class cabin are electrically controlled, and the reading light, literature pocket and PC power outlet features have all been welcomed by customers. A 10.6-inch/27cm IFE screen offers access to the IFE system. Furthermore, Oman Air has just announced that it is to become the launch customers for brand new Business Class seats, which will be fitted to the airline’s single aisle aircraft from 2018.

 

In addition, Oman Air offers Business Class customers across most of its network a complementary door to door limousine service, and the airline has recently launched an exclusive lounge-to-aircraft chauffeur service at Muscat International Airport. The Business Class passenger experience is further enhanced by outstanding premium airport lounges at Muscat, Salalah and Bangkok.

Each of Oman Air’s new Economy Class seats provides exceptional comfort and features a one-piece composite seat back structure and a four-way adjustable headrest. Seat pitches reflect the length of flights each aircraft will be deployed upon, with the A330’s 265 seats offering 32 inches and the 737-900ER’s 171 seats offering 30 inches.  The 10.6-inch seatback LCD screen offers access to the same IFE options as those enjoyed in Business Class. In addition, a USB port is mounted on the seatback screen, allowing customers to charge any mobile phone, and each pair of seats shares a PC power port.