Oman Air Flies to Colombo After Much Controversy Over the Airline’s Delayed Launch

11th November 2009, www.dailymirror.lk, By Cheranka Mendis

Oman Air, the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman’s aviation sector will commence operations from and to Colombo this month after much controversy arose over the airline’s delayed launch.

The launch of Oman Air which was initially set for October 12 was twice delayed before the date was fixed for November 14. The delay, caused by a dispute the two countries has now been resolved. Country Manger for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Oman Air Gihan Karunaratna told the Daily Mirror FT that the delay was due to the dishonoring

of a bilateral agreement and refused all claims which noted that the delay was a tit-for-tat rift between Sri Lanka and former Sri Lankan Airlines’ CEO (now Oman Air CEO) Peter Hill.

“When there is a delay in a launch, there is much speculation and this was one of them. Mr. Peter Hill visited Sri Lanka during the past few weeks and he is very much in touch with authorities in Sri Lanka. The delay has nothing to with it,” Mr. Karunaratna said.

Mr. Peter Hill was not present at the briefing. Stating that he could not comment on the speculation that Sri Lanka was not giving landing rights to Oman and therefore the island’s aircraft would perhaps be denied permission to use Omani air space, Mr. Karunaratna said, “the governments of Sri Lanka and Oman has renegotiated the deal and therefore all conflict is resolved now. I cannot comment on it elaborately as we are only an airline company”.

In a release issued to the media Mr. Hill was quoted as saying, “we are very excited about commencing operations in Sri Lanka. It will open up new opportunities for people traveling between Muscat and Colombo, and also Middle Eastern and European destinations as well as being a winner with both business and leisure customers. Sri Lanka is famous for its hospitality and plethora of holiday destinations and has always been a popular choice for holiday tourists. Holidays in Sri Lanka will give Oman Air customers the chance to experience the charm of this tiny island in the Indian Ocean amidst its scenic beauty, old world charm and laid back atmosphere”.

Oman Air which operated in Sri Lanka since 1991 closed shop in 2003 due to low yield generated from Sri Lanka. “We were also short of aircraft and therefore we took measures to close all routes that did not make profit,” Mr. Karunaratna was reported as saying. However he acknowledged that 2010 will be a boom period for tourism in Sri Lanka and that Oman air is positive about its operations in the island.

The carrier which will initially operate four flights per week has obtained a 5th freedom traffic right between Colombo and Maldives from January 2010 and will then progress to daily flights from the summer of 2010.

The focus of establishing Oman Air in Sri Lanka is to develop the tourism sector of the region, he said. “We are very keen to promote Oman to the European travelers and as focusing on one country is difficult as opposed to promoting the region, we aim at promoting tourism in this region,” the Country Manager for Oman Air said. Sri Lanka, Maldives and Dubai have been picked to be promoted as multi destination holiday spots for travelers.

When asked how the recession had affected Oman Air operations, Mr. Karunaratna stated that the government of Oman has been aggressive in their spending during the past few months as they believe in long term investment as opposed to short term investments. Oman Air’s fleet by the end of 2009 will be fifteen B737-800s, two A330-200 and two A330-300s. During 2010-2011 three additional A330-300s are set to be delivered to the Middle Eastern airline. Mr. Karunaratna also stated that Oman Air has ordered six Boeing 787 Dreamliners to be delivered in 2014.