The great Omani escape

Majan Light Travel & Tourism: www.majanlight.com
Diving: www.global-scuba.com / www.musandamdiving.com
Fishing: www.waterworldoman.com
Climbing / mountain biking: www.holiday-in-oman.com
Trekking: www.sultanat-d-oman.com
Kite boarding: www.kiteboarding-oman.com

Getting there

By car: A large number of residents from Saudi Arabia and the UAE choose to drive to Oman due to its close proximity.

By Air: Oman Air increased its flight frequency to major cities in the Arabian Gulf on March 29 and now flies to:
Abu Dhabi — 21 flights a week, non-stop
Bahrain — 18 flights a week, non-stop
Doha — 18 flights a week, non-stop
Jeddah — four flights a week non-stop
Riyadh — four flights a week, non-stop

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Oman Air’s corporate communications manager Usama Karim Al Haremi gives you the latest update on the national carrier’s 2009 strategy.

Which are Oman Air’s main markets?

We fly to 72 destinations. Our main markets are the Indonesian subcontinent, GCC, Asia, the Far East and North Africa.

Which routes are big summer markets for you?

Many of the GCC markets use Muscat as a hub station. From June to September most of the flights are to Salalah for the monsoon season; a green area right in the middle of the desert.

Why do so many GCC residents holiday in Oman?

Oman is an exotic destination; a multi-cultural country with unique landscapes. It has the largest coastline in the Middle East, mountains, water wadis and the essence of Arabia. It’s very safe, quiet and clean and it is an environmentally friendly country. A lot of the properties adhere to eco-standards and eco-tourism is growing. People also come for adventure tourism.

Do you expect to see an increase on last summer’s passenger numbers?

We can’t predict passenger numbers because of the financial crisis and the swine flu; we expect that it will be slower than previous years, but Lebanon and Cairo will keep flying to Oman, as well as Germany, France and Japan.

What’s new for the airline this year?

We’re in the process of launching new routes to Frankfurt, Paris, Maldives, Columbia, Sri Lanka and Demascus in Syria.

We’re expecting two new A330s to be delivered in September and the business class seats will also be introduced that month on the Frankfurt and Paris routes. The new seats will boast an 82” pitch, configured four abreast in a 1-2-1 layout.