Oman is seeking to establish a low-cost carrier in the Sultanate to complement and compete with the national carrier Oman Air on domestic and international air routes. The country’s regulator is initially testing the market interest in the formation of the venture ahead of formally launching a formal process later in the year.
The Sultanate of Oman Public Authority for Civil Aviation has launched an initial ‘Request for Information’ (RFI) process inviting any parties interested in setting up a low-cost commercial air transport services operator based in the country.
“The purpose of this Request for Information document is to invite interested parties to submit expressions of interest in establishing an additional commercial airline in Oman, and to provide preliminary information that would enable PACA to shortlist the qualified respondents,” it said in the RFI.
These submissions are open to new entrants as well as any business that has applied and/or got an initial approval from the local CAA prior to this announcement and the shortlisted parties will be later invited into a ‘Request for Applications’ (RFA) process.
“The RFA process is intended to result in the selection of an additional Omani air carrier to be established for the operation of both domestic and international air services,” said the Public Authority for Civil Aviation.
The RFI document will be made available until May 21, 2015 and all Expressions of Interest (EOI) need to be submitted to the Director General for Civil Aviation Regulation at the Public Authority for Civil Aviation by June 25, 2015.
There are not many countries in the world where six new runways will be constructed and four brand new regional airports opened for traffic in a decade. But, that is exactly what is underway in the Sultanate of Oman as the country seeks to diversify its economy away from relying on its oil and gas resources and to focus more on other sectors such as tourism and other areas of business.
The first airport in Oman was opened in the late 1920s but locals claim the word ‘airport’ should be used in its loosest terms. The facility at Bait Al Falaj in downtown Muscat was little more than an earth strip used primarily for military purposes. However, in the years that followed commercial air transport movements began to grow. By the 1960s pan-Middle Eastern carrier Gulf Air had started serving the facility and by the start of the 1970s some foreign airlines had also introduced links and now Oman Air has developed a strong flag carrier for the Sultanate.
Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC), owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, is responsible for the management and operation of Muscat International and Salalah Airports and for the future new airports of Ad Duqm, Sohar and Ras Al Hadd. You can find out more about its development plans in this story from last year: ‘New Airports and New Runways for Oman’.
In our analysis we highlight the growth in scheduled airline capacity at Oman’s airports over the past ten years. The data shows that capacity has increased 88.8 per cent between 2005 and 2014, an average annual growth of 9.9 per cent. Based on already published schedules for 2015 departure capacity from Oman's Airports is forecasted to rise 16.9 per cent this year with growth of 16.9 per cent at Muscat International Airport and 12.3 per cent at Salalah Airport - the two largest facilities in the country.
The dominance of local carrier Oman Air is clear with the airline increasing its share of departure capacity from the Sultanate's airports from just 24.7 per cent in 2006 to over 55 per cent in each of the last seven years. Although the airline continues to grow (capacity will rise 15.9 per cent in 2015 versus 2014, based on published schedules) it is facing increasing competition from foreign rivals, notably including low-cost ventures such as flydubai, Air Arabia and Air India Express.
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