Oman Air Flies Daily August 1

Ethiopian Flies July 9

7 July 2015

Oman Air is flying daily services beginning August 1 from Muscat to Manila. The airline is currently calling at Terminal 1 thrice a week using Airbus A330-300 arriving at 10:30PM and leaving the following day at 5:55AM. It is the only Middle East-based airline that stays overnight in Manila.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines will begin thrice a week services from Addis Ababa to Manila on July 9 initially via Bangkok using Boeing 767-300ER every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday arriving NAIA Terminal 1 at 6:45PM and leaves at 10:00PM. It will be the first and only Africa-based airline to operate the route and the second to operate via Bangkok without fifth freedom rights. It will have extensive connections to Africa by arriving Addis Ababa Airport at 6:30AM the following day.

Oman Air Increase Services To Manila

As CEB Secures More Slots To Muscat

Oman Air inaugural flight on board A330-300 to Manila was greeted with water cannon salute on December 2, 2014

9 April 2015

Oman Air will fly daily services to Manila after the Philippines has signed amended air service agreement (ASA) with the Sultanate of Oman further expanding flights between the two country, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

The expanded bilaterals also secures four slots to Cebu Pacific (CEB) while the remaining three is held by Philippine Airlines since bagging the slot in 2009.

CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said they approved the increase frequencies between Manila and Muscat to seven flights per week from the current three flights per week allowing Oman Air to fly daily to Manila before years end.

The expansion of frequencies “is upon the request of Oman. Their lone carrier, Oman Air, wants to expand their entitlements here to daily,” Mr. Arcilla said.

Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch has been impressed by Manila performance that the airline is adding more capacity very quickly.

Gregorowitsch said they are "highly confident" of the "economic viability" of the daily operations.

Gregorowitsch was earlier quoted by CAPA saying that only 38% of Oman Air’s Manila passengers to date have connected beyond Muscat. Of the 62% point to point component, 42% is labour traffic (Filipinos working in Oman) and 20% is business traffic. Most of the transit passengers from Manila are connecting to other destinations in the Middle East although Oman Air also has seen a large volume of passengers heading between Manila and Paris.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), about 40,000 of them in Oman, are the carrier’s core market, says Gregorowitsch.

Meanwhile, Arcilla added that the new Air Services Agreement signed last Monday allows fifth freedom traffic rights for Philippine-based carriers to fly to Europe, from Muscat wherein carriers from the Philippines would be allowed to carry passengers to one point in Europe, one point in India, and one point in the Gulf States. Similarly, Oman-based airlines would be allowed to carry passengers to one point in Malaysia, one point in Indonesia, and one point in Thailand.

Oman Air is the designated carrier of the Sultanate of Oman which started thrice-weekly service between Manila and Muscat on December 2 last year. Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific (CEB) and Philippine Airlines (PAL) are designated carriers for the Philippines.

PAL has expressed intentions to fly Muscat, Doha, Jeddah, and Kuwait in 2013 but none of those destinations have been flown. Meanwhile, CEB intends to fly to Oman this year after securing more rights to fly Muscat.

Next Battleground

18 March 2015

Oman will be the next battleground in the Middle East for Philippine-based carriers as they wrestle for the next 3 slots for Manila next month.

Both Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) got two entitlements to Muscat while Oman Air (OMA) got four to Manila being the sole flag carrier of the Gulf State.

Oman Air currently flies the route thrice a week and is the lone operator on this sector.

Cebu Pacific has already filed with Philippine regulators application to fly Muscat twice weekly this year after securing licenses to fly Qatar.

The airline is bent on securing the new entitlements that would be made available on April 6 after the Sultanate of Oman and the Philippines discusses amendments to Air Services Agreement it reached in 2013.

Philippine Airlines however intend to block expansion plans saying that the current Manila capacity is enough to service the market.

Flights to Manila are currently limited to four times a week.

Oman Air Sorts Manila Landing

Finally Finds Time To Land

18 August 2014

State Airline Oman Air has finally got the nod of Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to fly at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after its application was earlier refused by the airport authority last year for planning to fly peak and closed hours, where landing and take off slots are not available.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) requires clearance from the airport authority where landing slots requested are still available before a Foreign Air Carrier’s Permits (FACP) is granted allowing them to fly to the country. 

Earlier, CAB also denied application of Jet Airways, and Turkish Airlines for planning to use blocked time. 

CAB said Oman air was amenable to change their schedule but the available time slots affects flight plans of their other routes that uses the same aircraft in Muscat. 

Airline says they may have to wait until next year to mount flight when additional A330 aircraft are made available to their fleet.

Oman air is set to fly beginning summer of next year using Airbus A330-200 aircraft. No further details is disclosed.