Oman Air seeks more flights to India, feels ‘restricted’ by treaty

Paul Gregorowitsch, chief executive officer of Oman Air at a press conference in Goa.– ONA Bambolim Goa: Oman Air would like to operate more flights to India but the Sultanate is "highly restricted" by the bilateral agreements between India and Oman, said Paul Gregorowitsch, the chief executive officer of Oman Air. Stay ahead of the rest and download our free WhatsNews app for Apple, Android or Blackberry He was speaking at a press conference to mark the launch of Oman Air's flight to the Indian state of Goa.  "The Sultanate's airline can do far more in the Indian sectors, but the unfortunate part is we are heavily restricted by the bilateral agreement," he said, adding that Oman Air is committed to contributing to the economy of India. "We would like the same level playing fields the other GCC countries have," he said. He explained, "If you look at the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and then look at the number of connections from India to Oman, Oman Air is 'heavily discriminated'. We have been fighting for around three years to get our bilateral agreements extended. We are currently in discussions with the Government of India to be able to add more frequencies." Gregorowitsch also reminded, "We are the only airline flying from Muscat to India, but there are many Indian airlines flying from India to Muscat." Asked which destinations would he choose, if given the rights to more flights to India, Gregorowitsch said, "It is a mixed bag of increasing frequencies to existing destinations, but we would think in terms of Kolkata and also (flying to) new airports under development in India, which are opening in 2016." Oman Air flies to 11 destinations in India including Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Jaipur and Goa. TargetThe CEO said, "We would like to increase by 14 destinations by also including the new airports which are under development in India, which is an excellent contribution on return of investment. We would like to grow in the direction of 117 weekly connections to India." On whether that would be possible, he said, "We could do it easily, but if bureaucracy is surviving then it will not happen." Stating that the Indian market is very important, the head of Oman Air said, "Twenty-six per cent of our business is coming from or going to the Indian sub-continent. Oman Air can do far more in the Indian sector, but the unfortunate part is that we are heavily restricted by the bilaterals. On the diplomatic level, our representatives from the Sultanate are knocking daily on the doors of the officials at the ministries in India to get the discrimination, which today exists for Oman Air, to be removed and we hope for a level playing field." He further explained, "If you see the entitlements which have been given to emirates like Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia and then see how much Muscat in Oman is given, you can see there is a heavy imbalance. "We are restricted today, but we have now fulfilled our complete commitment by introducing the eleventh destination to Goa." The CEO also added, "If you see the number of flights we are allowed to operate between Muscat and India, and restrictions on the number of the seats to be sold, Oman Air is at a disadvantage compared to the many Indian airlines which fly from India to Muscat. There is one national airline from Oman, but there are several Indian airlines flying to Oman and so we are simply asking for a level and fair playing field." About Oman Air flights to Goa, Gopal Ramarao, general manager, Worldwide Sales, Oman Air said, "We understand that there is a lot of travel that happens between Goa and Portugal. We hope to exploit our partnership with the rest of the European airlines. We would also be striving to establish an easier corridor for travel from here to Lisbon." Goa CM attends dinnerLater, Laxmikant Parsekar, Chief Minister of Goa attended the gala dinner hosted by Oman Air in the tourist city. The chief minister said the launch of the flight between Goa and Muscat will improve business, tourism ties between the two countries. He thanked Oman Air for connecting Goa with Oman and said that it will benefit the Goan community that lives In Muscat and their families in Goa. Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman's Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) honoured the Goa Chief Minister with a gift. Parsekar, honoured Mohammed bin Nasser Al Zaabi with a shawl. Performance of classical Arabic, Indian and international music from the Oud Hobbyists Association was highlight of the evening.