Oman Air combines comfort, connectivity

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has continued its run of prestigious awards successes, having collected the Airline of the Year award at France's Laurier d'Or du Voyage d'Affaires. The Gold award was presented at the International French Travel Market IFTM-Top Resa, France's leading international travel and tourism trade fair. The awards, hosted by IFTM-Top Resa in partnership with Deplacements.com and Thalys, recognise the very best in the business travel products and services, and Oman Air's won the Gold Award in the Airline of the Year category, ahead of Qatar Airways and Korean Airlines. Philippe Georgiou, Chief Officer Corporate Affairs, said, "Oman Air is delighted to have won this prestigious award and we would like to thank everybody who has voted for us. It is indeed an honour to receive this recognition for our service between France and Oman, as we celebrate the second anniversary of the launch of our Muscat-Paris route. The extraordinarily high quality of our Business Class service has attracted many accolades and this award follows a number of other quality awards we are delighted to have received over the last couple of years, including Skytrax's recent Best Business Class Seat in the World award. "We pride ourselves on offering the very best in choice and luxury for our customers and this recognition further enhances Oman Air's reputation as one of the world's leading luxury airlines." The nomination follows 18 months in which the airline has introduced new airbus A330 aircraft to its fleet, each with spacious and luxurious interiors and state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment. It has also been the first airline in the world to offer passengers full mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity simultaneously onboard its wide-body aircraft. In November 2009, Oman Air unveiled its new Airbus A330 Economy, Business and First Class cabins. Each cabin offers fantastic comfort, space and in-flight entertainment with audio and video on demand and live satellite TV. The recent introduction of full connectivity in all classes has seen the A330-300 described as "the most highly connected international wide-body in operation today". Oman Air has also introduced new Embraer E175 regional jets and has expanded its network to more than 40 exciting destinations and, earlier this year, also opened superb new Business Class and First Class lounges at Muscat International. Furthermore, online booking, e-ticketing and web check-in facilities are complemented by door-to-door First Class and Business Class limousine services, and a lounge-to-aircraft limousine service at Muscat. Oman Air’s pioneering inflight mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity has been recognised with the award of Best In-flight Connectivity and Communications at the Passenger Choice Awards. The Awards highlight the aviation industry’s innovation, products and services and are organised by APEX, the Airline Passenger Experience Association. Each award is determined solely by the votes of the travelling public and voting is tracked by the Neilson Company. The Best In-flight Connectivity and Communications Award was accepted by Oman Air’s Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Chief Officer, Management Affairs, and Linda Celestino, General Manager Onboard Services, at a ceremony held in Seattle. Abdulaziz Al Raisi commented, “Oman Air is committed to being at the forefront of technological innovation within the civil aviation industry and we are delighted that our pioneering in-flight mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity has been recognised with this prestigious award. The Passenger Choice Awards are especially notable because they are voted for by the judges whose decisions matter most, air travellers. “We are proud to receive the Best In-flight Connectivity and Communications Award and grateful to APEX and, of course, to all those who voted for Oman Air for the invaluable recognition that this award brings.” Linda Celestino added, “Since Oman Air became the first airline in the world to offer both mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity aboard our widebody Airbus A330 fleet, we have received consistently positive feedback from our customers. It is clear that they value the opportunity to make voice calls, send text messages, check emails, update social media and surf the internet. With connectivity being available throughout Oman Air’s A330 aircraft, the ability to catch up with work or make arrangements to meet up with friends or family on arrival is enormously helpful for many people, and is a major contribution to having a relaxing and enjoyable flight.” Oman Air’s connectivity system utilises the Airbus ALNA V2 system, using Honeywell’s SwiftBroadband (SBB) solution, via OnAir and Inmarsat and, in November 2010, was recognised at the 4th Annual Aviation Business Awards, where it won the Technology Implementation of the Year Award. The connectivity services are available to passengers throughout their flight, from shortly after take-off until the aircraft is preparing to land. Mobile phone connectivity is charged at roaming rates, in just the same way as other mobile phone calls made from overseas. Wi-fi connectivity is currently charged per flight at $29.95 for 26MB of data for internet usage, $9.95 for webmail-only usage or $4.95 for instant messaging. Additional charges are made for usage over 26MB and for webmail attachments. Abdulaziz Al Raisi concluded, “Oman Air’s inflight connectivity service is just one of a number of sweeping changes we have introduced in the last two years. “Our new fleet of Airbus A330s has been joined by brand-new Embraer E175 regional jets, we have expanded our network to more than 40 exciting destinations and we have opened superb new Business Class and First Class lounges at Muscat International Airport. Furthermore, our online booking, e-ticketing and web check-in facilities are complemented by door-to-door First Class and Business Class limousine services, a lounge-to-aircraft limousine service at Muscat and stunning onboard products and services. By combining these and other elements with Oman Air’s legendary hospitality, we are truly living up to our slogan of Modern Vision, Timeless Tradition.”