In an exclusive conversation with BOTT, Sunil V A, Regional Vice President-ISC, Commercial Sales, Oman Air highlights new routes, growing leisure and MICE demand, and the opportunities shaping India’s travel market through 2027.
Shreya Shimpi
Year 2026 so far…
2026 has brought new challenges that have impacted the aviation industry. Oman Air continued to operate flights as per schedule with no cancellations from India. This has been a year of focusing on optimal capacity utilisation at the right price, with a prime focus on point-to-point traffic that promotes Oman as a destination.
Evolving Indian traveller and their preferences
The Indian traveller has been ever-evolving, and we see new categories being born based on maturity and experience. The most encouraging is the growing first-time traveller segment, with guests from all age groups taking off on their first international journey, which is the key to growth in the travel segment. The ease of travel, relaxation of visa regulations by multiple countries, more international flights and an increasing network of airlines is fuelling the growth of travellers from all walks of life. Oman Air has been able to be part of the travel patterns of Indian guests travelling to Oman and vice versa, in addition to the guests who travel beyond with us to Europe, Africa and GCC. Our state-of-the-art premium offering, which is highlighted by guests as friendly, simple and value-driven, is complemented by the modern and convenient Muscat International Airport, which provides a seamless overall experience.
Responding and adapting to changing destination preferences
We have seen great interest from Indian travellers to explore new destinations in South East Asia or we see them go back to their favourites in the region. This has been fuelled by the ongoing geopolitical challenges, and anyone who has the time and money at their disposal does not want to miss their much-desired getaway to recharge, learn and experience more from travel. Oman Air has seen steady progress in guests visiting the Sultanate of Oman, which is our prime objective being the national airline, and we also see reasonable interest from guests to travel across our network beyond Oman. We have customised products to attract demand based on seasonality, events and special interests to encourage more guests to experience our hospitality and services.
New routes, increased frequencies or network developments
Our objective has always been to provide consistent and reliable services across our network, and during these times we have worked hard to achieve success. During this period, we also looked at network expansions and have launched flights to Singapore, Tashkent, Sochi & Abu Dhabi during the last few months. A few more new routes are being studied, and we expect to expand our network steadily in the coming months.
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