Oman tourism: flydubai weighs Sohar, Duqm service feasibility

Oman Sunday 29/May/2016 22:37 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman tourism: flydubai weighs Sohar, Duqm service feasibility

Muscat: flydubai, the UAE-based budget airline, is conducting a feasibility study to start operations from Sohar and Duqm airports, a senior official of the airline said on Thursday.
Speaking to Times of Oman, Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial for flydubai, said that discussions are continuing regarding possible service to Sohar. “But nothing has been finalised about when we will start flights to Sohar, as the airport still has some limitations,” he said. He also said that flydubai is keen to operate whenever a new airport is opened in the GCC countries. “And that is one of the reasons discussions are going on with Omani authorities,” Sreedharan said from the flydubai stand at Muscat City Centre on Thursday. The stand was set up to showcase flydubai’s network and for people visiting the mall to experience business class seats.
Sudhir Sreedharan said that flydubai has been a success story in Oman since it began operations in 2010. “We have carried more than 2 million passengers from Oman since we began operations in Oman,” he said.
flydubai, which recently announced twice daily services to Salalah during khareef, is weighing the scheduling of one more flight. “An estimate from the market says that twice daily services are not enough, and we are thinking of adding one more flight to Salalah during the khareef season,” Sreedharan added.
The airline currently operates 54 flights, including seven daily flights to Muscat and five weekly flights to Salalah, each week to Oman. However, from July 23 to September 28 the airline will add another daily flight between Salalah and Dubai, bringing the total frequency to Oman to 63 flights per week. “We want more travelers from all over the world to come down to Oman, and that is one of the reasons we are adding our flights to Oman,” he said.
He also said Oman is a trade and tourism hub for flydubai and they remain dedicated to offering passengers more options to travel between the two countries, whether in business or economy class. “With the recent addition of WiFi connectivity and live television, our high-quality service, convenient travel schedules and great value for money continues to be popular with our passengers,” Sreedharan said. He noted that the entry of a low cost airline from Oman will not hamper their operations. “The more the merrier, as it is good for the trade and business, and eventually it will benefit the customers,” he noted.