Oman Air Looks to Further Fleet Expansion

A Boeing 737-700 in Oman Air livery.
Credit: Oman Air

Speaking exclusively to ATW, Oman Air CEO Con Korfiatis said the last aircraft of current orders for both Boeing 737 MAX-8s and 787-9s would arrive over the next couple of years. “We have two more 787-9s arriving this year—in fact, one just arrived this weekend—and we have two more MAXs arriving this year and more next year. The MAX order book then completes, and commencing from 2027, there are six more 787-9s,” he said.

“Because the MAXs have been arriving late, we’ve been extending our [737] NGs in the short term; some will stick around until late 2026. We think we’re going to need more MAXs after that, in the short term. There’s availability out there in the leasing market; it would be a small number.”

However, looking ahead to the future shape of the fleet for the early 2030s, “by that time the early 787s and MAXs will be coming off-lease, so there’s an opportunity there to run a campaign,” Korfiatis added.

That would likely start late this year or early in 2026, with a decision expected “sometime next year.”

The MAXs now being delivered are in a single-class 189-seat layout, for use in low-yield markets; typically, Oman Air operates the MAX-8 in a two-class configuration with a business cabin.

The single-class version “delivers a far better cost base per seat that matches to the yield of that market. At the moment, that’s primarily the Indian subcontinent, but I see opportunities for that sort of configuration in Africa,” Korfiatis said.

Asked whether he would consider buying more than the planned five all-economy aircraft, Korfiatis said the issue was something that was being looked at.

Cabin upgrades for both the narrow- and widebody fleets for later this decade are also being considered, he said.

Oman Air is roughly halfway through a four-year transformation process to bring the perennially loss-making company back into profit. A right-sizing campaign has seen staff numbers drop from 4,200 to around 3,100, and this figure may drift further downwards through attrition and greater automation. “We still have too many systems that are manual,” Korfiatis said.

The next major milestone on the near horizon is Oman Air’s formal joining of the oneworld global alliance on June 30, a development that Korfiatis said would have considerable significance.

“We’re never going to come to market and say we’re going to order 200 or 300 aircraft and fly into every airport in the world,” he said. Joining the alliance “jacks it up on steroids. It gives us an expanded footprint infinitely larger than what we have today.”

alandron01@yahoo.com 

Alan Dron

Based in London, Alan is Europe & Middle East correspondent at Air Transport World.

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