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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Paul Revel
Oman Air chief executive Peter Hill and his team were at London’s InterContinental Park Lane to present the airline’s new fully flatbed business seats and first-class suites to ttgluxury Seminar delegates. The seats will be available on the London-Muscat route from early December, onboard the carrier’s new A330-300s.
Hill refuted fears that this is a bad time to invest in premium air product. Referring to recent route launches to Paris, Munich and Frankfurt, he told ttgluxury: “We were expecting the European market to be difficult. But in fact it’s really exceeded our expectations with strong demand and load factors.”  | Oman Air boss Peter Hill demonstrates the new first-class suite at the seminar
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He stressed that the major investment in new premium cabins was part of Oman Air’s far-sighted strategy. “Compare the investment in the airline with the extensive investment in infrastructure that you see today in Muscat. Oman is looking to the medium to long term.”
The carrier was a niche product, said Hill, because conservative economic policy in the Sultanate meant it hadn’t suffered a sharp downturn compared to other countries in the region. “Despite all the doom and gloom, we’re seeing strong and growing demand for the service from Omanis and Europeans,” said Hill.
Hill also refuted claims that the short-haul European premium market is dying. “I’ve recently been bumped off flights in Europe because they were full,” he said. “Crisis, what crisis?”
He said Oman’s strength lay in differentiating from other Middle East destinations, by retaining its authentic Arabic culture and by conservation and careful development. “The Sultan’s country is very precious to him and he will not allow it to be spoilt by uncontrolled development.”
The business-class seat is 77.5-inch long, 22-inch wide with an 82-inch pitch. The 20 seats are fitted in a 1:2:1 configuration and have 17-inch screens, two USB ports, Ethernet socket, video plug, cocktail table and “buddy seat”.
The six first-class suites convert to 82-inch flatbeds with an 85.5-inch pitch. They feature a 23-inch monitor with a wireless handset. The airline says Wi-Fi will be available throughout the aircraft.
“It’s all about the space – in all three cabins,” said Hill. “You can never have too much space.”
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