Oman Air has relocated its regional head office from Singapore to Bangkok. The move is expected to help Thailand benefit from the travel boom between Asia and the Middle East.
Joseph Cusmano, Oman Air's country manager for Thailand, said the airline closed its Muscat-Singapore route recently because of unsatisfactory operations. The airline shuttered its East Asia head office in Singapore last November.
He said the Bangkok office is being enlarged to take over operations from the Singapore office.
"Bangkok has a great strategic location in Asia and is a bigger aviation hub, making it better for connecting flights. We moved the headquarters here for further growth," said Mr Cusmano.
The airline plans to relocate its Bangkok office from Silom Road to South Sathon Road in April.
Oman Air entered the Thai market over a decade ago. The carrier is recruiting eight more staff and executives, five for sales and reservations and the rest to oversee regional operations.
Since November of last year, the Bangkok office has been responsible for overseeing five countries in East Asia. Besides Thailand, there are also the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. The Bangkok office also oversees sales agents (where the airline has no flight operations) in South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Mr Cusmano said Oman Air is the only Middle East carrier with a regional office in Bangkok.
"Having this head office is helping the airline to cope with travel growth in East Asia, including Thailand and the Middle East," he said.
Oman Air operates three flights per day from Muscat to Bangkok, two daily flights to Kuala Lumpur, one daily flight to Manila, one daily flight to Jakarta and four flights per week to Guangzhou, China.
The Bangkok-Muscat route operates with an average cabin factor of 95-98% in April, which is the annual peak season due to school breaks in Thailand and the Spring vacation period in the West.
Other airlines that provide services between Thailand and the Middle East include Thai Airways International, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Kuwait and Gulf Air, with 21 daily flights.
Most of flights are in and out of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates -- an aviation hub in the Middle East.
"The competition in Bangkok and the Middle East is very tough and we'll have to battle it out with other players. One thing we will not do is make our prices lower than others, but we will offer attractive rates with our on-board services," he said.
Last year, Oman Air added its third daily flight for the Thai market but is unlikely to increase frequencies for 2018. The airline will be working with travel agents and business alliances to boost both transit passenger volume and tourist numbers, specifically those visiting Oman.
But the airline may add one flight on the Bangkok–Muscat route to cope with the increasing number of Omani travellers to Thailand.
On average, 30-40 passengers on each flight from Oman is heading to Thailand for medical treatment.
Oman Air is set to take delivery of eight new aircraft this year, five Boeing 737s and three Boeing 787 Dreamliners, on top of its 55 aircraft.
The airline plans to open new routes from Muscat to Istanbul in Turkey, Casablanca, Morocco and Moscow.
