Oman Air and Malaysia Airlines entered a code-share partnership today, opening up more international destinations to their customers, effective immediately.
Oman Air's passengers, who currently enjoy direct flights from Muscat to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, will now be connected to six new destinations in Malaysia and Asia; Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Kuching, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Malaysia Airlines' customers will enjoy non-stop flights from Kuala Lumpur to Muscat. From the capital of Oman, they will be able to connect seamlessly to Amman and Kuwait City. This partnership also provides passengers with more flight options to Dubai and Beirut.
Oman Air's CEO, Mr Peter Hill, said:
"We are very happy with this remarkable code-share agreement which marks a very important milestone for Oman Air. Apart from Oman Air passengers benefiting from the added destinations through this code-share, it will also present the opportunity to experience the exemplary services of Malaysia Airlines."
"We are sure this opportunity will be seized by the discerning passengers of Malaysia Airlines, allowing them to experience the unparalleled services of Oman Air and to visit Oman and the unique destinations Oman Air flies to," he added.
Malaysia Airlines' Managing Director/CEO, Tengku Dato' Azmil Zahruddin, said:
"This is an opportune time for our two airlines as we endeavour to provide more choices to our customers. This also enables us to grow tourism to Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Kuching initially and then to other points in Malaysia.
"In addition, this partnership expands and strengthens our hub-and-spoke network. We will be able to capture untapped traffic from secondary points in the Middle East through Muscat onto our network. We target to capture approximately 60% of the existing traffic to Kuala Lumpur and beyond, valued at more than RM26 million per annum. Many travellers are currently travelling to Kuala Lumpur and beyond via other Middle Eastern points."
This partnership will also pave the way for closer co-operation between the two airlines on a range of other joint initiatives, including collaboration on frequent flyer programmes, ground handling, customer support, cargo and airport lounge access.
Oman Air offers four weekly flights between Muscat and Kuala Lumpur. With this partnership, its customers will enjoy many weekly flight options to Langkawi (35 flights a week), Kota Kinabalu (62 flights a week), Penang (63 flights a week), Kuching (49 flights a week), Singapore (49 flights a week) and Hong Kong (14 flights a week).
Malaysia Airlines currently offers flights between Kuala Lumpur and Dubai (seven flights a week), Jeddah (four flights a week), Beirut (three flights a week) and Istanbul (three flights a week). It also operates seasonal flights between Kuwait and Kuala Lumpur in line with summer demand from the Middle East to Malaysia and beyond.
