Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, is celebrating a superb second position win by its team in Act 8 of the Extreme Sailing Series, the final round of races, which was held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil between 6th and 9th December.
Oman Air's Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Pearce, praised the team's performance, saying:
"This is an outstanding result for the Oman Air team and I congratulate all those whose skill, determination and commitment contributed to such a spectacular outcome.
"Oman Air has been a proud sponsor of the Extreme Sailing Series, which has introduced sailing as a spectator sport and built a vast amount of international support over a very short space of time. For our own team to do so well against such stiff competition is a tribute to the crew and to our partners, Oman Sail."
The final Act of the Extreme Sailing Series took place in the waters off Rio and followed spectacular racing in Muscat, Oman; Qingdao, China; Istanbul, Turkey; Porto, Portugal: Cardiff, UK; and Nice, France.
Under the captaincy of the master tactician and Olympian sailor Morgan Larson, Oman Air won at the opening Act in the team's home city of Muscat. They also won at Cardiff, whilst achieving third place at Porto and Nice and gaining valuable points at Qingdao and Istanbul. The crew arrived at Rio in second place on the leader board, determined to end the series in style.
Wayne Pearce added:
"Rio has proved to be a fitting finale for the Extreme Sailing Series 2012. Not only are we delighted to see Oman Air do so well, but we are also pleased that a second Omani team - The Wave, Muscat – has accomplished so much over the course of the Series.
"Oman Air's sponsorship of the crew and partnership with Oman Sail and the Extreme Sailing Series underlines our commitment to celebrating the Sultanate's success, supporting the continued development of opportunities for Oman's sportsmen and women and raising international awareness of Oman as a unique, authentic and beautiful destination for visitors from around the world."
Over recent years, Oman Air has enjoyed rapid expansion and the establishment of a reputation for comfort, luxury, innovation and value. Its economy class seats offer more legroom than many other carriers' premium economy seats; its business class seats have been named as the best in the world for the last two years at the World Airline Awards; and the six fully lie-flat seats in each of Oman Air's first class cabins are amongst the longest and most luxurious in the skies. With the world's first complete inflight mobile phone and wi-fi connectivity, a la carte inflight dining, elegant and refined airport lounges and highly competitive pricing, the airline represents a major Omani success story.
Wayne Pearce concluded:
"Oman Air has been highly successful in creating its own space within the global air travel market, building an international reputation for offering the highest quality and bringing increasing numbers of visitors to Oman. We have also been successful in increasing the number of Omani citizens that we employ, investing in training and career development and promoting Omanis to senior management positions. Our involvement with the Extreme Sailing Series and the wonderful result at Rio are further positive steps in ensuring that Omani talent and ability is given the opportunity to shine."