Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has welcomed to the Sultanate the first three of the thirty winners of its recent, phenomenally successful Facebook promotion, entitled ‘Fly a Boeing 737’.

The three winners from Dubai, along with their partners arrived at Muscat International Airport and were accorded a warm welcome by Mohammed Al Shikely, General Manager Marketing of Oman Air, along with Oman Air’s Social Media team, who presented the guests with gifts.

The innovative promotion was designed to help celebrate the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman’s milestone of over 2 Decades of Service and as part of a range of activities which included a Facebook flash game which allowed fans to fly a virtual Boeing 737. The competition was deemed a resounding success and reached out to well over three million people.

‘Fly a Boeing 737’ was launched by Her Excellency Maitha bint Saif bin Majid Al Mahruqi, Deputy Chairman of Oman Air and Undersecretary of the Oman Ministry of Tourism, at a special ceremony held at the airline’s headquarters in Muscat, on May 6th 2014. Running for six weeks until June 21st, the competition connected with more than 3.1 million people around the world and was ‘liked’ by over 36,000 Facebook members.

Proving that the simplest ideas are often the best, ‘Fly a Boeing 737’ allowed fans to fly a virtual Boeing 737, answer questions about the aircraft and land it. The thirty participants with the highest scores, who answered the questions correctly and within the fastest time, were rewarded with fantastic prizes allowing them to experience all the outstanding beauty and warm hospitality that the Sultanate has to offer.

The thirty lucky winners and their partners received two Oman Air tickets to Muscat, three nights stay at the luxurious Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa, breakfast and dinner, as well as airport transfers by EuropCar.

Oman Air’s General Manager Marketing, Mohammed Al Shikely, said:

“This Facebook promotion was a first for Oman Air as far as pushing the boundaries of what can be done on Facebook is concerned and the results proved to be a huge success. Our first winners arrived from Dubai and, over the coming weeks, we look forward to welcoming the remaining 27 winners with their partners to experience the rich culture, breathtaking landscapes and unique hospitality that our country has to offer. We will provide further updates as and when the other winners arrive in Oman.

We congratulate all those who took part in ‘Fly a Boeing 737, especially the winners, and look forward to running more exciting and innovative promotions on our Facebook page.

The competition was part of a series of special offers and promotions which aimed to increase awareness of the Sultanate of Oman’s national carrier and the frequent flyer programme, Sindbad, as well as thank our customers for their ongoing support”.

Recent promotions have included a 50% discount on the number of Sindbad miles required to fly to members’ favourite destinations and the introduction of a Bank Muscat Oman Air credit card.