Success in the Sultanate

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Sea-air freight: Oman’s impressive port facilities should enable it to leverage growth from the UAE’s successful model.

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New aircraft: Oman Air’s El-Fetouh has big plans.

With regard to freight entering Oman, the Cargo Imports section provides 24-hour information on arrivals and schedules. Within eight hours of arrival, cargo is checked, placed into storage, and the relevant documentation is then made available for speedy customs clearance.

Via the automated handling system and electronic data interchange gateway facilities, the freight status update (FSU) messaging requirements of major airlines are met.

For exports, cargo is weighed using state-of-the-art electronic scales and then x-rayed. The relevant documentation is handled by the computerised cargo handling system, where messaging requirements are also dealt with.

Oman Air has grown considerably since its inception in 1993 and is one of the first regional airlines to introduce the new Boeing 737 NG series. The company operates three B737-700s and seven B737-800 aircraft, with the last in the fleet being delivered in December 2007.

Bellyhold capacity on these passenger jets is substantial, with the B737-700 having space for 27.3m³ of freight, while its close relation has 41.1m³ of capacity.

By 2011, the fleet is expected to increase to 24 or 25 aircraft in total, with new purchases likely to include Airbus A350s and B787s. "At a time when most airlines are struggling to remain profitable in the current economic climate, we have been flying high with a modest fleet, mainly consisting of 737s," says El-Fetouh.

"Although we are surrounded by large carriers that primarily fly twin-aisle planes on long-haul routes, Oman Air has carved a profitable niche using single-aisle jets to connect a growing number of regional markets. However, we're now looking at larger aircraft and the procedures are ongoing to conduct a feasibility study on the issue."

At present, the Omani flag carrier offers a number of flights to regional destinations, including the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Jeddah). In addition the carrier also flies to a number of new frequencies in India, the most recent of which are Bangalore and Calicut, which were added in June this year.

Oman Air also services Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and the UK, via London Gatwick. "The subcontinent is very important for Oman Air, in terms of both passengers and airfreight," relates El-Fetouh. "We've already established considerable operations in India and the country's cargo market is really flourishing at the moment.

We have also signed a strategic agreement with Indian airline SpiceJet to provide us with pilots. We have also begun looking further afield for additional routes in the future, including destinations such as London, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Milan, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. These are alongside plans to re-launch flights to Zanzibar and Darussalam."

But Muscat and Salalah are not the only locations in Oman where the government is looking at creating or expanding aviation facilities. Six more locations have been earmarked as future airport destinations: Sohar, Ras Al Hadd, Al Duqm, Adam, Haima and Shaleem.

Along with Salalah, Sohar is the site of one of Oman's largest seaports, and is also home to the country's fastest-developing industrial zone. Hamra Associates, the Egyptian engineering consultancy, has already provided a detailed masterplan for the airport, as well as a pre-design study, and the firm is also developing preliminary and detailed design drawings for the various structures.

The company will also prepare the tender documents and supervise the construction of the Sohar facility, which will be designed to service aircraft as large as the new Airbus A380. In August, Indian logistics giant Arshiya International indicated that it was planning a major free trade warehousing zone in Sohar, which would include significant warehousing space for onwards transshipment to the subcontinent.

Although the project - which is scheduled to come online in 2012 if the appropriate government approval is received - is clearly designed to leverage the benefits brought by the seaport, the region's new airport would obviously gain significant volume
growth as a result.

Al Duqm, based on Oman's Indian Ocean coastline, is also a destination that the Sultanate foresees as being linked closely to sea trade. A modern port is currently being developed at the location, which will also see the construction of a ship repair centre, a grassroot oil refinery and a petrochemical complex close to the proposed site of the port.

US consultancy Parsons International won the contract to advise the Omani government on the design and construction of the Al Duqm airport in 2006. Both Sohar and Al Duqm, along with Salalah, have the potential to take advantage of the sea-air method of freight transportation, which has proved so effective in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai, especially.

While smaller than other regional airports, Oman's major facility has certainly cottoned on to the importance of the trade in airfreight, and Oman Air's recent development plans means that larger freight volumes will be passing through the Sultanate's various facilities in the future.

Given its strategic location, the country should also benefit from increased sea trade and the onus is therefore on the authorities to leverage the symbiosis between the two methods of transport, an arrangement that has already proved so effective in the United Arab Emirates.

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