Oman Air has announced that it is expanding its India operations this summer. The carrier will add two new destinations in India while increasing capacity on other routes.
Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram addition
Oman Air is introducing flights to Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram from August 2023.
Starting 3rd August, Oman Air will offer twice-daily flights between Muscat International Airport and Lucknow’s Chaudhary Chatan Singh International Airport.
Flights WY261/262 will operate with the following schedule:
- Muscat-Lucknow
- Departure time: 01:30
- Arrival time: 06:25
- Flight time: 3 hours and 25 minutes
- Flight number: WY261
- Frequency: Daily
- Lucknow-Muscat
- Departure time: 07:15
- Arrival time: 09:25
- Flight time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
- Flight number: WY262
- Frequency: Daily
Flights WY263/264 will run with the following schedule:
- Muscat-Lucknow
- Departure time: 14:55
- Arrival time: 19:50
- Flight time: 3 hours and 25 minutes
- Flight number: WY263
- Frequency: Daily
- Lucknow-Muscat
- Departure time: 21:00
- Arrival time: 23:10
- Flight time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
- Flight number: WY264
- Frequency: Daily
These flights will be operated by a mix of Boeing B737-800 and B737MAX-8 aircraft featuring Business and Economy Class cabins.
On the same day, the Omani flag carrier will begin daily flights between Muscat International Airport and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will operate with the following schedule:
- Muscat-Thiruvananthapuram
- Departure time: 09:05 (08:30 on Thursdays)
- Arrival time: 14:30 (13:55 on Thursdays)
- Flight time: 3 hours and 55 minutes
- Flight number: WY215
- Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat
- Departure time: 15:30 (16:10 on Thursdays)
- Arrival time: 18:25
- Flight time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
- Flight number: WY216
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Flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays will operate with the following schedule:
- Muscat-Thiruvananthapuram
- Departure time: 02:20
- Arrival time: 07:45
- Flight time: 3 hours and 55 minutes
- Flight number: WY211
- Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat
- Departure time: 08:45
- Arrival time: 11:00
- Flight time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
- Flight number: WY212
These flights will be operated by Boeing B737MAX-8 aircraft featuring Business and Economy Class cabins.
Capacity addition
From March end when the summer schedule begins, Oman Air will add capacity on five routes to different cities in India.
Mumbai will only see wide-body operations, with a mix of Airbus A330s and Boeing B787 Dreamliners. The Muscat-based airline operates twice-daily flights to India’s financial capital.
Oman Air currently serves Hyderabad with a daily flight. From this month end, the city will see the addition of a daily flight. Both of the flights will be operated by B737-800/900s.
Chennai and Cochin will be served twice-daily, up from the current 10-weekly frequency. Boeing B737MAX-8s will be deployed on these flights.
Kozhikode will be served with double-daily flights, up from the 7-weekly frequency currently. Both the daily flights will be served by B737-800/900s.
Summer rush
India has always been a target market for Oman Air. All of the Middle Eastern carriers like Oman Air heavily depend on traffic from India.
With the summer holidays and the peak travel season approaching, Oman Air is going all-in on India. The capacity addition has been mostly done through the use of B737s/B737MAXs. The way in which the carrier has added flights is great, given that twice-daily flights take-off and arrive in a 10 to 12 hours gap, giving easy connectivity options for onward travel from Muscat and vice-versa.
Mumbai has been the largest market for Oman Air and the switch to only wide-body aircraft is great from passenger experience point of view. Although the airline’s A330s are a bit dated, the B787s feature the latest hard products.
One thing to note is that Oman Air is the only airline flying most of these routes, so it’s nice to see the carrier taking full advantage of this and capitalizing on the demand.
Featured image by Oman Air
What do you think of Oman Air expanding India operations this summer? Let me know in the comments section below.
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