Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has won two categories of the World Travel Awards, which were announced in Dubai recently. At a dazzling ceremony which was held at the JW Marriot Marquis Dubai, Oman Air was named ‘Middle East's Leading Airline — Business Class' and ‘Middle East's Leading Airline — Economy Class', beating some of the region's largest and best-known carriers in each category. Acting Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, Salim Al Kindy, commented: “Winning two categories of the prestigious World Travel Awards is a remarkable achievement for Oman Air, especially when we were pitted against some of the world's largest airlines. Our Business Class and Economy Class services were both recognised and the awards are testament not only to the outstanding quality of our onboard products, but also to the extremely high standard of hospitality offered by our highly trained flight attendants. “It is particularly satisfying that these awards were voted for by travel trade representatives and high end travel consumers — true experts in their field. I would therefore like to thank everyone who voted for Oman Air, as well as all those staff throughout our global network, who have ensured that Oman Air continues to offer the very best in 21st Century air travel.” The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Now in their 21st year, the awards are hailed as ‘the Oscars of the travel industry', and are acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade that aims to celebrate those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence. This is the second year running that Oman Air has been named as the ‘Middle East's Leading Airline — Economy Class' at the World Travel Awards, and the Business Class accolade follows Oman Air being named at the World Airline Awards in 2011 and 2012 as the airline offering the ‘World's Best Business Class Airline Seat'. Furthermore, Oman Air has just received a Gold Award for the fourth year in a row at the TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Awards. And Oman Air's passenger experience will shortly receive a further boost, when the first few of the 20 aircraft it currently has on order – three Airbus A330s, six Boeing B787 Dreamliners and 11 Boeing B737s – enters service later this year. Oman Air is the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman and an Official 4 Star Airline (Skytrax 2011). Founded in 1993, the airline has since witnessed massive growth and has played a major role in making Muscat an important traffic hub in the Middle East, supporting the commercial, industrial and tourism sectors. — SG
