The two carriers have signed a Letter of Intent to create new cargo business opportunities. Once brought to life, the Sultanate located on the Indian Ocean will become a transit point for goods transported by both Cargolux and Oman Air.
Oman Air offers an attractive geographical location with both existing and newly constructed sea-port facilities, notes Cargolux in their release. The Arabian country’s position at the entrance
of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf, together with its proximity to the Indian subcontinent, “provides a major advantage over its competitors in the region,” states Oman Air’s CEO Paul
Gregorowitsch, who took the Arabian carrier’s chair in August of last year.
New intercontinental link
Routing their freighters via Oman onto India is a new link between Europe, the Arabian Peninsula and the Subcontinent, notes Cargolux.
Their first flight under the new agreement will leave Luxembourg on April 15, and arrive at Muscat airport on 16 April. Once this starting shot has been fired, two weekly line-haul services with
onward connections to various Indian cities will follow, including Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and others.
“Oman offers an attractive geographical location with both established and newly constructed sea-port facilities,” states Cargolux. In addition, their future partner provides its future European
counterpart with access to the holds of their passenger aircraft that serve 11 destinations in India as well as in East Africa. This gives Cargolux the opportunity to feed consolidated shipments
to Oman from a number of surrounding markets.
Oman Air is keen on cargo
By joining forces with Cargolux, Oman Air intends to boost its cargo business. So far, the carrier has primarily concentrated its activities on expanding its fleet and network for getting
additional passengers choosing the airline when booking a flight to or via the Gulf region. Meanwhile, cargo seems to have gained new importance for CEO Paul Gregorowitsch and his team.
The manager states: "Oman Air has extensive and long-term experience of operating flights to numerous destinations across the Indian sub-continent and East Africa. Cargolux is a leader in air
freight and offers huge capacity. This agreement, therefore, represents an important strategic partnership that will give an important boost to Oman's standing as a major hub for the movement of
freight between Europe, Asia and Africa."
Oman modernized and enlarged its infrastructure
Paul further points out that the country’s harbors, located at the junction of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean together with its proximity to the Indian sub-continent, provide a major
advantage over its competitors in the region. Furthermore, the manager stresses that Oman has invested in the development of state-of-the-art logistics facilities — including ports, freight
terminals and airports.
Particularly this aspect creates new opportunities for Cargolux in sea-air freight transport from Oman’s port facilities which, at the same time, benefits the economy of the Sultanate. So far,
the vast majority of sea-air traffic between Far East and Europe has been routed via Dubai.
The signing ceremony of the agreement will take place on 16 April in Oman, after the first Boeing 747F has landed at Muscat International.
Heiner Siegmund
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