Oman Air to join OneWorld? What to think about it?

The news broke a few weeks ago: according to Reuters, Oman Air has approached Qatar Airways to join the OneWorld alliance.

From our point of view this would be excellent news, but it would be a move that would be anything but neutral for the sector and the balance of power in the region.

Do you know Oman Air?

Oman Air is certainly the least known of the Gulf airlines, and certainly not the least interesting.

In the shadow of the “ME3” (Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways), this “Boutique Airlines” has developed an excellent product, particularly in business and First, and opened a brand-new terminal in Muscat in 2018.

Enough to move up to the next level? If Oman Air was ambitious, it never seemed to want to compete with its prestigious neighbors, at least in terms of size, assuming a size that would remain modest in comparison but emphasizing product and service while trying to put Oman and Muscat on the world map of destinations where you can take advantage of a connecting flight for sightseeing.

Oman Air: a beautiful party with many suitors

The Middle East’s geographical position attracts major alliances looking for well-placed hubs between Asia, Europe and Oceania. Add to this Oman Air’s excellent image among those who have tried it, and you can see why passengers have always dreamed of seeing it join the alliance of their preferred airline.

But until now, Oman Air has preferred to cultivate its independence, preferring to forge partnerships with airlines on an ad hoc basis rather than join an alliance. Thus, the Omani airline has partnerships with Lufthansa as well as KLM, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Bangkok Airways….

A strategy dictated by COVID?

Seeing Oman Air join an alliance has always been a possibility, but never a top priority for the airline.

After all, alliances weren’t as fashionable as they had been in the past, with airlines recently preferring adhoc partnerships, best exemplified by Delta Airlines’ strategy.

What’s more, if we look at the ME3s, only Qatar Airways has chosen to join an alliance (OneWorld), with Emirates and Etihad remaining on the sidelines (in the region, let’s add that Saudia has joined Skyteam).

But COVID came through, as the airline told Reuters.

“As the industry recovers from COVID, airline alliances will be more important than ever.

This will give us excellent global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more attractive loyalty offers for our customers.”

It’s the same story at OneWorld.

“As airlines recover from COVID-19, alliances will become more important in providing global connectivity, as airlines reshape their networks, many with smaller fleets compared to their pre-COVID size.“

As a result, Oman Air turned to OneWorld, asking Qatar Airways to help with the membership process. Why Qatar? Because its chairman, the boisterous Akbar Al Baker, currently holds the presidency of OneWorld…an alliance he has widely criticized and threatened to quit in the past.

Why OneWorld?

A choice that may seem surprising. Etihad is independent but with a certain proximity to Skyteam, Emirates is independent, neighboring Saudia is with Skyteam, and Star Alliance, with no partner in the region, would have been the obvious contender.

But then again, an alliance can make eyes at an airline (and there’s nothing to say that Star Alliance was interested at the time), but in the end it’s the airline that decides, and Oman Air would therefore have chosen OneWorld?

Why is this? OneWorld is the least obvious choice. Logically, Star Alliance would have enabled Oman Air to become its reference partner in the region. Skyteam would have been an excellent second choice, as Saudia does not have the scale of Qatar Airways, and Etihad is only a partner of certain member airlines, and a very fragile one. Since OneWorld already has Qatar Airways, this is a less obvious choice for Oman Air, which is condemned to remaining in the shadow of its neighbor, with whom it also shares a large number of competing routes.

Is there a more political agenda behind this operation? Qatar holds stakes in a large number of its OneWorld partners, and this could be the first step towards a more lasting and concrete partnership with a major player in the region.

The truth is that, at this stage, it’s all guesswork and we haven’t the slightest clue as to this strange choice.

However, it is not yet known how Oman Air’s appeal was received by OneWorld, even if the alliance’s comments above suggest a positive response.

What’s the impact on customers?

In our opinion, this would be an excellent move for customers of OneWorld member airlines, an answer that would apply equally to Skyteam or Star Alliance.

Oman Air is, once again an excellent “Boutique Airline”, offering a very good product. And Oman is one of the most beautiful destinations in the region, by the way.

Should the deal go ahead, we’ll be analysing the subject in greater detail, but it would seem that Oman Air’s Sinbad frequent flyer program could be a more than attractive option for a OneWorld customer wishing to acquire status, even if it means flying little with Oman Air.

What about Oman Air customers? It would be very positive for them. Even though the airline has forged numerous partnerships, becoming a member of an alliance will impressively increase the network and number of destinations available to them, giving added value to the Simbad frequent flyer program.

Bottom line

All we know today is that

Oman Air is reportedly interested in joining OneWorld
That it has approached Qatar Airways to discuss the membership process
That whichever alliance it joins would be excellent news for that alliance’s customers.

Let’s wait and see how things develop over the coming months.

Image : Boeing 787 Oman Air by Vytautas Kielaitis via Shutterstock