From 15th January, Oman Air's flights between Muscat and the UK have switched to London's Heathrow Airport.
The Omani flag-carrier commenced services from Muscat to Gatwick in late 2007, but had been looking for some time to serve Heathrow instead, believing this to be the preferred airport for passengers from the Middle East. This aim has been realised with the purchase of a pair of daily slots at Heathrow, which has also enabled the airline to offer more attractive flight times.
The Heathrow to Muscat route will operate daily, leaving Heathrow Terminal 3 at 2130 hrs, arriving in Muscat at 0900 hrs the next day. Departures from Muscat will be at 1255 hrs, arriving at Heathrow at 1740 hrs.
Initially the daily nonstop flights will continue to be operated by leased Airbus A310 aircraft, however around April new Airbus A330s, in a two-class configuration, will take over. Later in the year, newly-delivered Airbus A330s, in a three-class layout, will be introduced to the route.
Oman Air is the only airline to offer a daily nonstop service between London and Muscat, and the airline expects the new Heathrow service to appeal to both business and leisure travellers.