OMAN AIR PLANS DAILY FLIGHTS TO KL

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- Oman Air, the national carrier of the
Sultanate of Oman, plans to mount daily flights between Muscat and the Malaysian
capital by next year.

"At present, we fly four times a week from Muscat to Malaysia and I bet
we will have daily flights here by next year," Chief Commercial Officer Barry
Brown told reporters Thursday.

He said the airline also planned to have a code-sharing arrangement with
Malaysia Airlines and hoped to introduce it on June 1.

Oman Air District Sales Manager Kathleen Leong said: "Oman and Malaysia
recognise there are mutual benefits to have direct flights and the up-tick in
the economies of both countries makes this a strategically smart move.

"Malaysians performing Haj or Umrah can make a stop at Muscat while Omanis
can enjoy the shopping and leisure experiences offered here."

Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill said hotels and restaurants in
Oman recorded a high annual growth rate in the third quarter of 2009 compared to
first and second quarter which indicates a positive growth for tourism sector in
2010.

Also, there were 1.4 million passengers from the Middle East in 2009, an
increase of 5.8 per cent from 2008, he said.

The number of tourists visiting Malaysia from Oman this year is expected to
reach 21,000, a 100 per cent increase from last year with the availability
of direct flights from Oman to Malaysia.

Hill also noted that in 2008, Malaysia's imports from the sultanate
amounted to US$866 million, an increase of 78 per cent compared to 2007.

Oman Air is the first airline in the world to offer both Wi-Fi and mobile
telephony to all classes of passengers, in addition to live television.

The airline operates direct flights from Muscat to India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar,
United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, United Kingdom and Germany.

-- BERNAMA