Omani Pilots Boost National Carrier’s Flight Crews

Omani Pilots

Oman Air’s flight crew numbers are receiving a major boost, thanks to a significant increase in the recruitment of Omani citizens.

The airline, which currently operates 30 aircraft and has a further 20 on order for delivery from next year, has also seen a major upswing in the number of Omani trainees preparing to fulfil a range of flight deck roles, aboard all Oman Air’s aircraft types.

The national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman currently operates seven Airbus A330s, 17 Boeing B737s, four Embraer E175s and two ATR 42s. The fleet will be strengthened by the arrival of 11 B737s, three A330s six B787 Dreamliners, with first B737 and the first A330 being delivered in 2014.

Over the last 12 months, many Omani candidates have started various part of their training to qualify in the role of First officers on Oman Air modern fleet Types.  1Ten candidates have joined the Air Transport Pilot’s License (ATPL) courses at the Ecole National Aviation Civil (ENAC) in Toulouse, France, and a further 17 have completed the ATPL course offered by Jeppesen and conducted by Boeing. In addition, seven candidates have been enrolled on the B737 type rating course at CTC in the UK, two candidates are undergoing training for E175 rating at Flight Safety International, Paris, France and two for ATR type rating at ATC Toulouse, France. Many of the trainees have taken up Oman Air’s offer to Omani citizens of places on a scholarship programme that assists with the costs of training to become pilots.

All the trainees are making excellent progress on their courses due to the robust selection process that was introduced in 2011, which enabled Oman Air to accommodate more cadets than during previous years.

Oman Air currently employs 222 captains, 204 first officers and 12 second officers. These include 12 captains, nine first officers and two second officers on its ATR42 fleet, 27 Captains , 23 first officers and two second officers on its Embraer E175 fleet, 120 captains, 114 first officers and eight second officers on its Boeing B737 fleet, and 63 captains and 52 first officers on its Airbus A330 fleet. Of these crew members, 90 captains, 122 First Officers and 12 Second Officers are Omani citizens.

Captain Ali Hassan Sulaiman, chief officer flight operations for Oman Air, said:

“I am delighted to welcome all the trainee pilots and to congratulate all those who have recently successfully completed their demanding training courses to operate one of our modern fleet types.  I also look forward to welcoming and congratulating those still under training, once they successfully complete their training.

“Furthermore, I would like to offer a special welcome to the many Omani graduates who have joined Oman Air. All the posts within Flight Operations are very challenging and it is extremely encouraging to see many Omanis opting to undergo their rigorous training before ‘taking their wings’ in their national carrier.”