What has been said about Oman Air pilot pay?

When the Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, who chairs Oman Air, discussed the airline's transformation plan in February 2024, Oman Observer reported that pilot salaries are set by global market trends and that Oman Air pilots are paid no differently from those at other airlines. No figures were given. The same report said losses had fallen in 2023 and that the airline was expected to be financially stable by 2026. In May 2020 Oman Aviation Group announced a temporary salary reduction for all employees across its companies for three months, May, June and July, with the largest cuts for leadership positions.14

How many Oman Air pilots are Omani?

According to afm.aero, Oman Air's overall Omanisation rate was approximately 75% in July 2023, and as high as 81% of pilots. In October 2025 chief executive Con Korfiatis told Gulf News that the overall rate had risen to 80 per cent, the highest in the company's history. In July 2022 Oman Observer reported an Omanisation rate of 94 per cent excluding female cabin crew, with 2,811 Omanis working alongside colleagues from 64 nations. For experienced pilots, the airline's careers page in 2020 pointed to careers at commander level, while new entrants were directed to its Cadet Pilot scheme.2358

How does the cadet route work?

Oman Air's first batch of 11 Omani cadets graduated from its ATPL programme, launched in 2018, in July 2023. They trained at the Oman Aviation Academy in Sohar in partnership with CAE Oxford and joined Oman Air as second officers. In 2022 approximately 93 Omani cadets were enrolled, 81 of them training in Europe in 6 batches and a batch of 12 at Sultan Qaboos University.23

What benefits does Oman Air describe?

An archived 2019 version of Oman Air's benefits page lists medical, life and disability plans for employees and their families, financial benefits including profit sharing and incentives, and travel privileges on its own and other airlines. It gives no values.6

How has the 2024 to 2025 restructuring affected Oman Air?

ch-aviation reported on 29 April 2025 that Oman Air had laid off around 1,000 employees, and that its chairman said the workforce of 4,300 should fall to 2,700. The Omanisation rate rose to 79.4% from 74.8% in 2023 after 487 expatriates left. In October 2025 Gulf News reported that the workforce had shrunk from approximately 4,300 to just under 3,200, that Omanisation had reached 80 per cent, and that chief executive Con Korfiatis expected future hiring of additional pilots as new aircraft arrive. The fleet then consisted of about 23 narrow-body aircraft, mostly Boeing 737 MAXs, and 10 Boeing 787-9s. Older reports describe the cadet route: in January 2013 Arab News reported that cadets contributed 30 percent of the study cost, with Oman Air covering the remaining 70 percent under a contract. In January 2024 TradeArabia reported that 21 Omani cadets had signed for the ATPL programme and would join as Second Officers on the Boeing 737.78910