MUSCAT: Oman Air, the national airline of Oman, has been granted ‘Airline Retailing Maturity status’ under IATA’s ARM Index Programme.
The certification recognises that Oman Air uses Shop/Order capabilities compliant with the standard Enhanced and Simplified Distribution message schema, version 18.2 and the ARM index Capabilities Verification Guidance.
Commenting on the certification, Umesh Chhiber, Senior Vice President Revenue Management, Pricing and Distribution at Oman Air, said: “Receiving this status is a proud moment for Oman Air as we now join the first few airlines to have attained the ARM Index certification. Airline retailing has been one of the biggest industry disruptors in recent years and Oman Air is working towards developing additional enhanced retailing capabilities on our NDC channel. These new capabilities, once developed and verified by IATA, will be published in our ARM Index Registry.”
Oman Air’s new strategy is focused on becoming an omni-channel airline that gives its customers the freedom to choose when and how they interact with the airline.
“As a customer-centric airline, Oman Air is committed to providing greater freedom of choice to our customers,” Chhiber added. “This is irrespective of whether or not they choose traditional GDS distribution channels, OTAs, aggregators or the cost-optimal NDC Channel, which will help Oman Air reduce its distribution costs significantly. I commend IATA and other airlines who alongside Oman Air are fully committed to the NDC journey by offering more freedom of choice to the customer.”
