Sunday 1 January 2012

Interview: Peter Hill, Oman Air CEO


Full article in JPG format

After 50 years in the industry, Oman Air chief executive Peter Hill recently hung up his flight jacket for the last time. Though his successor has yet to be announced, Hill leaves the flag carrier with a well-defined “luxury boutique” business plan that will nurture the Sultanate’s tourism sector and help articulate its identity within the Gulf region.

As a founding member of Dubai’s Emirates Airline, Hill was headhunted by Oman Air four years ago to develop the plan begun by his predecessor, Ziad al Haremi, who had died tragically of a heart attack. In contrast to the mega-hub strategy Hill advanced in Dubai, the flight path for the Muscat-based carrier focused on selective long-haul expansion and a bespoke in-flight service that, in his words, “the bigger boys just can’t offer”...