Oman Air to open talks pitting Airbus A350 against Boeing 787

Oman Air said it’s poised to begin talks with Boeing and Airbus over an order for the latest generation of wide-body jets to replace 12 older A330 planes. The Persian Gulf carrier will open negotiations in coming weeks, with the focus on Airbus’s A350-900 model and the 787-9 or -10 from its U.S. rival, CEO Paul Gregorowitsch said. While standardizing around the Boeing Dreamliner, of which Oman Air is already set to have 13 in its fleet from an earlier deal, would appear to make sense, the A350 might have the edge on the longest routes to destinations such as South Africa, Gregorowitsch said Wednesday. The re-engined Neo version of the A330 is out of the running, with all-new aircraft preferable to a “face-lift plane,” unless Airbus presents a particularly compelling case for the legacy model, he said. Oman Air has already sourced two 787-8s from Kenya Airways on three-year lease terms as part of deal to purchase landing slots at London Heathrow airport from the African carrier and Air France, adding to the two Dreamliners already in its fleet.<br/>