Oman Aviation boss reveals the 3 things the company will double down on in 2020

• Oman Air is heading into the 2020s hungry for growth, despite being inhibited by the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.
• During a recent interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the CEO of Oman Aviation Group - Oman Air's parent company - told Business Insider that the airline has three big priorities for the year.
• The opening of new facilities at the airport, a focus on destination management, and the expansion of cargo capacity are among the company's goals.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

DAVOS, Switzerland - Oman Air is currently in expansion mode.

The airline recently launched a codeshare partnership with Air Italy, expanding its route network to the United States, expanded service between Muscat and London, and is working to promote Muscat and Oman as a destination for business and leisure travelers, along with building up its connection network.

Part of the airline's strategy is a laser-focus on a targeted market, defined from a broader market identified by the country's national tourism board, Oman Aviation Group CEO Mustafa Al Hinai told Business Insider during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"We, as aviation, focus on eight destinations, five of them European cities," Al Hinai said. "London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich. Apart from that, we have the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, and China and Russia."

As Oman Aviation Group - a state-owned company which also owns Oman Airports and Oman Aviation Services, alongside the airline - seeks to build within those markets and grow the airline, it has three top priorities for 2020, Al Hinai said.

"The big agenda. The big agenda, for us is three things," he said. "First the launch of Muscat airport city in Oman. Second thing, the merger and acquisition of destination management companies, and third, to establish air cargo corridors."

"In this regard, how we can make it more efficient, more innovative, how we can capitalize it, and how we can have a new experience of it to our customers."

Muscat International Airport underwent a major transformation in the 2010s and continues to see infrastructure improvements. Most recently, construction was finished on a major new air cargo unit, and new data service technologies are set to improve communication between aviation service providers at the airport and airline customers.

Acquiring destination management companies would be an effective tool - according to Al Hinai, those companies "organize travelers from their home markets to destinations" - and consolidation of the airline with those companies can improve efficiency selling travelers on both the airline and the destination.

"We are very much working on the destination model, focusing more on inbound travelers to Oman," he said. "We are connecting passengers, and we are bringing more quality passengers to stay in Oman for leisure or business."

Cargo is also a lucrative revenue source for airlines, including Oman, but has fallen to a 10-year low industry-wide, partly as a result of global trade tensions.

However, Al Hinai is optimistic, partly because the airline does not operate dedicated freighters, unlike much of its Middle Eastern competition.

"We have partners like DHL and other cargo operators, who come to Oman directly," he said. "In Oman, the air cargo is growing by double digits, and we have a target: by 2030, 790,000 tons of cargo per annum. We passed our target for this year."

"The growth comes from two things. One, new airport infrastructure which has facilitated the ecosystem. The other was that we started enabling our local industries, the fishermen, farmers, agriculture, and taking them outside Oman. Third, we started having more relationships with freight operators like DHL, and others globally. Where they started having their centers in Oman."