Oman Air to expand partnership with Qatar Airways

Oman Air and Qatar Airways said the two airlines will “explore a number of joint commercial and operational initiatives to further optimise their partnership.” (Supplied)
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Updated 28 December 2020
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Oman Air to expand partnership with Qatar Airways

  • Airlines exploring joint commercial and operational initiatives

DUBAI: Oman Air will expand its code-share cooperation with Qatar Airways as part of a strategic plan to enhance cooperation between the two carriers.

The two airlines entered into a partnership in 2000 and details of the new code-sharing destinations will be unveiled in 2021.

The agreement will give Oman Air customers access to 65 of Qatar Airways’ routes across Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, India, and the Middle East. 

Qatar Airways passengers will get access to six new destinations across Africa and Asia through Oman Air’s network.

“Both airlines will also explore a number of joint commercial and operational initiatives to further optimise their partnership,” the airlines said in a statement.

Oman Air CEO Abdulaziz Al Raisi said: “The expansion of our code-share agreement is just the first step, and we look forward to working with Qatar Airways to further strengthen our strategic partnership to enhance the business and leisure travel experience for our customers in Oman and throughout the world.”

The group chief executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, added: “Since 2000, both airlines have seen the benefits that commercial cooperation has brought, providing our passengers with unrivalled service and more flexibility to travel when they want. I look forward to further strengthening our commercial cooperation with Oman Air to provide even more benefits to our customers.”

Oman Air has been in operation since 1993 and Qatar Airways was founded that same year.


PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

Updated 18 February 2026
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PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition

JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.

As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.

The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.

Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.

The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.

CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.” 

The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.

In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”

He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”

He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.

Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.

The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.

Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.

The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.