Oman transport: SalamAir’s 2020 fleet expansion unveiled

Muscat: Oman’s first budget airline—SalamAir—plans to connect 25 to 30 destinations with 10 to 15 airplanes by 2020, a senior official from the airline said.
François Bouteiller, chief executive officer (CEO) of SalamAir said: “My vision for 2020 is to have 10 to 15 airplanes and to become a major player in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.”
He also announced four weekly flights to Jeddah, starting from Sunday and a fourth daily flight to Salalah from Muscat. “After Jeddah, we will launch direct flights to Karachi, Sialkot and Multan in Pakistan. Tickets for these flights will be available very soon,” he said.
In addition, plans are underway to increase connectivity to Saudi Arabia by introducing direct flights from Muscat to Taif and a flight from Salalah to Taif via Muscat, along with more flights to Medina during Ramadan; all to accommodate the increasing number of guests travelling for Umrah.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important extension of our network to meet strong demand for low cost travel,” said Khalid Al Yahmadi, SalamAir’s chairman.
“We are offering greater flexibility and choice to guests travelling on these routes for leisure, business and religious purposes. These new flights will open new tourism, trade and investment opportunities, contributing to the Omani economy by attracting more tourists and business travellers and in turn spur the creation of employment opportunities in the Sultanate.”
Bouteiller also said, “It has been a busy period since our launch in January and the introduction of these new destinations reflects our determination to keep the momentum up. We are excited to open up the skies to more people, offering them freedom of choice and good value for our reliable, quality and always welcoming flights.”
SalamAir’s expansion in Saudi Arabia adds to the airline’s existing Muscat, Salalah, and Dubai daily flight services. “We want to fly to the Dubai International Airport, but unfortunately the airport terminal is very busy. We hope that we will fly to the Dubai International Airport soon,” he said.