Muscat, February 27th 2019 – Combining convenience, flexibility and reliability of experience, SalamAir announces new routes to see its network reach 17 domestic and regional destinations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Asia and Africa in just over two years since starting operations. In addition to its recently introduced route to Alexandria, Egypt, SalamAir plans to add direct flights to Riyadh and Kuwait from Muscat, as well as Abu Dhabi and Sohar from Salalah to its expanding network. In yet another milestone, the airline’s load factor reached 85 per cent in the months of January and February 2019, while total number of passengers carried to date reached 1.6 million.

SalamAir online booking contribution increased by 10% per cent in 2018, which will see the airlines introduce a revamped website on 16 March 2019 to meet increased demand, as well as launch an Internet booking engine (IBE) offering passengers and travel agents more convenience in completing their SalamAir flight bookings among other services.

Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir said, “Adding more routes is part of our strategy to continue expanding our network and our fleet. The expansion of both are going hand-in-hand as planned. We are stepping into an exciting period for us at SalamAir and we want to exude that excitement to our guests every step of the way. We listen to our guests and work to give them more of what they want, and we will continue offering them a convenient, flexible and reliable experience to a growing range of destinations complementing a wide spectrum of traveler needs.”

He added, “Our first A320neo is already delivered and flying, and we are adding five more A320neo taking our fleet size to nine in 2019. This will drive our expansion plans even further and help us grow the number of passengers flying SalamAir after proudly carrying more than 1.6 million guests since the start of our operations.”

With the addition of the new routes, the airline is continuing with its expansion strategy, offering guests more choice and flexibility to plan their business or leisure travels, while meeting their needs and means. In addition, SalamAir is continuing to offer more options for domestic travel in the Sultanate by restarting the Salalah-Sohar route with daily flights starting 1st of July 2019.

Service to both Kuwait and Riyadh is scheduled to start on 16th of May 2019 with daily flights to the Kuwait and four flights a week to Riadh. Flights will depart from Muscat to Kuwait on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 09:30 and arrive in Kuwait at 10:20, while depart Kuwait at 11:00 arriving in Muscat at 13:55. As for Mondays, Wednesdays, Friday and Saturday flights will depart Muscat at 16:30 arriving in Kuwait at 17:20 with the return flights departing from Kuwait at 18:00 and arriving in Muscat at 20:55. As for Riyadh, flights will be available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, departing Muscat at 10:25 arriving in Riyadh at 11:25. The return flight will depart from Riyadh at 12:20 arriving in Muscat at 15:30. The restarted service between Salalah and Sohar will see daily flights depart Salalah at 08:25 arriving in Sohar at 10:10, while return flights will depart Sohar at 10:55 arriving in Salalah at 12:35. 

Today, the SalamAir network consists of 17 destinations including Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Dhaka, Alexandria, Kuwait, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. SalamAir recently became the first Oman-based carrier to receive the new Airbus A320neo aircraft making it one of the early Middle East recipients and operators of the highly rated model. In addition to the delivered aircraft, another five Airbus A320neo are expected to join SalamAir’s fleet in 2019. A cost-conscious menu of additional services is also available to guests, which includes extra luggage allowance, as well as seat and meal selection.