Oman Economic Review – July 2019

30 July 2019

COVER STORY – AVIATION

Salam Air has recently introduced
several new destinations. Currently,
how many destinations are you flying
to and what are the new ones in the
pipeline?
Salam Air, which launched in 2016,
currently operates flights to 20 destinations,
including Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi,
Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Kathmandu,
Khartoum, Dhaka, Alexandria, Riyadh,
Kuwait, and Abu-Dhabi, in addition
to the recently launched destinations
Tehran, Istanbul and Trabzon. The
airline also operates domestic routes to
Muscat, Salalah and Sohar.

Salam Air has permanent stations to
where we operate direct flights. They
receive high demand form passengers
throughout the year such as the Gulf
stations and there are seasonal stations,
which are mostly demanded during
the summer and remain less popular
during the rest of the year.

The newest additions to our growing list
of destination are the Turkish cities of
Trabzon and Istanbul. We are the first
carrier in the Sultanate to fly directly to
Trabzon. From July 1, we will operate
three direct flights a week- on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays- between
Muscat and Trabzon. From July 3, Salam
Air will operate two direct flights to
Istanbul per week – on Sundays and
Wednesdays.

We have increased the number of flights
to Doha, and recently inaugurated
flights to two other regional
destinations: Riyadh and Kuwait in
addition to Tehran, the capital of Iran.

In addition, during the Salalah Tourism
Festival, we will operate two direct
flights per week from Salalah to Kuwait
and we have also plans to connect
Salalah Airport with a number of GCC
cities during the season. We will also
operate six flights daily from Muscat
International Airport to Salalah Airport
and a daily flight from Suhar Airport to
Salalah Airport, catering to the demand
from domestic tourists and visitors.

We have received and continue to

REACHING

NEW HEIGHTS

Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of Salam Air,

talks about the airline’s new destinations, fleet

expansion and the new trends in the region’s

aviation industry. Excerpts from an interview

receive a great response due to the

increase in the number of destinations

as well as the expansion of fleets and

services. It has reflected positively on

the performance of the company.

Please talk about your recent fleet

expansion...

We’re proud to be the first operator

in the Sultanate to introduce A320neo

aircraft. Recently, we have received

our third A320neo since December

2018. The narrow-body jet, an update of
      Airbus’ classic A320 and its best-selling
      model, has been custom-built for the
      airline and offers a host of passenger
      benefits including optimised cabin
      space, extra stowage space, and greater
      comfort. The aircraft is top of the
      line and its combination of upgraded