SalamAir to lease 10 A320s in response to growing demand
February 20, 2025
Oman’s low-fare airline, SalamAir, has announced plans to expand its fleet with 10 additional aircraft over the next three years.
Headquartered in Muscat and currently operating a fleet of 13 Airbus A320/321 aircraft with two more A321neos due to be delivered in early 2025, SalamAir has placed a formal request for 10 additional A320s with multiple aircraft leasing companies to meet its forecasted growth targets.
Commenting on the success of the carrier’s low-fare operations, which were introduced as a refocus for the airline last year, Adrian Hamilton-Manns, SalamAir’s CEO said the airline has been operating with “full aircraft and more demand than we can meet.”
He added that the low-fare model is “highly popular” and plans to increase the fleet with 10 additional aircraft “is a response to the demand that we see for budget travel.”
The airline, which commenced flight operations in January 2017, carried over 3.2 million passengers in 2024, a 20% increase on 2023 passenger traffic. “Our expansion over the next five years requires more aircraft to enable us to develop more domestic and regional flights, and to introduce destinations that are currently unserved by airlines,” continued Hamilton-Manns. These steps, he said will help stimulate tourism to Oman. Adding that the low-fare model is one that other airlines are seeking to adopt due to the obvious demand that exists, he emphasised, “this is positive as competition weill reduce fares and benefit the customer.”
Since starting, SalamAir has rapidly grown its network and now serves more than 35 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe from its hub in Muscat.
With the two aircraft being delivered this year and the additional 10 aircraft the airline is seeking to add to its fleet over the next three years, SalamAir will grow its fleet to 25 A320s by 2028.
