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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

SalamAir’s maiden flight takes off from Salalah

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Kaushalendra Singh -


SALALAH, Jan 30 -


A new chapter of aviation started in Oman with the departure of the inaugural flight of SalamAir OV-002 from Salalah Airport to Muscat International Airport sharp at 10.05 am.


The first low cost national carrier of the Sultanate will fly to and from Salalah and Muscat with plans to extend its operations in this year to upcoming destinations such as Dubai, Jeddah, Medina, Karachi, Sialkot and Multan.


The inaugural launch event of the airline was held under the auspices of Salim bin Aufit al Shanfari, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality, in presence of a large number of dignitaries from Salalah and Muscat and officials of Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) and SalamAir.


An elated Francois Bouteiller, Chief Executive Officer of SalamAir, called it an important day in the aviation history of Oman as the first low cost national carrier started operations with great future of expansion in near future.


“In two weeks time we are starting our Dubai operation and plans have already been set for flights to Jeddah, Madina, Karachi, Sialkot and Multan. Now we have daily two flights to and from Muscat. “Very soon there would be one more flight and then one more, thus there would be four flights between Salalah and Muscat daily,” said Bouteiller.


Commenting on aviation potential in Salalah, Bouteiller said Salalah did have potential and there is demand for more service to different destinations.


SalamAir, according to him, has advantage of low cost carrier, which customises the needs of the passengers.


“Here the passengers have advantage of paying for the service they need. Suppose you need to travel to Muscat light then why you should pay for the luggage which you are not carrying. There is light, semi heavy and heavy luggage options under the categories of Light, Friendly and Flexi, which give the passengers option to choose what service exactly they are looking for,” he said.


Bouteiller brushed aside the theory of fear among the airlines with the launch of new airlines. “In fact it is a healthy competition that ultimately helps the customer and forces the service providers to keep updated and ready to be competitive.


“There is segmentation in the aviation sector because it is not possible for one player to grab all the segments.


“We have started serving a segment which is called low budget. There would be others interested in charter and regional services. This is how we complement each other and give room for more services, businesses and financial activities,” said Bouteiller.


Having a fleet of three A320 aircrafts, SalamAir is looking for expansion on ‘as and when’ basis.


To take full advantage of low cost carrier, Bouteiller exhorted the passengers to develop the habit of booking tickets early and choosing the right option.


He thanked the government authorities, particularly PACA and Oman Air for their cooperation in the successful launch of SalamAir.


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