SalamAir zooms past 1mn passenger mark
Times News Service
MUSCAT: SalamAir, Oman’s first budget airline, celebrated a total lift milestone of one million passengers since launching its operations in 2016.
The airline enjoyed a steady rise in passenger footfall powered by its expanding route network, competitive price offers, as well as a customer-centric loyalty programme to meet the increasing demand for affordable travel options around the region. “We are absolutely thrilled at how SalamAir has grown since we took to the skies 18 months ago,” Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO, said.
“We are so committed to our guests and pride ourselves on providing them with consistent levels of customer service.
“We have added a number of great destinations and flights in the past year and a half, some of which are connecting Oman for the first time. All these factors have played their part in helping us reach this milestone as we look forward to adding more seats in the near future and making affordable holiday or business travel more accessible.”
Marking this milestone, SalamAir celebrated its one millionth passenger with its check-in counter at Muscat International Airport. Welcoming the passenger was Ahmed and members of the SalamAir team. Marking the milestone, the passenger received a free ticket and a collection of SalamAir memorabilia.
The most recent milestone follows a roaster of achievements, with expanding its network to 16 fantastic destinations being one of the key highlights in the airline’s short history.
It has also expanded its fleet by adding a brand new wholly owned Airbus A320neo arriving by the end of 2018, as well as five additional leased aircraft (of the same model) arriving by the beginning of 2019.
“Our success to date is partly due to our willingness to listen to our valued guests. After a surge in demand for summer flights last year, we increased their frequency; we listened to our guests and responded to their needs. This is absolutely essential,” the CEO added.
“Our home-grown airline is going from strength to strength, we’re giving back to our guests with the launch of our ‘More on Air’ loyalty programme, rewarding them for their continued support,” he said. “We are looking firmly to the future.”
Launched in July 2018, “More on Air” rewards guests with a oneway airline ticket in exchange for 10 boarding passes collected within a year.
This stands in addition to its three easy fare options: Light, Friendly and Flexi, as well as the fairly-priced menu of extras, such as extra luggage allowance, as well as seat and meal selection. Continuing to produce results on all fronts, SalamAir displayed a remarkable growth performance in 2017. The airline reached a load capacity of 70% in its maiden year.
Owing to the increased demand for budget travel in Oman and the region, it was successful in breaking the one million passenger barrier ahead of schedule, which was originally planned for the end of 2018.