SalamAir, the low cost carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Embraer to purchase 12 E195-E2 aircraft, making it the first Middle Eastern customer for the Brazilian manufacturer’s new generation of E-jets.
The agreement was formalized during a ceremony organized by SalamAir under the patronage of Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of Oman and Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir; along with Arjan Meijer, President of Commercial Aviation and CEO of Embraer.
Mohamed Ahmed explained that the presentation included a review of the company’s most important achievements and results over the past five years, in terms of passenger numbers, cargo traffic and number of destinations.
Future plans for the next five years were also presented, where Embraer aircraft will operate on regional and domestic routes with lower demand to Oman. The aim is to continue to stimulate tourism movement and to employ, train and qualify Omani youth.
«The purchase of E2 jets will reduce the cost, including fuel, and will also help us increase our domestic and regional routes and other international destinations,» Mohamed said.
The agreement calls for delivery of the first three 195-E2s by November 2023 to end that year with six aircraft, with the remaining aircraft to be delivered gradually over the following months.
SalamAir is the second largest carrier in the Sultanate, which was founded in 2017 by the municipality of Muscat, capital of Oman, in a partnership with several local funds with the aim of growing tourism in the region.
It currently has six Airbus A320neo and three Airbus A321neo aircraft connecting destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. It will also be the first Middle Eastern carrier to use Airbus A321 aircraft converted from passenger to freighter (P2F).
