SalamAir (OV, Muscat) is looking at tapping into the Africa-Asia transit market using its incoming fleet of A320neo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohamed Ahmed has said.

The Omani low-cost carrier, which currently operates three A320ceo, recently committed to acquiring six A320neo, the first of which, a direct purchase from Airbus, is due towards the end of the year. The remaining five will be leased and will arrive during the first quarter of 2019.

Speaking to The National newspaper, Ahmed said SalamAir was currently studying 20 new destinations, including points in East Africa, Iran, and India for the next phase of its network growth by 2020. It currently serves 18 cities in 13 countries covering the Middle East, the CIS, the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, Nepal, and soon Sudan and Bangladesh.

"There's always demand from Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and Addis Ababa, a mix of business travel and visiting family or friends because of the African community that lives here," he said. "There's also demand for connecting India and Africa."

SalamAir is also looking at starting services to Alexandria Borg el Arab and Cairo Int'l in Egypt with bilateral talks currently underway.

Given growing Chinese investments in the Gulf, in the next five years, the LCC is also looking at expanding into the medium- to long-haul markets using A321neo to serve China, Ahmed said.

Funding for the plan could come via an IPO which could take place beyond 2023.

"The aim was to be profitable within 3 years of operating, so we're on target to become profitable by the end of 2019," he added. "An initial public offering is on the cards after the next five years."