On this occasion, Mr. Andrew Cowen, CEO of Sama, said: “We are delighted that this important and major contract has been placed with Alsalam Aircraft after an extensive competitive tender. Alsalam Aircraft has rightly earned an excellent worldwide reputation and we certainly see one of our responsibilities as a leading Saudi airline, to support qualified and capable national companies. In the case of Alsalam, this was an easy choice to make. In partnering with Alsalam, Sama continues our quest to ensure we have in place the highest standards in respect to maintenance services and safety. This helps us optimise the operation of our fleet and ultimately allowing us to continue to offer low fares to Sama’s honoured guests.”

The President of Alsalam Aircraft, Mohammed Nour Fallatahh, said: ''I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, Chairman of Sama, and all the officials of Sama and SR Technics, for the great confidence they have in us, in placing the contract for the heavy maintenance of four of Sama’s fleet of Boeing 737-300 aircraft. We are very pleased to win this contract, which represents the first agreement signed between Alsalam Aircraft and the Saudi Low-Fare carrier. It reflects the high level of technical skills and expertise that Alsalam Aircraft has built up, enabling us to meet all the needs of local maintenance and overhaul"

Fallatah added: “Alsalam is the sole national company in Saudi Arabia which provides maintenance services to commercial aircraft of all types, including intermediate and heavy maintenance. Moreover, Alsalam is an approved B-737-300 maintenance centre. The company holds a number of national, regional, and international licenses, including GACA, FAA, EASA, in addition to ISO 9001-200 certification. These licenses qualify Alsalam and its engineers to provide world class maintenance services. So far Alsalam has completed maintenance of over 80 B737 aircraft. The company takes pride in the transfer of aviation technology to Saudi Arabia and, most importantly, in the training of young Saudis as FAA licensed mechanics, thus increasing Saudisation to 56%”

Sama currently has 6 Boeing 737-300 aircraft as well as a JetStream for the operation of regional services. Sama flies to 12 domestic destinations (Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, Abha, Jizan, Hail, Arar, Jouf, Tabouk, and Rafha) and 8 international destinations as a Charter flights across the Middle East (Abu-Dhabi, Sharjah, Amman, Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo, Beirut, and Alexandira).