Sama owns six Boeing 737-300 aircraft and the Alsalam group already has an agreement with Boeing, making them the logical choice to carry out the work.

But Andrew Cowen, chief executive officer of Sama, stresses that the tender process had been extensive and competitive.

Meanwhile, Sama is still seeking government intervention to allow the company the same fuel subsidy as national airline Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia).

The flag carrier pays five times less for its fuel than its low-cost rivals Sama and NAS Air, with Prince Bandar bin Khalid al-Faisal, chairman of Sama, recently blaming soaring fuel costs for “100 per cent losses” at the airline, which launched in early 2007 (MEED 31:1:08).