Oman Air, the flag carrier of the Sultanate, has ordered 20 Boeing 737 aircraft as part of a plan to double its fleet to 70 planes by 2020, chief executive Paul Gregorowitsch said on Monday.

The order includes both the current generation of 737s, which will be delivered from 2017, as well as the re-engined 737 Max planes that will come from 2019, he told Reuters at the launch event of the airline's first direct flight to Singapore.

Ten of the planes will come directly from Boeing and the rest from leasing companies, he added. Oman Air plans to use these aircraft to grow its domestic network, as well as key regional markets like the Gulf and India, he said.

Oman Air has 36 aircraft, including 10 Airbus A330s and 21 737s. This year, it will also receive the first two of nine Boeing 787s it has on order as well as six more 737s.

It also plans to choose between the 787 and the A330neo, the re-engined variant of the Airbus widebody planes, for its medium and long haul requirements.

The airline will eventually have 25 narrowbody planes and 45 wide bodies by the end of the decade. – Reuters