First A320neo arrives for Gulf Air

The Arabian Gulf region has a new exotic mechanical bird in its skies from today as the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf Air took delivery of its first A320neo today. 

CFM LEAP-1A engines power the technologically advanced passenger jet which made its maiden journey from Toulouse to Bahrain, landing at the Bahrain International Airport at 16:00 local time.

The aircraft is the first of the 29 A320neo Family of aircraft ordered during the 2016 Bahrain International Airshow and makes Gulf Air the first Middle Eastern national carrier to fly the A320neo.

There are 28 other Airbus aircraft in the Gulf Air fleet and the latest addition will blend in perfectly with the current operations, thanks to Airbus’ overall fleet commonality. Gulf Air will also benefit from low operating costs, optimum fuel efficiency and seamless, best-in-class passenger comfort of any single aisle aircraft.

Gulf Air takes delivery of its first Dreamliner

Boeing and Gulf Air celebrated the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner for the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The aeroplane also debuts the carrier's new livery. 

"This delivery is a historic moment for Gulf Air and Bahrain and yet another important step in our strategic direction towards furthering Gulf Air's fleet modernization process and supporting our network and overall passenger experience enhancement strategies," said Krešimir Kučko, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air.

"The 787-9 Dreamliner orders will ensure we maintain one of the youngest fleets in the region while building upon our award-winning reliability, on-time performance and product and service standards," Kučko.

Welcome to Britain

 Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, recently collaborated with Jumeirah Group, a luxury hotel company, and Visit Britain, the British Tourist Authority, to fly a number of Saudi Arabian media representatives to London on a tailored familiarization trip.

Guests experienced Gulf Air’s latest products, both in-flight and on-the-ground including the airline’s dedicated Falcon Gold Lounge in Bahrain International Airport, and in London Heathrow airport, and visited various local attractions including the London Eye and the ArcelorMittal Orbit while enjoying stays at the Grosvenor House Suites by Jumeirah Living and Jumeirah Carlton Tower.

Gulf Air operates a double daily service to London Heathrow Airport offering passengers a choice of morning and evening flights. Serving 42 cities in 25 countries and with multiple daily flights to ten cities across the Middle East, Gulf Air is well-positioned to facilitate two-way movement between Europe, Asia and several key destinations in the Middle East and North Africa, from its hub at Bahrain International Airport. Gulf Air tickets can be purchased via the airline’s official website gulfair.com, its 24-hour Worldwide Contact Centre on (+973) 17373737 in Bahrain, or any Gulf Air sales offices and approved travel agencies. A wide range of holiday packages to Gulf Air destinations are available online via holidays.gulfair.com and Gulf Air’s Bahrain Tourist Visa Service is available exclusively for the airline’s passengers flying across its global network to Bahrain - available online via visa.gulfair.com. 

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Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines Codeshare Deal

Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines signed a codeshare agreement yesterday that will be effective from 1st November 2017. The agreement will expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of both airlines with jointly operated double daily flights between Bahrain and Istanbul.

The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul headquarters. Gulf Air’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Captain Waleed Abdul Hameed Al Alawi, and Turkish Airlines’ Deputy Chairman and CEO, Mr Bilal Ekşi signed the agreement together in the presence of senior officials from both airlines.

This new codeshare agreement will be applied to the flights operated by both carriers to Manama and Istanbul, broadening the commercial partnership between the two companies and their respective countries while giving passengers of both airlines more travel options between Bahrain and Turkey.

Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines each operate one daily flight between Bahrain and Istanbul and, under the terms of this agreement, both carriers will place their codes on both airlines’ flights, operating between Bahrain and Istanbul.

Gulf Air to increase services to Istanbul

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier - Gulf Air, has announced it will introduce a permanent increase to its Istanbul service with daily flights on the route effective early November. 

The increase is in direct response to passenger demand, increasing the number of convenient flight options offered by the airline and giving passengers greater flexibility and choice when travelling to and from Istanbul. 

Read more to find out about Gulf Air, including what the CEO said about the increased Istanbul service. 

Moscow to go daily for Gulf Air

The national airline of Bahrain, Gulf Air announced over the weekend that they will increase the service to Moscow from a 4 times a week offering to a daily flight.  

The airline will introduce the daily schedule in the last week of October, which coincides with the airline’s 3-year anniversary of direct, nonstop service to/from Domodedovo International Airport in the Russian capital.

Read more to find out what Gulf Air's CEO said about the expanded service. 

Gulf Air and Oman codeshare deal

Photo Gulf Air

Gulf Air, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier, has recently launched a new codeshare agreement with Oman Air, the national carrier of the sultanate of Oman, which will sees the airlines’ combined frequencies between Bahrain and Muscat increase to 6 daily flights.

Mr. Ahmed Janahi, Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer, commented on the agreement: “This codeshare reflects Gulf Air’s consistent drive to offer our customers attractive options to fly to popular travel destinations. With this agreement we are not only increasing our flight frequencies to and from Muscat but also giving Muscat-based passengers an expanded range of connections with Gulf Air via Bahrain International Airport to various destinations across our network. On this occasion, we thank Oman Air for sharing our commitment and vision, which I am sure will allow us to continue to reinforce the longstanding relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman – helping strengthen tourism and commercial ties.”

Gulf Air

In February, Kamal Ahmed, the transport minister of the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain, told Arabian Business that “no-one wants” the top job at Gulf Air, the country’s flag-carrier. It was a candid admission for a company that, long before the rise of super-connectors Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, had once been considered the Middle East’s pre-eminent airline. Several foreign candidates had been offered the job, Mr Ahmed explained, but all turned it down over fears of political interference. Given that Gulf Air’s nine-strong board includes four serving ministers plus an advisor to the Crown Prince, they may have had a point. Two decades of near-consistent financial losses will also have dampened their enthusiasm. But someone had to hold the fort, and under the stewardship of acting CEO Maher Al Musallam–who has been in charge for 18 months–Gulf Air appears to be making headway. Reports the Gulliver blog in The Economist.