Gulf Air

AVIATION

Gulf Air Marks 31 Years of Service to the Indian Capital

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air today marked its successful 31 years of service to New Delhi reinforcing its long standing relationship with the country. On the occasion, the airline also unveiled its new A321 aircraft featuring full flat bed seats, for the first time in its class, on India routes. 

Commemorating the historic 31-year landmark, Gulf Air also announced a series of commercial initiatives tailored to the Indian market both for individual customers and corporates. 

Addressing the media at a press conference , Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Karim Makhlouf said, “Bahrain has a special place for India as the relationship between the two countries is more than 5000 years old marked by active sea trade and commerce. Today Bahrain is the second home to nearly 400,000 Indians and the total trade between India and Bahrain last year reachedUS$1.7 billion. 

“As far Gulf Air, we are proud of the fact Gulf Air was one of the first Gulf carriers into India landing in Mumbai in November 1971. We started our service to the Indian capital in 1981 and since then we have been serving four key cities of India - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. Today we offer 16600 seats a week between these cities and Bahrain including double-daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.” 

Mr. Makhlouf also unveiled the new A321 aircraft being introduced on the Indian routes, “Keeping in mind the large volume traffic between India and Bahrain and our commitment to offer best-in-class products and services to our Indian customers, I am glad to introduce the Airbus A321 aircraft on our Indian routes. The aircraft, for the first time, offers full flatbed in its class with several innovative features including an in-seat massage mechanism that can be operated by the passenger. In addition the single aisle aircraft offers more legroom, extra galley space for movement and comes with the latest inflight entertainment of its class.” 

He continued, “As the largest Middle East network carrier with excellent onward connectivity to Africa and Europe, we offer our Indian travellers seamless and faster connections in less than 3 hours giving you a choice of as many as 730 flights a week to the Gulf, Middle East, North Africa and Europe via our efficient hub Bahrain.” 

“As we commemorate this 31-year historical landmark, we reiterate our commitment to the Indian market and we will continue to connect you with the Gulf and beyond,” Mr. Makhlouf concluded. 

During the conference, Mr. Makhlouf also unveiled the airline’s new commercial initiatives exclusive to the Indian market. These included Falcon Corporate Plus, a package designed exclusively for corporate travellers, offering a range of benefits that include special price discounts and free upgrades from economy to Falcon Gold class. 

The airline has also come up with an innovative programme specifically for small and medium enterprises (SME’s) in India that offers a range of incentives including a double bonanza by which both - the member organizations and their travelling employees - earn miles that can be redeemed for free flights, upgrades, etc. 

Gulf Air’s popular Frequent Flyer programme has also undergone a major change; renamed ‘Falcon Flyer,’ the new programme offers members even more attractive privileges and value added benefits such as bonus miles upto 250%, guaranteed seats, priority baggage handling, half miles redemption and family membership. Gulf Air already has 42000 Frequent Flyer members from India. 

For families, Gulf Air has introduced ‘Family First’ - a series of competitively priced packages for customers travelling with their spouses and kids, offering special privileges both on the ground and in the air. This will be an attractive package particularly for Indians, who very often travel with their families on vacation. 

Most important of this suite of initiatives is the state-of-the-art inflight entertainment offering world’s first full connectivity onboard Gulf Air’s long-haul flights offering high speed internet, 3G-4G mobile data speed connectivity, voice over the internet (VOIP) i.e. skype, streaming videos and the world's first in-flight live TV via satellite, launched in October this year. 

About Gulf Air 

Founded in 1950, Gulf Air is the proud national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As a pioneering airline in the Middle East region with over sixty years of experience and expertise in flying people across continents, Gulf Air is today one of the most powerful brands and a name to reckon with in the global aviation industry. 

One of the prime objectives of Gulf Air is to connect Bahrain to the Middle East countries and the rest of the world. As such the airline currently operates the largest network in the Middle East with non-stop flights while providing seamless onward connections to other international destinations. The airline’s current network stretches from Europe to Asia, connecting 48 cities in 28 countries, with a fleet of 38 aircraft. 

In tune with the Kingdom’s economic blue print, ‘Vision 2030’, Gulf Air’s strategy is to build an efficient, commercially sustainable and dynamic airline that effectively serves the people and the economy of Bahrain and represents the Kingdom on the world stage. Reflecting the needs and aspirations of its customers, the strategy focuses on three core areas: a targeted, more focused international network; a superior, more consistent product; and a modern, more efficient fleet that will optimize value. Gulf Air’s goal reflects a commitment to the latest aviation technology complemented by the hallmark Arabian hospitality for which the airline is well known. 

Gulf Air is the official sponsor of the 2013 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.