Gulf Airways Airlines

  About Gulf Air

Gulf Air is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain with its headquarters located in Muharraq. The airline operates services to connect to about 52 destinations across 28 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Gulf Air's main hub is Bahrain International Airport. The airline is the official sponsor of a slew of events including the Bahrain Grand Prix as well as Bahrain International Airshow. Initially, the airline was jointly owned by Bahrain, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar before the Kingdom of Bahrain took over complete ownership of Gulf Air. In 2005, a decision was made to make Emirates of Abu Dhabi withdraw from Gulf Air and instead establish the United Arab Emirates flag carrier Etihad Airways. Gulf Air's operations were changed to a dual-hub based between Bahrain and Muscat (Oman) airports. Despite the omission of the United Arab Emirates from the picture, Gulf Air continued to extend its appreciation and support to the said Middle East nation. Claiming how the country has been quite supportive and thanking them for the contribution for more than 35 years.

Gulf Air's large customer base is derived from Abu Dhabi, and hence, the airline has reserved special flights to Abu Dhabi as well as Muscat. This act has further strengthened Gulf Air's network. In 2007, Gulf Air saw another tremendous management switch as the government of Bahrain claimed complete ownership of the airline following the withdrawal of Oman to focus on its flag carrie3r, Oman Air. The change in ownership brought forth a second restructuring program to cease the losses it had been facing a whopping USD 1 million in a day. While Gulf Air's battles in the management continued, in terms of operations, they introduced a non-stop daily direct flight to London Heathrow Airport in 2007. Following the autonomy of falling just under the government of Bahrain instead of varied partners as investors, Gulf Air started acquiring many aircraft to expand its fleet and to enhance its domestic and international routes. They took in a bunch of Boeing flights as well as Airbus A319s and A330-200s as part of their expansion strategy.

Further, as part of the restructuring plans, Gulf Air introduced its Falcon Gold cabin, basically a premium cabin that combined the business and first-class. The same came into existence in 2010 and offered higher standards of comfort during transit. The airline also made a few changes in the cabin's amenities to bring forth world-class services and make it perfect for premium fliers. Despite working on several methods to expand the business, Gulf Air has been recorded to be a loss-making venture, owing to the political unrest in the country of Bahrain. Further, the airline also changed its approach to become a boutique airline, making it stand out from its competition. Basically, as a boutique airline, the focus for the airline is on lifestyle and branding that fall in the lines of upscale hospitality. The experiences offered by Gulf Air are no short of luxury.

Fleet size of Gulf Air

Gulf Air is known to accommodate a fleet of 34 aircraft, as of 2020. The airline only has Airbus and Boeing as part of its fleet. They have about 27 aircraft of Airbus family while seven aircraft manufactured by Boeing. Currently, the airline has Airbus A321ER, Airbus A320-200, Airbus A320ER, Boeing 787-9, Airbus A320Neo and Airbus A320DNeo. In the past, Gulf Air did accommodate a slew of aircraft from various manufacturers. However, with tremendous changes in expansion strategies, the airline now only has Airbus and Boeing.

Gulf Air Baggage Allowance

Gulf Air's baggage allowance varies from the ticket fare family and the possible airline membership. Falcon Gold, which is part of Gulf Air's frequent flyer plan, allow two checked baggage which can weigh no more than 32 kg each. This means travellers who are using the Falcon Gold are allowed to carry a total of 64 kg, which can be divided into two pieces of luggage. Travellers who are going from the economy are allowed to carry not more than 23 kg. The airline accommodates two pieces of luggage which add to a total of 46 kg. These provisions are only available for Falcon frequent flyers. The baggage allowance for economy class is perfect for those who are travelling on budget tickets. In case there is additional checked-in baggage, you will need to purchase at the airport's World Wide Contact Centre. You can also purchase on the website of Gulf Air as they also have some extra details about the deal. Despite the standards set by the airline, the rules and protocols do have some exceptions. These exceptions can be found on the official website of Gulf Air.

As for the cabin baggage, the rules applied include 9 kg weight for Falcon Gold members and 6 kg for Economy passengers. The airline allows one bag out of which Falcon Gold gets an additional small bag which could be a handbag or a briefcase or a laptop bag. However, the dimensions of the cabin baggage must be adhered to as they need to fit in the overhead bin and under the seat space. For Falcon Gold, the airline allows dimensions of 55 x 40 x 30 cm. Meanwhile, the dimensions for economy bags are 45 x 40 x 30 cm. Gulf Air does offer a deal where additional personal items, including a purse, laptop, umbrella, reading book, etc., are permitted in the cabin. The airline has also shared a list of personal items that can be carried in the cabin baggage for free. These include a crutch, an overcoat, a blanket, a laptop, pocketbook or handbag, bag with camera, pair of binoculars, reading matter and more. Travellers with infants also get some perks as they can carry additional bags with baby products for changing, feeding and more.

Gulf Air In-flight services

Gulf Air's in-flight services are quite amazing as they cater to the cabin class with good hospitality. They recently came up with a brand new flatbed for their premium class cabins. The reclining seats also have features such as built-in massage. Further, you can put on the noise-cancelling headsets that are available with the seat. Tune out the noise around you and enjoy the unlimited entertainment that the airline has to the office with its 22-inch screen. The beds are large and can extend up to accommodate 6 ft, tall individuals. The in-flight meals are complimentary for premium members. This also includes a priority for check-in and boarding. Not to mention how the airline also enables access to the passengers to their lounges. The economy class seats are also quite comfortable. They provide decent legroom and recline. The airline also offers a personal entertainment system for all passengers to have a good time. They do have a slew of entertaining content that one can enjoy. You can pick any content from their screen and put on the headset to be entertained during the flight.

Interestingly, Gulf Air's in-flight services include a Sky Nanny, for travellers with infants. The sky nanny would take care of your children on board and keep them entertained, so they do not disturb the other passengers in the flight. The meals provided on the flight come from Gulf Air's multi-award winning catering service, Sky Chef. The airline offers a slew of meals on their menu that one can pick from. This ranges from non-vegetarian to vegan food. You can pre-book the meals ahead of the flight on their official website. The airline's Boeing Dreamliner 787 is the most exquisite aircraft in their fleet. The Falcon Gold cabin, as well as the Economy class cabin, are both gifted with impeccable interiors and great facilities at the same time. Some of the in-flight services in Gulf Air's Dreamliner include 22-inch of an entertainment system with power supply attached to the seats. They also have a decent seat pitch for the first class as well as the economy class that would enable a comfortable journey for the passengers.

Popular routes and top cities for Gulf Air

As of 2020, Gulf Air connects to 52 international cities sprawled across 28 countries. The airline is well-connected and has services to quite a few domestic routes and international routes. These include Africa, Europe and Asian continents. Cairo, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Dublin, Amman, Rome, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Nairobi, Muscat, Karachi, Manila, Moscow, Doha, Colombo, Istanbul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok and London. The airline's airport lounge is also prevalent in three of the international airports including, Dubai, Bahrain and London-Heathrow.

Why travel by Gulf Air?

Gulf Air's phenomenal flight connectivity to the cities in three continents is what makes it a perfect choice for travellers. The airline has exemplary connectivity with several Middle Eastern cities and sees a strong flight activity in the domestic routes and international routes. Not to mention how the airline's website has also been upgraded to cater to some of the needs of the travellers. You can book your Gulf Air flight online and even get a web check-in done for efficiency. The flight status and Gulf Air's flight schedules are also present on the website as well as other travel portals.