Tag Archives: Gulf Air

Emirates and Gulf Air launch codeshare partnership

Emirates and Gulf Air signed a unilateral codeshare partnership, starting this December*. The new agreement will offer easy connections and expanded choices for Gulf Air customers connecting to Dubai and onwards to a host of Emirates destinations across Europe, Africa, South America and the Far East. The agreement was signed on the first day of the Bahrain Airshow, signalling a growing relationship between both airlines following on the framework of cooperation established last year.  The agreement was signed by Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline and Gulf Air’s Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed Al Alawi in the presence of H.E. Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani, Gulf Air’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. The signing ceremony was also attended by members of each airline’s executive management teams. The expanded partnership will see Gulf Air place their marketing code “GF” on Emirates operated flights beyond Dubai to a selection of some of the most attractive global tourism hotspots, offering new holiday options for Gulf Air customers. Travellers will be able to connect to points including Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Algeria, Tunis, Bali, Hanoi, HoChi Minh City, Taipei and Sao Paulo. The new codeshare agreement’s mix of unique points comes as travellers from the GCC have become more well-informed, value-driven and savvy, increasingly looking for new, diverse experiences and attractions beyond their traditional holiday destinations. The new partnership will also offer customers the convenience of combined ticketing and check-in, a unified policy and seamless transfers for baggage, and competitive single fares on a multi-airline journey when connecting on Emirates. Customers can book their travel on Gulf Air’s website, through Gulf Air point of sales and online travel agencies as well as with local travel …

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Gulf Air and Ras Al Khaimah International Airport Sign on Commencement of Services to Ras Al Khaimah

Gulf Air in co-ordination with Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RAK International Airport), will commence schedule services to Ras Al Khaimah on 3rd October 2022. The service will commence with a view to establish a year-round scheduled operation between the two airports connecting the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah beyond Bahrain to regional and international destinations on Gulf Air’s global network. The signing ceremony took place at Gulf Air Headquarters in Bahrain, represented by Chairman to the Board of Directors of Gulf Air H.E. Mr Zayed R. Alzayani, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport’s Chairman H.E. Eng. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi, RAK Airport’s CEO Mr. Atanasios Titonis, and RAK’s CEO of Tourism Development Authority Mr. Raki Phillips; including Executive Management members from both companies. Commenting on the signing H.E. Mr Zayed R. Alzayani said, “As the region’s leading boutique carrier with a global footprint, we look forward to adding Ras Al Khaimah to our network of seaside destinations and increasing our UAE points to three (3) with Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Today we signed on the commencement of services to proceed with operations to Ras Al Khaimah, and I am confident our passengers will be impressed with all the facilities and services Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has to offer”. As for Captain Waleed AlAlawi, he commented, “We are delighted to add Ras Al Khaimah as third destination on our growing UAE network, and we would like to recognise and thank the proactive cooperation with Ras Al Khaimah International Airport as we provide our passengers with a new destination known for its quality tourism appeal and attracts tourists from the …

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Gulf Air introdocues Apple pay on the airline’s mobile app

Gulf Air recently introduced Apple Pay on the airline’s Mobile application. Gulf Air customers can now easily book a ticket on the airline’s application without the need of remembering or typing their credit card details, as the new feature allows them to process the payment by easily using Face ID to authorize the transaction. Commenting on this new service, Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi said “This new feature is one of a series of initiatives that we are working on as part of our roadmap for the Gulf Air app. One of our biggest objectives is to provide our customers with convenience and ease to interact with us across all our touch points. The Gulf Air app allows our customers to select their flights, choose their seats and purchase excess baggage among other features; and now with Apple Pay, they can pay for all of that in one easy and quick step”. Captain AlAlawi continued “The Apple Pay initiative was planned and carried out entirely by a team of Bahraini digital, IT and finance experts, and we are proud that such initiatives are managed end to end by Bahraini youth. We encourage our employees to trust their skills and knowledge, and we will continue to invest in developing those skills and training them to enable them to handle bigger projects in the future”. Gulf Air is embarking on an ambitious digital transformation that is aimed at modernizing the airline’s technology ecosystem. Customer centricity sets at the core of Gulf Air’s digital transformation strategy that will reinforce the airline’s position in the market as a five star major airline by allowing it to provide a boutique and personalized passenger …

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Gulf Air launches flights to Rome

Gulf Air announced the launch of its services to Rome with two direct weekly flights between Bahrain International Airport and Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. The national carrier held a celebratory lunch in Rome which was attended by numerous VIPs that included Mr. Manlio Di Stefano Undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ambassador of Bahrain to Italy Dr. Nasser Al Balooshi, H.E. Ms. Paola Amadei Ambassador of Italy to Bahrain, H.E. Sheikh Azzam Mubarak Sabah Al-Sabah Ambassador of Kuwait to Italy, H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Salim bin Mohamed Baomar Ambassador of Oman to Italy, Mr. Paolo Campinoti CEO of PRAMAC, Mr. Federico Scriboni Head of Business Development Aviation at Aeroporti di Roma; among other dignitaries that attended the event. The luncheon also included trade and travel representatives and members of the media. Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented “By launching services to Rome, we are expanding our Italian operations which are complimented by the addition of Milan to our network. Now, we are seamlessly connecting Northern and South Central parts of Italy to the Middle East. Expanding into Europe is part of our strategy, and launching Rome will offer our customers the best network of destinations through the fastest hub in the region. Passengers will be able to enjoy excellent connectivity through Rome, while enjoying the great services and hospitality of the most family-friendly airline out there.” Captain AlAlawi also thanked the attendees for their support of the expansion of Gulf Air in Italy, appreciating their efforts in launching the new route. Rome has always been a popular destination among tourists for its history and heritage besides as a shopping destination, not …

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Gulf Air resumes flight services to Milan

Gulf Air started its services to the Italian city of Milan. The maiden flight left Bahrain International Airport on June 01 inaugurating the airline’s direct and indirect operations to Italy’s second largest city. On this occasion, the national carrier held a celebratory lunch in Milan which was attended by numerous VIPs that included H.E. Ambassador of Bahrain to Italy Dr. Nasser Al Balooshi, H.E. Ms. Paola Amadei Ambassador of Italy to Bahrain, Mr. Andrea Tucci Head of Business Development Aviation at SEA – Milan Airport; among other dignitaries that attended the event. The luncheon also included trade and travel representatives and members of the media. Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented “Milan is one of the EU’s and the world’s major financial and business centres. From finance to fashion, from designer automobiles to discerning music, from architecture to art; the city of Milan is undeniably one of the most popular destinations in Europe attracting millions of visitors every year. By launching services to Milan we are not only opening new doors of trade and tourism opportunities this city offers to the people and businesses of Bahrain and the region; but also bringing new commercial and other opportunities to Bahrain, the gateway of the Arabian Gulf and beyond.” Captain AlAlawi also thanked the attendees for their support of the expansion of Gulf Air in Italy, appreciating their efforts in launching the new route. Milan is the capital of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. An international and cosmopolitan city, the city remains one of Europe’s main transportation and industrial hubs, and Milan is one of the most important centres for business in the …

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Gulf Air participates in the Formula 1 Stc Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Gulf Air participated in the Formula 1 stc Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 25-27 March. The national carrier hosted its VIP guests, partners and travel agents at its Paddock Club at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Gulf Air Acting CEO, Captain Waleed Al-Alawi, praised the organization and the quality of performance that he witnessed in the race, adding, “We were pleased to welcome our customers in the Saudi market, which is of special importance to Gulf Air. As the official sponsor of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, which was the inaugural race of the Formula 1 season in 2022, we are pleased with the success of the stc Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, especially in view of our strong relationship with the Saudi market and our partners in it, and the long historical relations linking the Kingdom of Bahrain with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Congratulations to Saudi Arabia for another successful race, and we wish Formula 1 more success in the future.” At the 2022 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Bahrain, and for the second Formula 1 race in a row, Gulf Air performed a low-emission flypast over the Bahrain International Circuit. Gulf Air is the official sponsor of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix since its historic launch in Bahrain in April 2004 as the first ever Formula 1 race in the Middle East; and has been contributing to the success of this sporting and social event and ensuring its excellence at all levels.  

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Gulf Air signs strategic agreement with Sabre to help power recovery and drive revenue

Sabre Corporation and Gulf Air have reaffirmed their long standing relationship with an expanded, multi-year agreement. Under the renewed agreement, Gulf Air will continue to use Sabre’s passenger service system (PSS) SabreSonic to help power its digital transformation, provide a seamless traveller experience, and drive revenue growth. The PSS is designed to automate sales and reservations with enhanced functionalities that can help provide increased revenue opportunities by tailoring offers to meet the needs of travellers and help create an efficient airport experience. Gulf Air has also renewed a suite of solutions that will help ensure the airline’s operational efficiency and help incremental revenue opportunities through advanced fares management, schedule and network optimization and state-of-the-art revenue management. The agreement has also been expanded to include Sabre’s Dynamic Availability tool. A key building block for personalized retailing, the dynamic pricing engine will allow Gulf Air to identify ways to unlock greater value. “We’re delighted to reaffirm our relationship with Sabre and leverage its technology to further support our strategic plans,” said Captain Waleed Al Alawi, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Air. “We are currently undergoing a major transformation to upscale our technology strategy, advance operational efficiencies and improve traveller experience. As we move into recovery, we are confident that the flexible and intelligent nature of Sabre solutions, including SabreSonic, will enable us to be more efficient and offer a modern retail experience that enables personalized travel at scale, increases growth opportunities and allows us to create a differentiated brand experience in a highly competitive environment.” Sabre’s high performance, flexible PSS enables Sabre’s valued partners to realize increased growth opportunities through merchandising, codeshare agreements and alliance partners, plus cost savings from better …

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Gulf Air resumes flights to Tbilisi thrice a week

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain resumed its direct operations to Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia starting with 3 weekly flights from 15 July 2021. On this occasion, Captain Waleed Abdulhameed AlAlawi, Acting Chief Executive Officer, said “We have been operating direct flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Georgia since 2017 and it is one of the airline’s main destinations in the Caucasus region. We are extremely happy to see a much healthier trend in summer traffic and the resumption of some of our most popular destinations as the global vaccination program continues to bring a sense of normalcy back into our routine.” The airline currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Casablanca, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul, Larnaca, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Dhaka, Colombo, the Maldives and several destinations in India and Pakistan. The airline has also successfully launched all of its seasonal destinations for the summer of 2021 with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. Recently, Gulf Air announced offering complimentary COVID-19 travel insurance coverage to all ticket holders including health and quarantine expenses in the unexpected circumstances of being diagnosed with or contracting COVID-19 during passengers’ journeys. All tickets booked, including redemption tickets, on Gulf Air flights for travel until 10 November 2021 are automatically covered with COVID-19 insurance at no extra cost. All passengers, according to the newly announced insurance policy and in the unfortunate event of being diagnosed with COVID-19 while traveling abroad, will be covered for repatriation assistance, medical and hospitals costs abroad as well as quarantine accommodation …

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Gulf Air restores 80% of pre-pandemic destinations

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, begins the summer season with 80% of its pre-pandemic destinations as it continues to resume operations and restore services to cities of its original 2019 destination network. The airline has also announced that it has successfully launched all of its seasonal destinations for the summer of 2021 with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt as well as recently resuming Tbilisi in Georgia. The airline currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Casablanca, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Larnaca, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Dhaka, Colombo, the Maldives and several destinations in India and Pakistan. Commenting on this network restoration milestone, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented: “We at Gulf Air are very excited and proud to restore 80% of our 2019 destinations network amidst the restrictions and continuous updates from each and every destination we fly to. The national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain never stopped flying during the peak of the pandemic making it one of the most experienced and safest airlines to fly during these times and today we are growing closer to our full network”. He added: “We are working on frequencies and connectivity to offer more choices and more convenience to our passengers and we are confident that the months ahead will feature more milestones and success stories to tell”. Recently, Gulf Air announced the launch of point to point flights beyond its Bahrain International Airport hub allowing the airline to expand its operations to new destinations as well as …

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Saudi Arabian Airlines and Gulf Air ink codeshare for summer

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) and Gulf Air held talks to discuss their close commercial relationships and explore ways to build on the ties by establishing a codeshare agreement. Being the first two airlines that started operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, SAUDIA and Gulf Air will cooperate to expand their footprints regionally and internationally by sharing their codes and offering guests the signature warmth of Arabian hospitality. The codeshare will further enhance seamless travel options for passengers of SAUDIA and Gulf Air, providing wider choices of domestic destinations in Saudi Arabia and other international destinations across each airline’s network. SAUDIA will place its ‘SV’ code on Gulf Air flights from Bahrain to Riyadh, Jeddah, Tbilisi, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Baku, and Multan. On the other hand, the agreement will see Gulf Air place its ‘GF’ code on SAUDIA flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Bahrain, Abha, Jizan, Yanbu, Aljouf, Ha’il, as well as Tunis–Carthage airports. These codeshare operations will commence from the upcoming summer schedule of 2021. Commenting on the partnership, Captain Ibrahim S. Koshy, CEO SAUDIA Air Transport Company, said, “SAUDIA and Gulf Air are key partners in connecting guests on each carriers’ diverse route networks. Both airlines have a long history of partnership, in which this expanded codeshare agreement further enhances connectivity, convenience and flexibility for travelers.” For his part, Captain Waleed AlAlawi, Acting Chief Executive OfficerActing Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air said, “The relationship between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been strong on many fronts, and aviation is one of them. Gulf Air and SAUDIA are the pioneer airlines in the GCC with over 70 years of legacy. We look …

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