Gulf Air has signed off the transfer of its entire line maintenance to sister company Gulf Aircraft Maintenance (GAMCO), and is beginning to replace its Boeing 767s with new Airbus A330-200s.
The agreement to transfer the airline's worldwide line maintenance operation to GAMCO is part of an effort to drive down costs and improve punctuality. GAMCO will continue to perform the work under Gulf Air's JAR 121 certificate.
According to Walter Van West, Gulf Air's vice-president of finance, strategy and information technology, almost all of the airline's 450 maintenance staff will be transferred to GAMCO, in which Gulf Air holds a 40% stake. "Around 250 will be transferred directly, 150 will be seconded to the new GAMCO Bahrain maintenance base, and 50 will remain with the airline," says Van West.
Initially, GAMCO Bahrain will take over a two-bay hangar used by Gulf Air. In early 2001, it will move into a new $80 million four-bay maintenance facility being built at the airline's Bahrain hub (Flight International, 17-23 February).
Van West says the move will improve the airline's service levels and reduce costs, although he concedes that costs will not be at the level originally hoped for.
Meanwhile, Gulf Air has begun to overhaul its long haul fleet with the delivery of the first of six firmly ordered A330-200s. Four Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered A330s will be delivered this year and two next year. The airline had hoped to phase out its five A340-300s as the new aircraft arrive.
"We have not yet been able to find any takers, so the plan is instead to return two 767-300ERs to [owner] R-R this year, and maybe two next," says Van West.
Gulf Air intends to take up its six A330-200 options so that, by 2002, it has 12 in service, along with no more than three A340-300s.
In the meantime, the A340s will undergo a cabin reconfiguration which will increase capacity by 10%, to 293 passengers, for services to Asia.
Source: Flight International
