Gulf Air is making a major splash at Paris in a bid to re-establish itself as a major player in the Middle East and to put its Bahrain airport hub on the map. "We're here to show Gulf Air is here to stay and go forward and mean business," was the strong message from chief executive Bjorn Naf yesterday.
Naf made two further announcements an order for auxiliary power units and a ticketing deal with French rail operator SNCF on top of Gulf Air's Monday order for Rolls-Royce Trent engines. "We are clearly showing a strong signal about our future plans," said Naf.
Gulf Air is beginning a huge refleeting programme, with large orders for Airbus A320s and A330s and Boeing 787s, and undertaking a commercial turnaround programme to return it to profitability.
The carrier originally intended to take its first 787s in 2016, but neither Naf nor Boeing can confirm the delivery schedule at present.
The show announcements saw Gulf Air and Honeywell seal a $8 million deal for the carrier to take 15 131-9A APUs and a maintenance programme for the units. They will be fitted to Gulf Air's fleet of new A320s.
Naf also said that Gulf Air has signed a codeshare deal with SNCF, which will enable passengers to transfer seamlessly between the two modes of transport at Paris to 19 destinations throughout France.
- All the latest news, images and video from the Paris Air Show
Source: Flight Daily News
