Gulf Air is close to finalising its alliance strategy and could soon be under evaluation by Star Alliance. A source close to the United Airlines/Lufthansa-led grouping says a team is likely to arrive at the airline's Bahrain headquarters next month to carry out an audit ahead of accession talks.
Gulf Air's network alliance manager Adam Philips says the airline has been in talks with Star, but adds that it is still in close contact with Oneworld, with which it has a number of codeshares. John Butler, Gulf Air's vice-president of sales and marketing, outlined the airline's urgent plans for joining a global alliance last week and Star admits the Gulf region is an area in which it is "very interested" in finding a new member airline. Star is understood to have also discussed membership with Emirates and Qatar Airways, before narrowing the choice down to Gulf Air, despite having extensive codesharing agreements with Qatar Airways.
Source: Flight International
