Bahrain carrier sees opportunities with revamped network, chief executive Jeffrey Goh explained to Ian Taylor
Gulf Air is looking to increase services to and from London by up to 30% following a review of its network.
The flag carrier of Bahrain, Gulf Air currently operates twice a day from London Heathrow, but group chief executive Jeffrey Goh revealed: “London is in [our] planning for an additional frequency.”
However, the airline will need additional slots at Heathrow and the delivery of new aircraft on order before announcing a start date for additional frequencies.
Goh told Travel Weekly: “There are two key dependencies. One is access to slots. Heathrow is congested, [so] Gatwick is an alternative. We would prefer Heathrow, but we understand the challenges. We would not be the first to operate from Gatwick.
“[But] we also depend on aircraft availability. That is a chronic challenge – more the availability of spare engines. Ideally, in London we should increase capacity by 30%.”
He noted: “There are probably 600-700 aircraft grounded today due to lack of engines or spare parts.”
Two of Gulf Air’s fleet of 10 Boeing 787s are on the ground and have been for some time.
Goh, who took over as head of Gulf Air Group at the end of 2022, has completed a review of the carrier’s network. He explained: “We spent the first half of this year looking at network proposals and what of the existing network makes sense.
“The network goes back 40-50 years, and Gulf Air wasn’t well connected to financial centres or leisure markets.
“We’ve also looked at destinations where we’ve been a bit thin. One is Singapore, which operated three times a week. It’s a key business and leisure market.” Gulf Air began daily services to and from Singapore at the end of October.
Goh noted “connection to business cities is key” and said: “We’ll gradually recalibrate the network map. Destinations that don’t fit will fall away and we’ll announce new destinations up to 2028.”
He said: “This will produce a more sustainable network.
“We recently launched Shanghai and Munich, leisure markets we can connect to the Maldives. We’re looking to add frequencies to Delhi and Mumbai. By 2028, we’ll see more connections to Asia and to Europe and some centres in Africa. We’ll also maintain our strength to religious centres.”
He is also hopeful of launching services to the US soon, most likely to New York JFK, to which Gulf Air last flew in 1997. The US and Bahrain signed an initial agreement in 2023 and the Federal Aviation Administration and Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority have subsequently carried out a safety review.
Goh said: “We would be delighted if we’re able to connect Bahrain to the US.”
He believes Gulf Air can also benefit from the rapid economic development and social transformation of neighbour Saudi Arabia.
Goh said: “The developments in Saudi Arabia are like an incoming tide. We see a great opportunity to raise all boats. No doubt as Saudi Arabia grows the rest of the region will grow.”
Gulf Air was at one time the flag carrier for the UAE and Qatar as well as Bahrain. Now it faces competition from regional giants Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
But Goh insisted: “The pie is big enough for us to have a slice of the market. We have disciplined ambitions on growth. We recognise the competition is tough, but we have points we think the public appreciate.
“Our prices are competitive, [and] as we add frequencies, we’re putting promotional fares out. We’re working to upgrade our service on board, and our Boeing 787 business class is a luxury experience – a first-class product on a business class basis.”
The carrier has the benefit of a new hub airport in Bahrain, which has been operational for more than two years, and Goh describes as “modern, sleek and seamless”.
The airport is designed to operate with a minimum connection time of 60 minutes, but “it can be less’.”
He notes: “We’re a whisper away from carrying 10 million passengers a year and 70% are transfer passengers.
Having completed the network review, he said: “We better understand our fleet requirements.”
The carrier took delivery of 12 new aircraft in the last 12 months and has nine Airbus A320s on order for delivery by 2028. Goh said Gulf needs these “very soon” to maintain stable operations and expand. But he suggested “there is no urgency” to renewing the carrier’s fleet, saying: “It’s important to consider the supply chain challenges.”