Gulf Air, owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain, is planning to strengthen its presence by adding more destinations in the far east and Middle East and also by enhancing its fleet over the next couple of years. The carrier has recently placed orders for 16 Boeing 787 with Boeing Co with an option to purchase 8 more Boeings and for 35 aircraft with Airbus. The current fleet of Gulf Air consists of 30 aircraft.
Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Captain Christopher Cain, chief operating officer of the company said, ?we have signed deals with the companies for purchase of the aircraft. Apart from this, we are also taking 7 aircraft including A330s, A319s and A321s, on long-term lease, to strengthen the fleet. In fact, two A321s have already been taken on lease, two A319s should come in within the next 2 months, while the A330s should get added to the fleet by April, May next year. And if there is a delay in delivery by Boeing or Airbus, the number of leased aircraft will go up,? he said.
The company intends to retire some of the existing aircraft and replace them with the new ones which are being purchased and use the balance for growth strategy. The overall investment of the company in purchasing the aircraft is about $11 billion. He was in the city to announce the launch of Gulf Air?s services to Hyderabad.
He said, ?India is a favoured destination and an important market for the company. Hyderabad is the eighth Indian destination where the company has launched its services. We already operate to Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Trivandrum.??
??We hope to expand our relationship by adding two more destinations in India within a year. The company likes to operate to places like Calicut, Amritsar and Ahmedabad, provided the Indian government gives its approval. Gulf Air will operate daily between Bahrain and Hyderabad with business and economy class. The sector will be served by an Airbus A320-300,? he said.
