Gulf Air

[Guest]

Im flying to Bkk from London with Gulf Air in early May,just wondered if anybody has flown with them,flight is via Bahrain with almost 4 hour stopover,im flying buisness class so the stopover wont be a problem as i believe they have a good lounge in Bahrain and also have a lounge in Bkk for the return trip. i would appreciate any info.

[stogie bear]

I've used Gulf Air... No problems, but Bahrain airport is dull, unless you like shopping for sweets!

If you are in business then you'll have no problems. (Good food, btw.)

[Guest]

As stoogie says you wont have any problems flying with Gulf Air, they're a great airline. If you are flying into Bahrain it would be worthwhile staying over for a few days to break up your long journey. Bahrain is one of the more liberal and less extrem of the Arabic states, it even has an enticing bar scene of sorts !

[dhz]

Gulf Air is a good airline, you will see it on the ranking.
The Bahrain airport is very small and there are 4 hours very long than and get boring.
When I flight back to Europe with this airline there they had technical problems. Before take off they had to tie up and provisionally close up the airplane door opposit of my seat. And the seats around there  were closed for passengers. But at the end was this adventure flight  a safe trip.

[katoeylover]

Good airline, used them many times in both Business and economy.

The problem is they are using older Airbus 340's on the Bahrain/Bangkok route. In business this means those old armchair things, no flat beds. so now i use Qatar. Much better.

Also been hearing good things about Etihad.

[Guest]

End of february, i checked GulfAir from Bangkok to Paris. My trip spended 56 hours because of overbooking in Bangkok and 7 hours late in Bahrain. And more, my seat was broken in the jet Bangkok-Bahrain, no other seat available in business. Never more I check GulfAir.
I travel four times a year in Thailand, going from airport to Obsession or Cascades one night and living Patong after.

[MARKUK]

i have used all the middle east airlines regularly used to use Gulf never had a problem, now i tend to use Emirates or Qatar as the planes are newer and quality a bit better.

[janabiyah]

I have flown with Gulf Air many times.

It is pretty sure that something will be wrong with your seat, either the sound system, overhead light or backrest. For sure you will find something wrong.

Their pricing is currently way off. It is cheaper to fly London Bahrain with Ethiad or Qatar than Gulfair.

They opened a direct link to Dublin and are in the process of closing it. Looks like they assumed Irish people would pay over 1000 euros for the privelege of flying direct from Dublin when for half that price they can go via London.

Unfortunately the Airline is owned by the Government, so strategy and policy decisions are beyond the comprehension of western logic.

Expect this airline to go private or go bust in the next few years.

[rxpharm]

Gulf Air is not owned just by one country, but a few of the Persian Gulf states.

If I remember correctly the major players are Bahrain and Oman. The UAE used to be a major shareholder, but pulled out when they started Etihad, the official airline of the UAE. This was a major impact on the financial status of Gulf Air. It was never really efficiently managed even before this, but was subsidized by the 3 players - but mostly by the UAE, since it was the richest of the major players.

It is no surprise to hear some problems coming out regarding the maintenance as they look for ways to save money and reduce loses.

It is likely that it will go bankrupt, and Etihad would be poised to absorb the routes, planes and staff to expand more.

[Guest]

I wonder if any crazy pro-Western Civilization groups have considered blowing up a middle east owned airline?

[Guest]

I think i agree,,Gulf are are on the way out,as janabiyah says they have closed the Dublin route from end june and are also closing their stations at Johannesburg, hong kong and Sydney will also be closing soon.I asked the original question about GF and have flown with then since i asked. To be honest i would not use them again for fear of closure but also service was not great,I flew buisness class from Dublin via Bahrain,food was great but otherwise nothing special for the fare of almost 2600 euro,On bah-Bkk leg of journey really old aircraft where buiss class wasnt much better than econ.I work in the airline industry in the middle east and the whispers in the buisness is that they are on the way out.

[janabiyah]

Yes, this is also another interesting piece of non logic. Most airlines have finally figured out that the majority of passengers in First and Business class are actually Airline staff, such as Gerry, traveling on hugely discounted fares.

So the actual revenue and profit generated by this is probably in negative territory

That is why the new super efficient airlines like Ryan air etc only have one class, economy.

Gulf Air even have a chef in first class who cooks exotic meals for First class passengers, mostly airline staff or friends on freebies.

Another part of the incompatible business logic.