Gulf Air : GF : GFA

Le compagnie aérienne de Bahreïn Gulf Air a déclaré dimanche qu'elle pourrait renégocier des commandes avec Airbus et Boeing.
La compagnie aérienne, propriété du fonds souverain bahreïni Mumtalakat, a vu se succéder depuis 2002 trois directeurs généraux pour tenter de la faire renouer avec le bénéfice.
Ouverte à une fusion avec d'autres compagnies aériennes, elle a supprimé des emplois et réajusté son réseau après qu'Abu Dhabi, le Qatar et Oman ont cédé leurs parts.
Le tout nouveau directeur général Samer Majali a dit à Reuters que la compagnie "honorera les termes du contrat" avec les constructeurs mais elle pourrait négocier une révision du nombre d'appareils commandés, ainsi que leur taille.
"Au vu de notre nouveau réseau, nous engagerons des discussions avec nos constructeurs", a-t-il dit, ajoutant: "Il y aura vraisemblablement des discussions (sur une révision des commandes en cours) si les besoins de notre flotte diffèrent grandement de notre carnet de commandes actuel".
Gulf Air a 35 Airbus et 24 Boeing en commande.

La flotte de Gulf Air rajeunit. La compagnie de Bahreïn a annoncé qu’elle avait reçu le premier Airbus A320 de sa nouvelle commande le 10 octobre, son arrivée lançant le programme de renouvellement de sa flotte. Equipé de réacteurs CFM 56, le nouvel A320 est aménagé en configuration biclasse de cent trente-six places, dont seize en classe Affaires.

A partir d’aujourd’hui et jusqu’au mois d’avril, un A320 sera livré chaque mois à la compagnie, puis deux autres seront introduits en décembre 2010. Gulf Air prévoit d’introduire dix nouveaux A320 dans sa flotte d’ici la fin de l’année 2010 et de retirer cinq de ses monocouloirs en service.

Les A320 serviront donc également les projets d’expansion de la compagnie sur le moyen-Orient. Gulf Air se concentre actuellement particulièrement sur l’Irak : elle a inauguré ses vols vers Bagdad le 1er septembre, Najaf a suivi fin septembre et Erbil fera son entrée au programme de vols le 25 octobre. Bassora et Sulaimaniyah ont aussi été évoquées.

Gulf Air exploite aujourd’hui une flotte composée de deux A319, neuf A320, deux A321, dix A330-200, neuf A340-300 et deux Boeing 777-300ER qui doivent être retournés à Jet Airways en novembre. Elle a commandé quinze A320, vingt A330-300 et vingt-quatre B787-8 dans le cadre du renouvellement.

Parallèlement, la compagnie a annoncé le report du lancement de sa nouvelle liaison vers le Sri Lanka et les Maldives au 17 octobre, en raison du retard des autorités sri-lankaises à fournir les autorisations nécessaires

Middle Eastern carrier Gulf Air is to focus on regional operations, build up its short-haul fleet, and realign its network towards strong connections through Bahrain under three-year restructuring programme.
The Bahrain-based airline has outlined the three-point business plan today as it bids to achieve commercial sustainability in 2012.
Gulf Air has disclosed a need for a "substantial" increase in its narrowbody aircraft fleet, beyond the 15 Airbus A320s recently ordered, but a reduction in widebody types.
It has also revealed that it is looking at introducing regional jets as early as next year.
The carrier has 24 Boeing 787s and 20 Airbus A330s on order. "We are engaging our aircraft manufacturing partners in order to align our current order book with our new strategy," it says.
Gulf Air indicates that it will sell five Airbus A340s and dispose of "certain other aircraft" that it no longer needs.
To refine its network the airline will cut up to 15 routes - among them Shanghai, Hyderabad and Bangalore - in favour of expanding into more than 20 new destinations, to reinforce Bahrain's position as a connecting hub.
Gulf Air also aims to introduce new on-board products, seat arrangements and in-flight entertainment in a bid to offer a superior product to passengers.
Chairman Talal Al Zain says the state-owned carrier has a "clear mandate" to become viable and efficient, adding that it will involve "maximising investment into areas of the business that will offer the best returns while reducing cost in those that don't".
"At the moment Gulf Air currently relies on significant Government support, spending far more than it earns," he adds. "This is clearly unsustainable."
Gulf Air chief Samer Majali says: "For the first time Gulf Air will focus specifically on Bahrain, serving the kingdom with higher frequency, non-stop services to more destinations across three continents."
The transition will be undertaken in two phases: the realignment of the network over the next six to 12 months, followed by growth into new markets and product development in the second and third years.
Majali admits that the plans involve a "significant resizing" of the workforce, and warns: "Some redundancies may be inevitable, in which case we will aim to redeploy individuals elsewhere within the company."
Gulf Air believes the changes will save the Bahraini Government up to BD1 billion ($2.65 billion) in support over the next five years. Al Zain says that, without this programme, the airline will "continue to be an unacceptable burden on the national economy".

Gulf Air's new chief executive has unveiled an "immediate redirection of strategy" for the loss-making Bahraini carrier that will see it focus on short-haul operations and realign its network towards strong connections through its hub under a three-year restructuring programme.
Samer Majali, who took the helm of the airline in July having previously run Royal Jordanian, says that Gulf Air is likely to post an operating loss of 193 million Bahrain dinars ($512 million) for 2009, which he says is equivalent to 28% of Bahrain's deficit.
The airline is seen as a burden on the national economy, a problem that has mounted since Bahrain's government took on sole ownership, and other operators in the region - notably those belonging to Gulf Air's former owner states Abu Dhabi (Etihad Airways) Qatar and Oman - have competed for connecting passengers.

Outlining a three-point business plan, with the target to achieve commercial sustainability in 2012, Majali told Flight International that the airline will simplify its fleet to operate narrowbody types - the Airbus A320 family and a batch of regional jets - to serve main routes, with a number of long-haul aircraft assigned to financial centres. A possible link with one of the global alliances is also a possibility.
The transition will be undertaken in two phases: the realignment of the network over the next six to 12 months, followed by growth into new markets and product development in the second and third years. Majali admits that the plan involves a "significant resizing" of the workforce, but should will save the Bahraini government up to $2.65 billion in support over the next five years.
"The simplified fleet has some technical challenges and high unit costs but, on balance, provides increased flexibility with reduced maintenance and organisational costs, limited total exposure, and would be more attractive to potential commercial partners."
Gulf Air's management considered five restructuring options in its review of the carrier before deciding that nothing short of an extensive overhaul was necessary to make the Bahrain-based airline profitable.
Majali expects to introduce a fleet of eight to 12 regional jets between 2010 and 2012, with the intention to "make an impact" on regional routes. "We'll probably lease some aircraft in on short-term leases to try the concept out," he says.
Gulf Air will use the jets to experiment on routes that have not attracted interest from the major airlines in the area.





"Primary airports are well served, but we have underserved secondary airports," he says.
Majali gained experience with introducing Embraer E-Jets to Royal Jordanian. But he says Gulf Air has not decided on a type, and is in discussions with Bombardier and Embraer.
While he does not rule out the Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet, Majali concedes that this is a longer-term prospect, and he adds that the Bombardier CSeries is a "viable option".
He says that the current fleet - consisting of A320 family aircraft, A330/A340s and leased Boeing 777-300ERs - effectively includes several additional aircraft types because of differing configurations, which made the operation "difficult".
The airline has 15 A320s on backlog and recently began taking delivery of a new batch that it intends will replace some of its older examples.
It plans to increase the A320 order, but is still in discussions about the number of A330s and Boeing 787s it requires - it currently has a backlog of 20 and 24, respectively.
The airline has also indicated that it will sell five of its nine A340-300s and dispose of "certain other aircraft" that it no longer needs.
"The plan is for a larger narrowbody fleet than we have on order and a smaller widebody fleet. We are talking to the aircraft manufacturers about aligning our orderbook with this strategy," says Majali.
The A330s are due for delivery from 2012 and Majali says that they were never envisaged to "operate side by side" with the 787, as the Dreamliner was intended to succeed them.
To refine its network the airline will cut up to 15 routes - among them Shanghai, Hyderabad and Bangalore - in favour of expanding into more than 20 new destinations, to reinforce Bahrain's position as a connecting hub.
Majali concedes that the airline, which was once the Gulf's primary network carrier, is also feeling the squeeze from the region's increasing number of low-fare airlines. He says these carriers have put pressure on ticket prices, while premium traveller numbers have fallen: "Without the relative scale to dominate its markets, Gulf Air must frequently discount to win customers - without even considering differences in product."
Various funding options are being evaluated to support the restructuring, although these do not include a near-term strategic partnership. Majali says that the funding would be "difficult to find internally" and that the airline will probably have to undergo an increase in capital, or seek a regular finance avenue.