Gulf Air : GF : GFA

Gulf Air looks to BA alliance

The struggling Bahraini carrier Gulf Air is keen to join International Airlines Group, the new airline formed by the merger of British Airways (BA) and Spain’s Iberia.

The Bahraini airline has said it would “consider positively” any overture from the new company, which was to be headed by Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA.


Mr Walsh said last week he had drawn up a list of 12 potential consolidation partners as he sought to chart a course to stability and profitability for BA, the embattled UK carrier that had fought competitors, high fuel prices, the global downturn and its own labour union in recent years.

None of the 12 airlines have been identified but many analysts pointed to east Asian and Latin American carriers as being at the top of Mr Walsh’s list.


But among the rumoured companies is the loss-making Gulf Air, which is looking to join an alliance to generate long-haul traffic as it cuts down its own network to focus more on the Middle East.

“Gulf Air has not been approached regarding this initiative. However, it is something the company would consider positively at the appropriate time,” a Gulf Air spokeswoman said.

“A central element of our long-term strategy is to join an alliance, and we are actively looking for a suitable partner to support Gulf Air’s business model and add value to the airline and vice versa.”

Middle Eastern carrier Gulf Air is focusing on three candidates for a permanent regional jet operation, having decided that it needs a type with a higher seating capacity than initially considered.

It is to choose between the Bombardier CSeries, the Embraer E-Jets family, and the Airbus A318 as it looks for aircraft to operate thinner routes with high frequency.Gulf Air chief Samer Majali, speaking to ATI at the Arab Air Carriers Organization event in Cairo last week, said the Bahrain-based airline was "down to the finishing line" in its evaluation.
The airline has opted to introduce regional jets as part of its three-year turnaround programme, which Majali unveiled a year ago.
Gulf Air has already introduced a pair of Embraer 170s and, more recently, a pair of Embraer 190s to test the potential of smaller aircraft.
Majali says the airline is looking at permanent candidates in the 90- to 110-seat range, slightly higher than its previous requirement of fewer than 100 seats.
"We didn't want it to be a one-horse race," he says. The airline is looking for up to 10 aircraft and is aiming to reach a type decision before the end of the year.
Gulf Air is still in discussions with Boeing and Airbus to restructure its mainline fleet order backlog, as part of its effort to concentrate on smaller types, but hopes to conclude talks in a month or so.

Ordless a écrit:Lors de la dernière rencontre de l'Arab Air Carriers Organization, le CEO de GF dévoile qu'il veut des modules 110 sièges.

Cseries, ERJ Embraer et A 318 ! Parions sur Embraer, logiquement, mais avec Gulf Air.... Décision avant l'an prochain; à suivre.

Les arguties valent d'y jeter un œil

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Middle Eastern carrier Gulf Air is focusing on three candidates for a permanent regional jet operation, having decided that it needs a type with a higher seating capacity than initially considered.

It is to choose between the Bombardier CSeries, the Embraer E-Jets family, and the Airbus A318 as it looks for aircraft to operate thinner routes with high frequency.Gulf Air chief Samer Majali, speaking to ATI at the Arab Air Carriers Organization event in Cairo last week, said the Bahrain-based airline was "down to the finishing line" in its evaluation.
The airline has opted to introduce regional jets as part of its three-year turnaround programme, which Majali unveiled a year ago.
Gulf Air has already introduced a pair of Embraer 170s and, more recently, a pair of Embraer 190s to test the potential of smaller aircraft.
Majali says the airline is looking at permanent candidates in the 90- to 110-seat range, slightly higher than its previous requirement of fewer than 100 seats.
"We didn't want it to be a one-horse race," he says. The airline is looking for up to 10 aircraft and is aiming to reach a type decision before the end of the year.
Gulf Air is still in discussions with Boeing and Airbus to restructure its mainline fleet order backlog, as part of its effort to concentrate on smaller types, but hopes to conclude talks in a month or so.

Vu !
Oui, on se demande si Gulf Air va maintenant tourner le dos à Embraer (qui saura faire des gestes commerciaux.... ), pour faire plaisir à Bombardier. Personne n'ose envisager le renversement des premiers choix !

Gulf Air has taken delivery of two more new Airbus A320s, taking the number of new aircraft joining the airline’s fleet to 14 in the last 14 months.

The planes join a fleet that now numbers 34 aircraft.

Samer Majali, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Air, said: “The arrival of these two aircraft successfully completes the first phase of our fleet renewal programme as per schedule.”

“Now more than 40% of our fleet is brand new, demonstrating our dynamic fleet renewal plan, which is a core component of the company's new strategy to create a commercially sustainable business with a strong product offering.

"Besides, having a new, more efficient fleet means we can deliver a better service to our customers and at the same time we can lower our costs’.

Gulf Air appears to cancel eight 787s

Gulf Air appears to be the customer which cancelled an order for eight Boeing 787 aircraft last month.
The airline ordered 16 of the twinjets in January 2008 and supplemented them with a further eight in April 2009.
But Boeing's latest backlog figures show that the 2008 order has been halved to eight of the type, slashing the Bahraini flag-carrier's 787 total from 24 to 16.
Boeing disclosed in June that eight 787s had been removed from its order books, taking total 787 cancellations this year to 20.
Gulf Air could not immediately be reached to confirm the cancellation or to comment.
But the Middle Eastern carrier has been restructuring its fleet in favour of smaller-capacity aircraft, and during the Paris air show selected International Aero Engines powerplants for a batch of six Airbus A320-family twinjets, to be delivered next year

Gulf Air appears to be the customer which cancelled an order for eight Boeing 787 aircraft last month.
The airline ordered 16 of the twinjets in January 2008 and supplemented them with a further eight in April 2009.
But Boeing's latest backlog figures show that the 2008 order has been halved to eight of the type, slashing the Bahraini flag-carrier's 787 total from 24 to 16.

Boeing disclosed in June that eight 787s had been removed from its order books, taking total 787 cancellations this year to 20.
Gulf Air could not immediately be reached to confirm the cancellation or to comment.

But the Middle Eastern carrier has been restructuring its fleet in favour of smaller-capacity aircraft, and during the Paris air show selected International Aero Engines powerplants for a batch of six Airbus A320-family twinjets, to be delivered next year.

Gulf Air cancels eight 787s, continues fleet negotiations

Gulf Air (GF) is in discussions with Airbus and Boeing to change its widebody aircraft order to narrowbodies and reschedule deliveries.

CEO Samer Majali confirmed the carrier reduced its 787 order by eight aircraft earlier this year, which “lessened the company’s liabilities enormously. We expect to achieve further deferrals and changes to the widebody orders,” Majali told ATW during the Arab Air Carriers Organization’s AGM in Abu Dhabi last week.

Majali was appointed CEO in August 2009 to address the carrier’s weak financial condition. His three-year restructuring plan includes finalizing widebody order changes and shifting GF’s network strategy from long-haul routes to a more regionally focused network.

The loss-making carrier embarked on a major fleet acquisition campaign in 2008 and signed contracts for 24 787s, 15 Airbus A320 family aircraft and 20 A330-300s (ATW Daily News, Aug. 25, 2009). Four A330s have been exchanged for 10 A320s/A321s, but negotiations on further changes to the A330 order are taking longer than expected, Majali said. The carrier hopes to have a more concrete announcement at the Bahrain International Airshow next month.

Majali did not go into detail on GF’s plans to order 10 regional jets with either Bombardier or Embraer. “We are looking for regional jets as part of new network strategy,” he said, without confirming or denying reports that the carrier’s shareholder had awarded $328 million regional jet tender to Bombardier. GF added two new Embraer 170s and two E-190s last year (ATW Daily News, Jan. 22, 2010).

Majali said the carrier will not reach its financial targets for 2011 because of the impact of political and social unrest in the region, and specifically in Bahrain. He said passenger numbers dropped by 30% in the second quarter because foreigners avoided Bahrain, and operations to Iran and Iraq were suspended by the government.

“We lost two of our three main markets. We were planning to expand with a further four destinations in 2012, but flights to both countries are still frozen,” he said. To compensate for the lost routes, GF launched several new destinations, including Copenhagen, Rome, Geneva and Nairobi. “Load factors are good but these new routes are not as lucrative as the frozen ones,” Majali said.

GF expects to carry about 5 million passengers this year, on par with 2010 but “yield was down significantly,” he said.

For 2012, Majali expects increases in passengers and yield without sharp fuel price hikes.

“We have to be and are optimistic for next year. We will continue realigning Gulf Air with the strategic interest of Bahrain and providing access to the country and the region,” he said.

Another year; another Gulf Air attempt to haul itself back to profitability. The uncharitable view of prospects for Bahrain's flag-carrier - which once enjoyed a virtual monopoly of hub-and-spoke services in the Middle East - is that it faces a hopeless struggle against three well-funded and fast-expanding network carriers, as well as a host of smaller regional rivals.

As the likes of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have raced to add aircraft and personnel, Gulf Air has struggled to slim its long-haul operations and large workforce enough to return to the black.

A more positive spin might be that under chief executive Samer Majali, the state-owned carrier has been making huge strides towards reinventing itself as a leaner, fitter airline, with one of the youngest fleets in the region - progress that was thrown into reverse in 2011 by the internal unrest in Bahrain which led to the kingdom's visitors and investors departing.

Evidence of Gulf Air's restructuring efforts are likely to be highlighted at the Bahrain air show, with strong indications that the carrier will commit to Bombardier's CSeries as part of a fleet downsizing to smaller, short-haul aircraft.

Although no one is confirming anything, all indicators point to a deal. The Canadian manufacturer is shipping several communications personnel to the show, often a sign that a big announcement is in the offing. A $328 million Bombardier deal was confirmed in an April 2011 release by Bahrain's governmental tender board, while the Canadian manufacturer announced a series of CSeries orders from unnamed customers.

Majali may also use the show to shed more light on the wider strategy. Speaking at the recent Arab Air Carriers Organisation conference in Abu Dhabi, the former Royal Jordanian boss, who joined Gulf Air in 2009, admitted 2011 had been a "difficult year" after the airline had met all its key performance indicators under a three-year restructuring programme in 2010. The objective in 2011 - before the effects of the Arab Spring - had been to cut losses to less than 100 million Bahraini dollars ($265 million).

Majali said that although there were signs of recovery since the summer, "the pace is slow". However, the disruption was a "temporary setback" which had set the profitability timetable back by "just one year".

Gulf Air has already made moves towards reshaping its fleet, by reducing its Boeing 787 order backlog from 24 to 16. At the first Bahrain air show in 2010, it committed to its first Embraer regional jets and now operates two leased E-190s and two E-170s under an eight-year lease. Six Airbus A320s are due to arrive this year.

The airline has also been slimming down its infrastructure. In 2010, it divested its training and maintenance arms into independent, state-run businesses, Gulf Aviation Academy and Gulf Technics.

Gulf Air got directly caught up in the politics of the Arab Spring revolts. A large number of employees were dismissed for "unauthorised absence" during the protests against the government, although 147 were reinstated under a government amnesty last year.

Majali and his colleagues will be hoping to put a ghastly 2011 as far behind them as possible, and that developments announced at the Bahrain air show will mark a significant step in getting what was once the biggest name in Middle East aviation back on financial course.

• Additional reporting by David Kaminski-Morrow in Abu Dhabi