Gulf Air ‘aiming for expansion’

The chief executive of Gulf Air has said that the carrier aims to increase its passenger numbers as part of a major expansion plan.

The chief executive of Gulf Air has said that the carrier aims to increase its passenger numbers as part of a major expansion plan.

Bjorn Naf told Gulf News Quarterly Financial Review magazine that the airline hopes to double its fleet to 60 aircraft in the next five to six years, making it the third biggest carrier in terms of passenger numbers, after Emirates and Qatar.

“We have improved seat load factor, yield, reliability and punctuality. We have cut a lot of losses and we have increased productivity. We currently have 42 destinations and we are looking at three to four new destinations every year,” he remarked.

It has also been announced this week that Gulf Air has adopted the Aviation Quality Database, the first in the world to combine quality and assurance auditing with flight, cabin maintenance and ground safety occurrence reporting.

Mr Naf said the airline wants to maintain best industry practices and the technology should help it to do so.

Gulf Air offers transport to a number of destinations, including flights to Thailand, India and Dubai.