Gulf Air carries more passengers in 2009
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Manama, Bahrain 24 March 2010: Celebrating the airline’s 60th anniversary today National carrier Gulf Air presented to the Board of Directors a report of significantly improved performance across several areas in the year 2010.
On the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of the airline, the Gulf Air Board of Directors met today and wished Gulf Air, its staff and management prosperous and successful years ahead. The members promised their full support and guidance to the airline’s new strategy aimed at making the airline an efficient and commercially sustainable business that effectively serves the people and the economy of Bahrain whilst continuing to represent the Kingdom on the world stage.
The Board of Directors welcomed the three new members- Mr. Adel Maskati, Capt. Ebrahim Al Gaoud and Mr. Hazem Janahi - who joined the Board recently and thanked the outgoing members Mr. Jawad Habib Jawad, Mr. Adel Salman Kanoo and Mr. Mohammed Farouk Almoayyed for their valuable contributions to the airline during their terms especially when the global financial crisis was impacting the air travel industry.
During the meeting, the Board unanimously approved the audited financial results of Gulf Air for the year 2009 presented by the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Samer Majali.
Despite the economic downturn that affected almost all business sectors, particularly air travel, Gulf Air carried around 5.7 million passengers in 2009, which is slightly more than the number of passengers carried in 2008, an indication of customers’ continued preference to Gulf Air as their carrier of choice. The Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) also showed a better performance by registering a 2.1% growth. The overall flight punctuality has also reached 82.5% during the year registering an increase of 12.5% over 2008. Technical Dispatch Reliability has reached 98.1%, well above the industry norms.
Mr Majali also presented a report for January and February 2010 in which the company recorded impressive performance. The airline has made an overall cost-saving of 12.3% – a significant positive performance indicator. The seat factor has also registered a growth of 4.1% for the two months when compared to the same period last year. Technical Dispatch Reliability for two months has reached a commendable 98.8%. The airline has flown 870,000 passengers in these two months.
Mr. Majali said, “The performance results are a positive indication that our new strategy is working well and we are on the right track. We were able to reduce overall cost due to our careful forward planning, prudent cost-saving measures and efficient performance optimization and, of course, a great teamwork.”
He continued, “As we celebrate our Diamond Jubilee year, we are creating an airline for the next 60 years and beyond – an airline that offers excellence in quality and service as well as excellent value. Towards achieving this, we have launched several initiatives in recent months. The introduction of regional jets into our fleet is a major step in this direction, bringing a new dynamics to travel experience in the region; we will be able to offer more regional destinations for our customers while maintaining our leadership position as the best-connecting carrier across the region. ”
“We have also embarked on a comprehensive revamping of our products and services onboard. The introduction of the new premium class, ‘Falcon Gold’ is the first step in our objective to offer our customers a superior and more consistent product and enhanced travel experience across our entire wide and narrow body fleet.”
Mr. Majali also highlighted several other positive developments at Gulf Air. “Our Bahrainisation level has reached 53% and our efforts to encourage and employ more Bahrainis are paying off; the recently launched campaign to recruit Bahrainis for our customer-facing positions has been received well looking at the number of candidates applied. “
“At the same time we are conscious of the financial impact due to the total number of employees we have on our roll. We have started optimising on this front and as a result, we have now around 300 less staff in our strength than last year. We were able to achieve this due to our strict contract-renewal criteria, freeze in recruitment except critical positions, and freezing positions that fall vacant through natural attritions such as resignations and retirements.”
He continued further, “We are moving ahead to empower our employees with newer skills and talents that are needed for Gulf Air in today’s business environment; we have launched a comprehensive customer service training programme across the company so that every employee in the company understands the importance of high quality customer service in our business and gets professionally trained. Other initiatives include the recent recruitment and training of 125 Bahrainis in Gulf Air’s World Wide Call Centre Programme, training company employees within Tamkeen’s Career Progression Programme, as well providing training facilities to the Aeronautics Maintenance Engineering Programme, just to name a few.”
“Challenges are ahead but we have now laid a strong platform for the future, with a totally committed team. I strongly believe that successful organisations are those that use adverse times to their advantage, finding opportunities to excel and I am sure we will be able to succeed,” Mr. Majali concluded.
Ends
About Gulf Air
Founded in 1950, Gulf Air is the proud national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As a pioneering airline in the Middle East region with sixty years of experience and expertise in flying people across continents, Gulf Air is today one of the most powerful brands and a name to reckon with in the global aviation industry.
One of the prime objectives of Gulf Air is to connect Bahrain to the Middle East countries and the rest of the world. As such the airline currently operates the largest network in the Middle East with non-stop flights while providing seamless onward connections to other international destinations. The airline’s current network stretches from Europe to Asia, connecting 43 cities in 28 countries, with a fleet of 35 aircraft.
In tune with the Kingdom’s economic blue print, ‘Vision 2030’, Gulf Air’s strategy is to build an efficient, commercially sustainable and dynamic airline that effectively serves the people and the economy of Bahrain and represents the Kingdom on the world stage. Reflecting the needs and aspirations of its customers, the strategy focuses on three core areas; a targeted, more focused international network, a superior, more consistent product and a modern, more efficient fleet that will optimize value.
However, Gulf Air’s goal remains unchanged; its commitment to the latest aviation technology complemented by its hallmark Arabian hospitality for which the airline is well known.
Gulf Air is the Official Airline and Sponsor of the ‘2010 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix’ and the London-based football club ‘Queens Park Rangers’.
For more information please visit www.gulfair.com
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