Middle East airline round-up
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Gulf Air has seen its load factor improve 5% to 77% in its first half results, against a 13% rise in passengers. The Bahrain-based carrier said its revenue has also boosted 6% in H1 compared to last year, with more opting for its Falcon Gold premium class. These services saw 35% growth, while economy class has seen a 12% increase. A new Staff Appreciation Scheme is said to have boosted service amongst the carrier, with customer complaints down by 11%.
“We were able to achieve these results with the combined efforts of rationalised route network, fleet optimisation, improved sales efficiency, products and services, cost efficiency measures and expenditure reduction,” said Samer Majali, CEO of Gulf Air.
“We are targeting a further 15% reduction in its cost base for the full year; we have already achieved a cost base savings of GB£11bn between January and May this year. We are glad that the business is looking up and we will continue to work harder to improve across our business functions to provide the best value for money to our customers.”
Etihad Airways to fly daily to Casablanca
Etihad Airways will increase its services to Casablanca with a daily service from 28 March , 2013. The airline currently flies five times a week between Casablanca and Abu Dhabi.
The daily service will support traffic growth between Abu Dhabi and Casablanca and connecting traffic to many popular onward GCC destinations including Jeddah, and cities such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Sydney. The additional services will improve the connectivity in Abu Dhabi by 50%.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Moroccan capital has been a successful destination for us and retains strong volumes of business and leisure passengers throughout the year.”