SAKHIR AIRBASE: While the all regional airlines are upbeat about the business prospects in 2014 they are also concerned about the unfolding political developments and seek an early solution to the issues including the Syrian crisis, according to Gulf Air CEO.
“Regional developments somehow are affecting the aviation sector and an early solution to the Syrian crisis and other regional problems can fuel the airline business,” Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Maher Salman Al Musallam told the media after signing of a contract of refurbishment of A330 fleet on the sidelines of the Bahrain International Airshow 2014 on Friday.
“Gulf Air being part of the industry wants to see boost in the regional traffic and this is directly linked to the developments on the ground and we hope that things will be fine soon,” Al Musallam added.
Earlier, Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, announced it has signed contracts totaling approximately $20 million appointing Avianor, Zodiac Aerospace and BE Aerospace as partners for the retrofit of its A330 fleet, following a successful bidding tender process through the Bahrain Tender Board.
Gulf Air’s planned A330 retrofit, scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of 2014, is part of the airline’s on-going proactive re-fleeting and product enhancement strategy, the company said.
A complete transformation of the current A330 seat configuration will allow for the introduction of fully-flat bed seats in the airline’s Falcon Gold Class, revamped seats in Economy Class and the introduction of a state-of-the-art in-flight-entertainment (IFE) system throughout.
“At Gulf Air we strive to ensure we meet the needs and wants of our passengers which is why we have dedicated the time and focus to designing the new A330 product,” Al Musallam said. “Furthermore, we have selected three of the best industry partners to support us with the successful execution of this project, which will only serve to enhance the final product offering. Customers travelling on these aircraft, in both classes of travel, will now have a more relaxing and enjoyable experience. This overhaul of our wide-body fleet demonstrates our ongoing commitment to offer superior products and services to our passengers while underlining Gulf Air’s longstanding commitment to its international operations,” he said.
Gulf Air’s A330 retrofit will be supported by three key partners; Avianor, Zodiac Aerospace and BE.
Avianor has been appointed to act as “turn-key provider” managing the program with responsibility for the Engineering, Certification and Installation of this extensive upgrade.Zodiac Aerospace is supplying the Economy Class seats and the seat centric IFE system. BE Aerospace are supplying the Falcon Gold Class seats.
Gulf Air’s new A330 aircraft will feature a total of 214 seats in a two-class configuration of 30 in Falcon Gold class and 184 in economy.