Manama: Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in a statement said that the airline was able to reduce losses substantially as the carrier was reaching towards break-even.
In its August 2014 statistics, the airline said that it witnessed record summer travel demand, reflecting a major turnaround month for the airline realizing an almost break-even situation with operating losses of only BD42,000 and a bottom line of only BD200,000 net loss.
“We see the signs that our strategy is enhancing bottom-line performance and our national carrier’s positive performance, in conjunction with high travel demand, has delivered strong August results that mark a significant milestone in the airline’s history. These results are a dramatic improvement on earlier performance over the past ten years or more and a reflection of the ongoing efforts, commitment and drive of each member of the Gulf Air family. Month by month we are continuing to improve, continuing to strengthen and continuing to transform our airline,” Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer, Maher Salman AlMusallam on the airline’s landmark achievement, said.
Alongside the dramatically enhanced financial results for the month of August, Bahrain’s national carrier recorded a higher seat factor while also delivering 25% higher revenue than last year. The results follow recent positive developments implemented by the airline which saw its network enhanced in June of this year with the resumption of operations to Athens and permanent schedule increases on flights between Bahrain and Cairo (from 10 to 12 flights per week), since 23rd July, and between Bahrain and Kuwait (from 40 to 42 flights per week), since 28th July 2014 – all catering to high passenger demand. Gulf Air’s summer 2014 schedule also provided additional flights during the holiday season between Bahrain and the popular destinations of Istanbul, Larnaca, Amman, Beirut and Bangkok. In tandem the airline welcomed the arrival of its first revamped A330 product in July featuring fully-flat bed seats in the airline’s Falcon Gold Class, upgraded seats in Economy Class and a state-of-the-art in-flight-entertainment system throughout.
“As a key national infrastructure asset and an integral part of the local economy, Gulf Air is a performance-driven airline with clear goals to become an efficient, commercially sustainable business that supports the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economy and helps attract investment. Gulf Air anticipates further positive developments during Fiscal Year 2014 bringing the national carrier closer to achieving a positive bottom line performance.”