Gulf Air strengthens operations in Saudi Arabia

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has added 11 extra flights to its existing flights to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah and Riyadh to meet the increasing passenger demand. The airline will operate four extra flights to Jeddah, increasing its frequency from 10 to 14 per week each direction starting from March 1, 2012, while adding seven flights to Riyadh increasing the frequency from its present 14 flights per week to 21 flights each direction, also starting from 01 March 2012. Together, these additional flights will offer 3000 seats and 22,000 kilos of cargo capacity per week. The new flights also reiterate the national carrier’s business objective of providing double daily and same day return for business travellers, who now have more options to travel to these cities and return the same day after completing their business without the need to stay overnight involving expensive hotel accommodation. Announcing the additional flights, Gulf Air has offered a special 20 per cent promotional discount between Jeddah/Riyadh and Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai (Madras), Karachi, Lahore, Kathmandu and Bangkok. Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said, “The introduction of additional flights to these two cities emphasises the importance we attach to Saudi Arabia and our business strategy to concentrate on high-demand routes to ensure our core customer base is served effectively and efficiently.” He continued, “We have been flying to Jeddah since 1976 and own the distinction of being the first international airline to land in Riyadh in 1982. Since then we have continuously expanded and strengthened our presence connecting customers.