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"We have the full support of the board for all the measures that have been proposed in order to secure Gulf Air's future," he said. "All our actions will be focused on the four key issues Safety, Punctuality, Customer Service and Profitability. To turn our operations around we need a real cultural shift inside our organisation. To achieve this we will be guided by the principles of teamwork, self-initiative on all levels of the organisation, reward, openness and simple processes!
"At present Gulf Air is heavily losing money every day. This has to stop. The shareholders have guaranteed a capital injection to cover past costs, fund the restructuring process and invest in future operational improvements. But they expect us to make sure that this money is wisely spent and that it will help secure a sustainable basis for a strong Gulf Air."
To improve the profitability of the company Gulf Air will reduce its fleet from 34 to 28 aircraft and one single manufacturer (Airbus). At the same time network operations will be improved by reducing ground-time of the aircraft and limiting connection times for the passengers.
To cope with these tasks Gulf Air's organisation will be streamlined and simplified. The new organisational structure comprises four divisions, each headed by an Executive Vice President: Sales and Marketing Lee Shave, Operations Bjorn Naef, Finance and Administration Ismail Karimi and Network Hashim Mahmood (acting).
"We believe these measures are in the best interest of the people and economy of the Kingdom Bahrain as well as those of our other shareholders. With the support of everyone involved, we will get Gulf Air back on a firm financial footing and make it an airline that is loved by its customers," said Mr Dosé.
Details of the restructuring plan will be presented next week.
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News Editor
