Gulf Air's PCE praises support received from owner state's airport authorities in turnaround programme

Speaking yesterday to delegates attending the Second Middle East Airports Conference, organized by MEED Conferences, (Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Bahrain), Mr Hogan acknowledged that an integral part of the rejuvenation of Gulf Air over the past two years has been the close cooperation the airline has enjoyed with its three owner state's airport and civil aviation authorities.

"We need to work hand in glove with airport authorities," he said. "We - and other airlines - cannot expand or enhance services if the airport infrastructure isn't in place. An airline therefore has a responsibility to share its extended planning horizon with the airport authorities to ensure that all elements of a journey - including comfort, security, and processing of passengers at airports is of the highest quality."

Mr Hogan said that Gulf Air was fortunate in that the international airports of the Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom of Bahrain and Emirate of Abu Dhabi have each put their full support behind Gulf Air.

"Bahrain has invested in one of the best premium check-in facilities in the world - as recognised by Skytrax," he said, "While a major airport development is also planned for Oman and Abu Dhabi, to meet the growing traffic."

The number of passengers flying Gulf Air from all Gulf Air's hubs - Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Oman continues to rise strongly, further boosting the airline's drive towards its financial targets while at the same time enhancing the UAE capital's economy.

Performance figures for the period from January to September 2004, show that nearly million passengers respectively flew to and from these airports during this period - an increase of xx,xx and per cent on the same period last year.

More significantly the airline has contributed around one billion Dirhams to the Capital's local economy in one year."

Mr. Hogan said that he was confident the growth, which was boosted by the introduction of flights and increased flight frequencies out of all the airlines gateways, would continue for the remainder of the year and that another record year is on the cards for Gulf Air in terms of the total number of passengers carried. The airline is on track to carry in excess of seven million passengers across its 32 country, 50 city network, up from six million last year.

Elsewhere in the network, Gulf Air has worked closely with London Heathrow Airport, where a state-of-the-art lounge facility was opened in September, putting the airline in a class of its own when it comes to pre-flight comfort, at one of the world's busiest airports.

"We will continue to maintain close relationships with airport authorities, sharing with them our vision for mid- and long- term flight frequencies and our fleet plans.