Travel veteran joins Gulf Air to head up flagship office in Manama

"We are delighted to welcome Shaikh Bader to our team, where his presence and considerable local and international knowledge will play an important role in addressing the demands and challenges of the present market," said John Butler, Vice President Marketing and Sales of the airline.

Shaikh Bader, a graduate of the American University in Washington, has more than two decades of experience in the travel and tourism industry and serves as a director on the board of the Association of Bahrain Travel and Tour Agents.

In addition to managing the day to day operations in Bahrain, he will create and implement strategies to expand Gulf Air's operations in the Kingdom and drive sales in the increasingly competitive market.

Bahrain is a significant market for Gulf Air as demonstrated by the major investments it continues to make in the country. Notable here is the refurbishment and modernization of the Manama sales office based on the new corporate identity. The office, which re-opened in July, incorporates cutting edge technology and service features that facilitate streamlined, more efficient interactions with customers.

High profile projects such as the state-of-the-art business and first class lounge, have already picked up top industry awards and have helped boost the airline's premium traffic.
Such has been the impact of the lounge that within a matter of months of opening the 2004 Skytrax Airline Excellence Awards, the world's largest passenger survey conducted between June 2003 and March 2004 saw the Gulf Air lounge, attain third position in the Best First Class Lounge in the World category and second in the Best Business Class Lounge in the World category.

"The new year will see an increased focus on premium traffic," said Mr Butler. "While we have seen pleasing growth in this sector, largely due to innovative services such as our Sky Chefs and nannies, we believe that our new First and Business class seats which will be introduced in the Airbus A330 from March on routes between the Gulf and Europe will provide the finishing touch to a seven star service."