Gulf Air is returning to South Africa. After an absence of more than eight years, the airline will be recommencing non-stop…
Gulf Air is returning to South Africa. After an absence of more than eight years, the airline will be recommencing non-stop flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Johannesburg from 2 December 2005.
The service will begin with three flights per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from Bahrain to Johannesburg and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Johannesburg to Bahrain with timings specifically designed to connect with Gulf Air`s other new destination – Dublin.
Flights from Johannesburg will also provide excellent connectivity onwards to Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok and Istanbul and a number of other destinations in Gulf Air’s extensive network.
Operated by Airbus A330 aircraft, passengers will be able to experience the airline’s state-of-the-art sky beds in First and business class along with other innovations including Gulf Air’s unique Sky Chefs and Sky Nannies.
Gulf Air President and Chief Executive James Hogan is delighted to reintroduce Gulf Air’s service into the African market.
With the growing contact between South Africa and the Gulf for business and tourism, we felt the time was right to return to Johannesburg, he said.
Business and leisure travellers now have the opportunity to experience our award winning services and will find Bahrain the ideal gateway to the Arabian Gulf as well as providing excellent onward connections within the Gulf Air network which extends across the Middle East as well as Eastbound and Westbound to Europe, Asia and Australia.
The Republic of South Africa’s Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Abdulhameed Gabier welcomed the announcement stating the new service would help strengthen ties and trade relations between the two regions.
The benefits of co-operation between the southern African region and the Middle East are immense, he said.
The region holds a special attraction for South African businessmen, because of its huge domestic market and as a connecting point to bigger markets beyond The introduction of Gulf Air’s new service between the Gulf and South Africa will help realize the potential that exists.
The Middle East is becoming an important trade zone for South Africa. It holds great potential for South Africa as an export market, and serves as a potential strategic source of foreign direct investment.
Tourism is an area that is expected to witness further tremendous growth over the coming years. South Africa offers a huge variety of locations and activities to tourists from the Gulf… from beautiful wildlife parks with a huge variety of big game, to exciting holiday resorts such as the Lost City and Sun City, there are attractions to suit all tourists.
The new flights will also result in an added dimension to air travel. A US$10 million refurbishment of Gulf Air’s A330 fleet was completed in the summer of 2005, which means passengers will effectively be flying in new aircraft.
There are just eight seats in First Class and 24 in Business. They are wider, more comfortable, more private, more convenient and more spacious than those offered by any other airline at present, said Hogan.
Talking of luxury, Gulf Air introduced its qualified ‘Five-Star’ chefs onboard flights in 2002 in order to provide to provide first class passengers with the choice, quality and individual attention associated with five-star hotels and international standard fine dining restaurants.
The chefs have been an outstanding success, helping us raise in-flight dining levels to new heights, said Hogan.
Whether it is salads being freshly tossed and dressed on demand, or meals being hand delivered, cooked to the chosen taste of the customer, all are presented to illustrate the talent and flair of the Inflight Chef.
In the latest World Airline Catering Awards published by Skytrax earlier this year, Gulf Air clinched top position for First and Business Class onboard catering on long-haul intercontinental flights.
While the Sky Nanny has yet to win an official travel award, in the popularity stakes among families travelling long haul on Gulf Air, the service is already ‘rated number one.’
Each Nanny is a fully qualified member of the in-flight service team, dedicated to delivering specialist care for children up to the age of 12 travelling with their parents, or as unaccompanied minors.
Development of this enhanced in-flight childcare service has been undertaken with the world famous Norland College, one of the foremost establishments in the world for childcare and education.
The main duties of the all-female complement of Sky Nannies is to provide qualified professional attention and care from the moment of boarding the flight to the end of the journey. This includes keeping children entertained and fed, giving parents a breather. A real plus on such a long journey.
This unique initiative illustrates our commitment to serving all our customers in ways which best suit their requirements, said Hogan. In short, we aim to ensure that our youngest passengers have a memorable pleasant travel experience.
Driven by new levels of service excellence and a range of product and service innovations Gulf Air has won a string of international awards further moving the airline back towards its former position as one of the world’s most respected airlines.
Gulf Air continues to go from strength to strength, concluded Hogan. As we move into the next stage of our growth strategy, we are acutely aware that what really sets apart airlines today is service and comfort. What we are now offering is new, unique and extraordinary. We look forward to providing this new service into Dublin.
Bahrain is an important commercial centre and a well established air transport hub of the Middle East and West Asia.
It provides a fast, convenient and stress-free gateway into the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC), which include the Kingdom of Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, one of the world’s fastest growing holiday destinations.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
