Regional carrier Gulf Air has announced changes in its upcoming winter schedule, with daily flights to Frankfurt and Paris.
The increased frequency of flights to Frankfurt will up the present total of four weekly flights to and from the German city. Gulf Air passengers will be able to fly non-stop from Bahrain to Frankfurt four times a week and from Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt three times a week on wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft, the airline said. Passengers arriving in Frankfurt from these two gateways will also be able to connect to other European and North American cities. "The offer of daily flights in both directions has been made in direct response to the demands of our passengers for more frequent and convenient services between the Gulf and Germany," said president and chief executive James Hogan. The airline is also set to launch daily flights between Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. The airline currently offers four flights per week to the French capital. The daily services from the Gulf gateways to France will consist of four non-stop flights direct from Bahrain to Paris and three non-stop flights from the UAE. In an attempt to draw more European visitors to Gulf Air's three owner states a new marketing strategy has been launched. The airline predicts visitor numbers to the Gulf will more than double within the next two to three years as a result. Hogan outlined the new initiative called Arabian Experience Holidays. "As destinations, Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi all offer multi-faceted holiday experience ranging from five-star hotel resorts to rich cultures and stunning scenery," he said. Arabian Experience Holidays aims to encourage travellers to visit the region on "multi-centred" holidays or weekend breaks. This means that someone visiting Oman now has the chance to purchase a holiday package also including stopovers in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the airline has announced a bilateral agreement with Air Canada to streamline check-in processes for travellers on both carriers. Gulf Air's manager systems development, Mark Hartshorne, said the 'Inter-Airline Through Check In' systems agreement now allows passengers to be checked-in once only for flights between the two carriers. Hartshorne said passengers benefit from not having to check in a second time part way through their journey when changing airlines on long-haul flights involving two separate airlines. Canada is a popular destination for Gulf travellers, with hundreds of people weekly flying between the Gulf and Vancouver or Toronto in peak holiday periods. * Gulf Air has introduced five-star chefs on board its Bahrain-London route. Six qualified five-star chefs received their 'wings' from Gulf Air in Abu Dhabi, as the airline commissioned its in-flight 'restaurant in the sky' initiative for the benefit of first class passengers. The airline will also introduce a 'dine on demand' option on night flights, with the chefs taking orders.