Gulf Air's business is improving and its market shares are increasing, according to president and chief executive James Hogan. He was speaking at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, at which the airline is exhibiting at in its own right for the first time in many years.

Gulf Air passenger numbers are up in all three classes, said Hogan, without giving specific figures.

First Class showed a 22 per cent improvement last month over the time last year, while business passengers were up by nearly 39 per cent and economy by 25 per cent, he said.

"There was a yield improvement of 1.3 per cent over October last year, while cumulative results for January to October show an improvement of 2.2 per cent compared to last year," said Hogan.

In related news, Gulf Air signed an agreement with the Health Ministry to become the official carrier for the First Arab Conference on Primary Health Care in the Arab World.