Bahrain’s aviation achieved a new milestone as the Kingdom's flag carrier Gulf Air made its first flight with a Bahrain registered aircraft.
Flight GF056, operated by Airbus A340 under the Bahraini registration A9C-LB, flew to Mumbai, India, on the maiden voyage under the command of Bahraini Gulf Air Captain Nabeel Al Khayyer.
Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Civil Aviation officials, Gulf Air board of directors and senior management officials were at the Bahrain International Airport tarmac to see the aircraft taking off.
“This is a milestone for the Kingdom of Bahrain, and it also reflects the commitment of the whole country towards the flag carrier,” says Gulf Air board chairman Mahmood Al Kooheji. “After the successful implementation of the new network, Gulf Air adds Bahrain's aircraft registration as another milestone in its flight plan to success.”
In related news, following the inclusion of Amman and Damascus, more than 80 per cent of Gulf Air’s network has been covered by e-ticket. The airline has also thus far successfully implemented Interline e-ticketing agreements with 26 international airlines, which is a significant development.
Gulf Air Head of Distribution and e-commerce, Lars Denlew, said the airline is well above the market average in terms of passenger usage of e-ticketing all over the world. For instance, in the Philippines and Thailand its e-ticket issuance has gone up to over 97% while the market average is about 86.7 per cent and 77.6 per cent.