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Dubai: Gulf Air hopes to fly six million passengers this year as the airline seeks to reposition itself as a network carrier under full Bahraini ownership.
The airline, which has struggled in the past few years, has set a target of 10 per cent annual growth, chief executive officer Bjorn Naf said in an interview with Gulf News Quarterly Financial Review magazine.
He said over the last several months the airline has worked to improve its image and efficiency.
"A year ago, there were stories like 'Gulf Air fighting for survival,' 'Gulf Air laying off people' and 'Gulf Air downsizing network'. We are recovering from that. We have improved seat load factor, the yield, reliability, punctuality. We have cut a lot of losses, and we have increased productivity," Naf said.
The airline aims to double its fleet to 60 aircraft in the next five to six years. "We want to replace our current fleet as soon as we can. We will have three to four aircraft coming in every year for growth and the rest to replace the fleet. We currently have 42 destinations, and we are looking at three to four new destinations every year," Naf said.
Position
"We have a target of six million passengers this year. This brings us to position number three after Emirates and Qatar Airways," he said.
Gulf Air insists that it does not intend to compete for size, but would be satisfied with being a niche carrier using Bahrain's strategic hub location.
"Gulf Air will not be a kind of Emirates. We are a niche carrier, and we want to deliver on the basics of an airline," Naf said.
With 57 years of existence, the airline hopes it will not have to be too aggressive in rebuilding the brand.
Once a dominant player in the region, Gulf Air saw its fortunes plummet after former joint owners Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman left the pan-Gulf company to focus on their own airlines.
The full interview is available in Gulf News Quarterly Financial Review: www.gulfnews.com/gnqfr
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