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Flag carrier is currently restructuring its finances, aircraft fleet and network of routes.
Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, reduced its annual loss for 2015 by 62 percent to 24.1 million Bahraini dinars ($63 million), the Manama-based carrier said on Wednesday.
"As we successfully eradicate legacy debts, Gulf Air is further enabled to manage its controlled future growth, with the capabilities to further invest in the airline's ongoing growth and development," Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer, Maher Salman Al Musallam, said in a press statement.
The Bahraini carrier has been under restructuring since 2012, when its losses stood at 196 million dinars. As well as reducing its annual losses, the flag carrier plans to use the fleet of new aircraft orders it made earlier this year to boost its global footprint by more than 50 percent within the next seven years, Al Musallam told Zawya in February.
The government-backed airline ordered 45 Boeing and Airbus aircraft worth a total of $7.6 billion at the Bahrain Air Show in January and is due to begin taking delivery of the new jets in the second quarter of 2018.
"These planes, which are of different sizes, can boost Gulf Air's different products and services at various levels, whether it is safeguarding the environment, boosting flight connections or improving the services," Al Musallam said.
The Bahraini carrier currently operates a fleet of 28 small and large Airbus airplanes but Al Musallam said the new aircraft will help it widen its global network and increase connectivity from Bahrain International Airport.
"We are hoping the company will grow to include 60 destinations by 2023," said Al Musallam.
The carrier currently serves 39 cities in 22 countries spanning three continents, a company spokesperson said, which means the aim is to boost the network by at least 53.8 percent by 2023. The expansion will focus on developing Gulf Air's footprint in Europe, the Indian Subcontinent and the greater Asia region, the spokesperson added.
© Zawya 2016
