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Gulf Air to close underperforming routes for commercial reasons

Airline to focus on higher traffic routes
Manama, Bahrain: Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air is announcing the closure of its services to four destinations; Damascus, Athens, Milan and Kuala Lumpur. Services to Damascus will be stopped from 02 March while flights to Athens and Milan will be stopped from 12 March and Kuala Lumpur will be from 25 March 2012. This follows the announcement of the closure of Entebbe and Geneva routes earlier this month.

The move comes as the airline seeks to address the economic challenges faced in recent times; in particular, the local and regional political situation, the high price of fuel and low passenger numbers.

The decision has been taken to allow the airline to use its fleet and resources in the most efficient way by concentrating on high-demand, high-yield routes to ensure that its core customer base is served effectively.

Gulf Air 's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Samer Majali said: "It is currently a challenging business environment for airlines around the world. These closures are pragmatic commercial decisions aimed at focusing services on routes with higher passenger traffic. Our commercial strategy, developed in 2009, delivered significant gains in 2010 but last year has been challenging. Therefore, we are now adapting our approach to address the challenges on an urgent basis."

Gulf Air realizes that this will be disappointing news to some of its customers and regrets the inconvenience this may cause. Passengers, who have confirmed bookings (both onward and return) to these destinations on or after 02 March /12 March /25 March, are being informed of the closures. Customers are requested to contact Gulf Air World Wide Contact Centre on + 973 17373737 or local contact centres for alternate travel options or refunds. The details of local contact centres are available at www.gulfair.com.

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About Gulf Air
Founded in 1950, Gulf Air is the proud national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As a pioneering airline in the Middle East region with over sixty years of experience and expertise in flying people across continents, Gulf Air is today one of the most powerful brands and a name to reckon with in the global aviation industry.

One of the prime objectives of Gulf Air is to connect Bahrain to the Middle East countries and the rest of the world. As such the airline currently operates the largest network in the Middle East with non-stop flights while providing seamless onward connections to other international destinations. The airline's current network stretches from Europe to Asia, connecting 54 cities in 34 countries, with a fleet of 36 aircraft.

In tune with the Kingdom's economic blue print, 'Vision 2030', Gulf Air 's strategy is to build an efficient, commercially sustainable and dynamic airline that effectively serves the people and the economy of Bahrain and represents the Kingdom on the world stage. Reflecting the needs and aspirations of its customers, the strategy focuses on three core areas: a targeted, more focused international network, a superior, more consistent product and a modern, more efficient fleet that will optimize value. Gulf Air 's goal reflects a commitment to the latest aviation technology complemented by the hallmark Arabian hospitality for which the airline is well known.

Gulf Air is the official sponsor of the 2012 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

For more information please visit www.gulfair.com

For media enquiries, please contact:
Katherine Kaczynska
Senior Manager Corporate Communications
Gulf Air Tel: +973 17338416 - +973 39433991
Email: katherine.kaczynska@gulfair.com

© Press Release 2012