Gulf Air launches services to three new destinations- Rome, Entebbe and Juba

Airline expands operations into Africa and Italy
Bahrain's national carrier once again demonstrates leadership position in connecting niche and underserved markets

Inaugural fares start from AED 567 to Rome

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain 24 August 2011: Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air, today announced the launch of services to three more new destinations - Rome, the Italian capital, Entebbe, the hub of Uganda's commercial sector and Juba, the capital of newly independent country, South Sudan.

Services to Rome will begin from 30 November - with four flights per week, Entebbe on 05 December, with four weekly flights and to Juba from 07 February 2012 with three flights per week.

Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said, "The launch of services to these new destinations demonstrates once again Gulf Air's long-term strategy to connect Bahrain and the region with new and unexplored markets having sound business potential. It is one more example of our pioneering tradition, establishing our leadership position to gain commercial advantage in new markets."

Announcing the news at a press conference held in Dubai, UAE, Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Karim Makhlouf said, "By resuming services to Rome, we are expanding our Italian operations after Milan, which we launched in March this year that has proved to be very successful. Now with the addition of Rome, we are connecting Northern and South Central parts of Italy to the Middle East."

He continued, "The commencement of our services to Entebbe and Juba firmly establishes our renewed focus in the emerging markets of the African continent, where we see a huge potential. It also opens up new business opportunities between Bahrain and these fast-developing countries."

"As the Middle East's largest network carrier, we are well positioned to connect these three countries to the vast MENA, Far East and Indian subcontinent markets. With nearly 700 flights per week within the region, our customers will be able to find a flight to their destination in the shortest possible connecting time via our efficient hub Bahrain," Mr. Maklouf said.

On the occasion, Mr. Maklouf also unveiled the airline's new commercial initiatives designed to target every customer segment in the GCC. "Gulf Air will be introducing Falcon Corporate Plus, designed exclusively for corporate travellers, offering a range of benefits that include exclusive price discounts, free upgrades from economy to Falcon Gold class, free lounge access for economy class passengers."

"For families, Gulf Air will be introducing 'Family First' - a series of competitively priced packages for customers travelling with their spouses and kids, offering special privileges both on the ground and in the air. We will also be creating an incentive programme specifically for small and medium enterprises (SME's). Our popular Frequent Flyer programme is also undergoing a major change offering our customers even more attractive privileges and value added benefits."

He further added, "GCC has always been very important to Gulf Air where we see encouraging traffic indicating the need to augment our fleet and frequency. Therefore, in our winter schedule we have added 14 flights per week to Dubai and seven additional flights to Abu Dhabi making a total of 98 flights per week. This also includes hourly shuttle- service flights from 4 to 8 pm daily from Dubai, providing onward connectivity to over 40 destinations on the airline's network via our efficient Bahrain hub - a great advantage for corporate travellers."

"Customers have become more discerning these days and their travel preferences and needs keep changing. Our commercial initiatives and the launch of new routes are aimed at meeting their expectations," Mr. Makhlouf concluded.

Rome:

Gulf Air will be operating four flights week to Rome using an A320.

Rome has always been a popular destination among tourists for its history and heritage besides as a shopping destination, not to mention the thousands of religious travellers visiting the Vatican City. The economy of Rome is characterized by commercial activities especially tourism-related, banking and fashion. The direct Rome flights provide best two-way connectivity to destinations in the Indian sub-continent and the Far East via its efficient Bahrain hub.

The inaugural promo fares from Dubai to Rome starts at AED 567.

Entebbe

Gulf Air will operate four flights per week to Entebbe with an A320.

Entebbe is the largest city in Uganda and the commercial focal point of the country to where Gulf Air used to fly until 2001. Uganda has emerged from difficult times to become a role model for other developing African nations. Its economy has grown from strength to strength especially after the discovery of crude oil and natural gas in 2002. With the Entebbe service, Gulf Air will be connecting greater Uganda markets to the Middle East via Bahrain with its vast MENA network.

Gulf Air offers inaugural promo fares from Dubai to Entebbe starting at AED 910.

Juba

Juba will be served three times a week with an E90 aircraft in a two class configuration.

Juba is Gulf Air's latest and fourth destination in the African continent after Khartoum, Addis Ababa and Nairobi. As the capital of the newly independent South Sudan, Juba is attracting lots of international focus and support with its huge untapped potential. With 75% of the former Sudan's oil reserves now coming under South Sudan, the country is all set for major investment in social and infrastructure development - from road network, housing, banking, education to manufacturing. In addition to oil, the country also has vast deposits of copper, iron and zinc which will help generate foreign exchange revenue in the long run.

Inaugural fares to Juba stars at AED 1150 from Dubai.

Schedule for Bahrain- Rome- Bahrain (All times Local)