A new vision for Gulf Air, national carrier of Bahrain

PHOTO

A FUTURE vision for Bahrain’s national carrier – Gulf Air – as it works to break even by 2027 was unveiled to MPs yesterday.

Gulf Air Holding Group chairman Zayed Alzayani said that Gulf Air was working to support the economy, offer employment opportunities and serve the country’s aviation needs.

“It is not like we are lost and are working without a compass and there are plans that meet our future vision for where we want the company to be,” said Mr Alzayani during a marathon Parliament session that ran for around eight hours.

“No one is above the Constitution or the law and we are here to showcase the current situation and how we intend to take off and where we want to land,” he added.

“There is nothing to hide and it is impossible to be 100 per cent Bahraini as we are a multi-national carrier that requires diverse employees that can communicate in different languages.

“We now have 65pc Bahrainisation and we want it to be 75pc next year and this coincides with our 75th anniversary … and why not more!”

He added that Bahrainisation could be higher if Bahraini females felt more comfortable accepting air crew jobs.

“Most of our female cabin crew are expats and if we take their number off the chart, we could have come here to say that we are 78pc Bahrainised.

“But Bahraini females have their reasons and they don’t want the job but we are working to change perception.”

He added that 92pc of the male cabin crew were Bahraini.

Mr Alzayani said the Bahraini average monthly salary is BD1,791 compared to BD1,070 for expats.

“We are looking to get even more nationals into the industry,” he added. “There were 1,712 Bahrainis working across all departments in 2022 and 1,756 in 2023.

“Again we are the only company with four labour unions and we listen to them and that shows how highly regarded Bahrainis are to us – in the end I am one too.

“Also, we don’t train expats and they should come here as specialists in their field.”

He said first and second officers were 100pc Bahrainis and in five years they should take the top role of captains, meaning the main job could be fully Bahrainised unless there were unavoidable shortages.

Mr Alzayani said the airline has won 80pc of all cases filed against it in court.

“Most of the cases were lost luggage or change of bookings and the compensations we made were just a few hundred US dollars, but in general we win,” he added.

Reflecting on the airline’s losses, he said Bahrain inherited the GCC airline from other withdrawing states while $2 billion in the red.

“Yes, the government paid us around $1bn and we have cleared the legacy and in the fourth quarter of 2019 we managed to achieve profitability before Covid-19 hit and, nowadays, the market is being hit with inflated prices,” he said.

“The vision is to break even by 2027.”

For destinations, Mr Alzayani said the focus was on three aspects – passenger, cargo and network contribution.

“Closing and opening destinations are dependent on passenger, cargo and network contribution and a 10-minute flight to Dammam serves the bigger capacity flights to India, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan,” he said.

“We review all existing and potential destinations accordingly.”

Meanwhile, Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Mohammed Al Kaabi, who is politically responsible for the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, said the international loss in the industry reached $7bn due to Covid-19.

“The effect from Covid-19 is still there despite recovery as aircraft fuel prices have doubled and the sector has been hit harder with geopolitical factors,” he said.

“Despite that, Gulf Air recorded revenues of BD440.2m at the end of last year.

“The airline’s debts hit BD301.8m last year and plans are underway to balance the books by the end of 2027.”

Gulf Air purchased 10 new aircraft last year to maintain and improve the quality of the fleet, he added.

“Plans for a new hangar will be presented to Gulf Air board in April,” said the minister.

“The new hangar will handle two large and two medium-sized aircraft.

“All destinations are under review – we want profitable routes as we continue to get more Bahrainis on board.”

A probe committee into Gulf Air’s affairs, chaired by MP Mohammed Al Marafi, has met government officials, the company’s board and executive management besides going on site inspections and receiving written classified documentation. It has also met representatives from labour unions representing the general employees of the company, captains and flight attendants.

Its findings and recommendations were debated yesterday.