By Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Bahrain's loss-making nationalcarrier Gulf Air will offer a premium service to try andincrease passenger numbers, its chief executive said onWednesday.

The airline has been loss-making for years, forcing it tolay off staff as rivals such as Emirates and Qatar Airwaysdominate the Middle East.

In an effort to revive its fortunes, Gulf Air wants to carveout a niche as a 'boutique' airline, its chief executive said onWednesday.

The strategy means it will expand its destinations andnumber of aircraft with an economy class more spacious thanrivals and a 'luxury' business class product.

"We are working in a highly competitive environment,"Kresimir Kucko told Reuters in a phone interview.

Gulf Air could add around eight destinations and expects tocarry around 5.8 million passengers this year, Kucko said,declining to give further details at this stage. The airlinelaunched eight new routes last year, mostly to other cities inthe Middle East. It carried over 5.3 million passengers in 2018.

Over the next few years, Gulf Air's network will add morecities in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean beforelaunching flights to the United States and China, Kucko said.

Around 75 percent of all seats are expected to be filledthis year, Kucko said, the same as 2018.

Gulf Air will take delivery of two Boeing BA.N Dreamliner787-9s and five Airbus AIR.PA A320neos this year afterreceiving five Dreamliners and two A320neos in 2018.

The airline has 39 aircraft on order, including a contractfor Airbus A220s which Gulf Air signed when it was theBombardier BBDb.TO CSeries.

Kucko said the airline was still deciding on taking deliveryof those aircraft.

"It needs to be thoroughly evaluated and analysed," he said.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com;))