Manama - Kingdom of Bahrain 27 January 2015

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, today hosted media members on an exclusive tour of its newly retrofitted Airbus A330 aircraft - upgraded with fully-flat bed seats in the airline's Falcon Gold Class, revamped seats in Economy Class and a state-of-the-art in-flight-entertainment system throughout.  

Designed specifically for Gulf Air and integrating various elements of passengers' feedback, the retrofit was launched on 4 Airbus A330s in the first quarter of 2014, with three key partners: Avianor, Zodiac Aerospace and BEAerospace. Newly configured for a total of 214 seats in a two-class configuration of 30 Falcon Gold Class seats and 184 Economy seats, the retrofit delivers significant enhancements across both cabins.

For premium passengers, the new 22-inch wide Falcon Gold Class seats convert into fully-flat beds measuring 1.90 meters in length and come equipped with an in-seat massage facility, privacy dividers, fully adjustable armrests and significant storage space. The new Economy Class seats offer passengers the latest in comfort and technology with a greater recline to compliment an 18-inch seat-width and an adjustable head and foot rest to expand leg space.

For optimum onboard entertainment, all seats in Gulf Air's upgraded A330 aircraft include an integrated Audio-Video on Demand (AVOD) feature, an individual touch screen (15-inch in Falcon Gold class and 9-inch in Economy) in every seat and high quality, noise-cancelling headphones. A suite of movies, video and audio titles in several languages are on offer, in addition to games.

Speaking to media during the tour, Gulf Air A/Chief Executive Officer Mr. Maher Salman Al Musallam said: "This successful retrofit represents the fruits of Gulf Air's ambitious and comprehensive product enhancement strategy that is geared towards enhancing and improving our product in a way that will deliver positive impact to our passengers, while ensuring consistency in our product standard across our fleet. Fitting this upgraded equipment to our A330 fleet enhances the onboard experience while reflecting our ongoing commitment to our long-haul operations. I look forward to receiving our valued passengers' feedback!"

The newly retrofitted aircrafts will mainly service Gulf Air's London Heathrow T4 and Bangkok routes which are served with nonstop twice daily and 06 weekly flights respectively. Gulf Air currently operates an all-Airbus fleet with 28 modern aircraft that hold a combined average age of 6 years. The airline's meld of wide and narrow body aircrafts enable Bahrain's national carrier to meet demand for its extensive regional network and strategic long-haul routes.

-Ends-

About Gulf Air
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, commenced operations in 1950, becoming one of the first commercial airlines established in the Middle East. Today, Gulf Air is a major international carrier serving 43 cities in 24 countries spanning three continents. The airline operates one of the largest networks in the Middle East, with double daily flights to over 10 regional cities, from its hub at Bahrain International Airport. Gulf Air serves all its destinations with a combination wide and narrow body fleet totaling 28 modern aircraft. Renowned for its traditional Arabian hospitality, evidenced by the airline's signature family and business friendly products, Gulf Air is committed to being an industry leader and developing products and services that reflect the evolving needs and aspirations of its passengers.

Gulf Air connects Bahrain to the world and, as such, is a key national infrastructure asset, serving as a powerful driver for the economy and supporting the Kingdom's on-going economic growth.

Gulf Air was the Official Airline and Sponsor of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2014 and the Bahrain International Airshow 2014.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Azza Mubarak Matar
Senior Manager Communications
Gulf Air Tel: +973 17338765 / +973 39652012
Email: Azza.Matar@gulfair.com

© Press Release 2015