In the last three years Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has embarked on a proactive re-fleeting and enhancement programme. Today its fleet is one of the youngest in the region with an average age of 5.7 years, while the airline’s Falcon Gold product is undergoing a complete makeover both in the air and on the ground.
The new business offering, including the airline’s new and renovated lounges, were designed incorporating passenger comments during the development stage for the first time, to ensure the end products met their requirements. The company’s exquisite attention to detail and desire to please premium passengers has seen it named Best Business Class Airline, Middle East, 2014, in the Business Destinations Travel Awards.
[P]remium customers enjoy an enhanced experience throughout their journey
High-class comfort
A critical element of the airline’s new business offering is its newly retrofitted A330 aircraft which feature a total of 214 seats in a two-class configuration of 30 Falcon Gold class and 184 economy seats. Designed specifically for Gulf Air and integrating features based on passenger feedback, the airline’s new Falcon Gold seat converts into a fully flat bed measuring 1.9m, guaranteeing a comfortable night’s sleep. Falcon Gold offers more personal space between seats than the airline’s previous business class product, allowing passengers to sit back and relax in a 22-inch wide armchair that converts easily into the passenger’s desired position. Additionally an in-seat massager offers passengers the perfect way to relax on a long flight.
Armrests are fully adjustable to different heights making sleeping, dining and working more comfortable. There is significant storage space, including a shoe pocket and a side compartment specifically designed for laptops.
For optimum onboard entertainment, the Falcon Gold seats come with complete on-demand audio and video features, an individual 15-inch touchscreen in every seat and high-quality noise-cancelling headphones. A suite of movies and audio titles in several languages are available, in addition to games. A USB port is available in every seat to allow passengers to easily charge electronic devices during their flight.
Beyond the airline’s premium product, Gulf Air’s A330 economy class seats have also been upgraded to offer passengers the very latest in comfort and technology. Featuring a four-inch recline, an 18-inch seat-width and an adjustable head and footrest allowing greater passenger comfort, the seats are fitted with nine-inch seat back TV monitors, ideal for the airline’s extensive in-flight entertainment options.
Gulf Air’s planned A330 retrofit is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of 2014 and the highly anticipated transformation of the national carrier’s long-haul product demonstrates the airline’s desire to offer superior products and services to passengers, while underlining Gulf Air’s longstanding commitment to its international operations.
Gulf Air’s A330 retrofit will be supported by three key partners: Avianor, Zodiac Aerospace and BE. Avianor has been appointed as turn-key provider, with responsibility for the engineering, certification and installation of this extensive upgrade. Zodiac Aerospace is supplying the economy class seats and the seat-centric IFE system while BE Aerospace are supplying the Falcon Gold class seats.
Falcon Gold lounge
Gulf Air officially opened its premium Falcon Gold lounge at London Heathrow Terminal Four in March 2011. The expansive, 6500sq ft lounge – one of the largest in the terminal – seamlessly mixes contemporary design and architecture with Arabic influences, creating an environment that combines tranquility with modern business facilities.
The open-plan design of the lounge gives guests a sense of space and freedom, with the central area featuring a bar surrounded by all the facilities necessary for business, dining, and lounging, as well as TV areas and private rooms.
The lounge has superb views over the runway through a 4 metre high glass wall, creating a bright space as you wait for your flight. There is a fully equipped business centre with tools including super-fast Mac computers, printers, fax and other office support functions, as well as wi-fi throughout the lounge.
Visitors can relax on huge, plush lounge chairs and sofas, while enjoying the central area and its ‘moonlighting’, which changes with the light of the day. For refreshment, a self-service buffet offers a wide section of a Halal menu, and there is an exclusive Illy Café counter serving a select variety of Italian coffee blends.
Every need is met with a prayer room, washrooms and showers, two private family rooms that can be combined into one large room, baby-changing facilities, and secure lockers.
Gulf Air ethos
Air travel has become savvier and passengers, particularly premium ones, are now more discerning. With airports becoming busier, lounges are no longer just a place to wait for flights or transit spots between connections. Premium passengers look for an oasis of peace and comfort, and expect a higher class of facilities and personalised service.
One of the key components of Gulf Air’s business strategy is to constantly improve the products and services offered to customers. The lounge is an example of this. As the company keeps improving customer service on the ground, they also aim to add more features and facilities in the air, so that premium customers enjoy an enhanced experience throughout their journey.
Open from 6am to 11:30pm daily, the lounge can accommodate up to 110 persons. It is available to all Platinum, Gold and Silver card-holding FFP members of Gulf Air, and premium class ticketholders of Gulf Air’s code-share partner airlines.
