Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has achieved outstanding half-year results for the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 with a higher seat load factor as well as the number of carried passengers.

The results further complement the launch of the airline’s boutique strategy, announced in January 2019, to focus on positioning itself in catering to a more premium niche market. The growth of capacity and the increase of destinations, frequencies and fleet have shown a strategic expansion in the half-year results with a 77.4% load in seat factor and a record number of 3.2 million passengers; in comparison to 74.3% seat load factor and 2.6 million carried passengers in the first half of 2018.

“We are extremely proud to report that the National carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain achieved outstanding results for the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018”, said Krešimir Kučko, CEO of Gulf Air.

“It was challenging to 3.2 million passengers hit greater seat load factors however we managed to achieve this goal. Our passengers are proving to be more loyal and we have seen returning customers since the launch of our new fleet products the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Airbus 320 Neo”.

Earlier in the summer, Gulf Air started operations to its new seasonal destinations Malaga in Spain and Salalah in Oman. The summer season also witnessed strengthened frequencies in Gulf Air’s network with added flights to popular destinations; with further focus on corporate and premium leisure travelers.

The airline launched its boutique business model concept at the beginning of 2019 and since then it has seen positive results in various areas of the business. Moreover, the airline received its third A320neo aircraft and announced its plan to fly to Male in the Maldives starting from October 2019, a route that will be operated by the new Airbus aircraft.

Gulf Air will receive its seventh Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner this year as the airline progresses with its fleet modernization program that began in 2018 and will be completed in 2023.

The airline plans on receiving a total of 39 new aircraft to form a fleet comprised of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, Airbus A320 Neo’s and Airbus A321 Neo’s.