Interview with Top Level Manager: Derek Randall, CEO Asia Operations - Essay Example

Interview with Top Level Manager: Derek Randall, CEO Asia Operations Though the Governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, of Qatar, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate of Oman bought out BOAC’s shares in Gulf Aviation in late 1973, Gulf Air came into being after the signing of the Foundation Treaty on 1 January 1974, said Derek Randall, CEO Asia Operations (official website, Gulf Air). On asking about the goals set at the outset and overall corporate strategy Randall agreed that they did have goals at the outset. They had become an oil-rich cartel by then. Finance was never a problem-getting aircraft delivered was a much bigger problem. There were basically two countries manufacturing passenger aircraft-the U.S.A. and the U.K. Britain was anxious to sell as many aircraft as they could while they still had a say in international matters. But there was an internal clamour to set up their own airline first, for British. The Americans had no problems of that sort. It was just that they were overbooked. The primary aim was to get an airline going while competing with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, mainly for Arab traffic. Primary strategy was to make use of our Eastern location to fly Eastwards-India, Singapore, Australia. Operating an airline is all about making money-whether for the company or the country. “We had to stay focussed on international operations and administrative manpower also increased. Growth is reflected in more aircraft and crew, more routes, more alliances and exchanges and so on. We have grown considerably, if I may say so”, he adds. On speaking about the importance and role of internationalisation in their company’s strategy he finds the question, odd. “Because right from the outset, we were an international carrier, with services to nearly 40 countries worldwide, as a legacy from BOAC”, he explains. This has to be balanced with the fact that they were pan-Arab too, with a predilection towards looking inwards. “We are a very small country and one jump takes you overseas. First, we had to shake off our Arab insular thought processes. Our clientele is more than 85% foreigners. Our Cockpit Crew is also crowded with foreigners, who are paid a handsome amount. We get to project our country, culture and cuisine. We try and attract tourists, venture capitalists, Formula 1 Race fans and also a higher educated level of workers”, says Derek Randall. Speaking about the international strategy Randall says, “As just said, we are a small country. We would like people to visit us, absorb our atmosphere, go around the country, meet and make friends”. They want more people to fly with them. In 2004, they carried a record 7.5 million passengers. They are a 4 Star airline, one of a select handful (Skytrax Research, 01-01-2008). “Our strategy is to woo customers and make their first flight with us so memorable that they will pick us again, when they next fly”, he explains. Their Frequent Flyer Programme is devised around this concept. On asking, “Chronologically, which countries did you enter?” he denies speaking much about the BOAC era. “But, by 1976, Gulf Air had expanded its route network to include Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Baghdad, Bangkok, Beirut, Cairo, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Khartoum, Larnaca, Manila, Paris, Ras al-Khaimah and Sana’a. Mind you, this was 32 years ago”, he answers. The 1980s saw an increase in air travel and growth for Gulf Air. In 1981, Gulf Air became an IATA member and in the following year became the first international airline to land at Riyadh. In 1988 the Boeing 767s joined the fleet and services to Frankfurt, Istanbul, Damascus, Dar es Salaam, Fujairah and Nairobi were launched, with services to Shiraz and Baghdad resumed. Singapore, Sydney and Trivandrum were touched and Gulf Air became the first Arab airline to fly to Australia, Randall explains it very well. Johannesburg and Melbourne were to the network (1992), becoming the first Arab airline to fly directly to these cities. The same year saw the introduction of services to Casablanca, Entebbe, Jakarta, Kilimanjaro, Madras, Rome, Sanaa, Zanzibar, and Zurich. In 1999, Gulf Air launched three new routes in North Pakistan: Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar. “We also introduced direct daily flights to Athens and Sydney, via Singapore, on 23 November 2003. In 2004, we introduced direct flights between Dubai and London & Muscat and London, and a daily service between Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Flights to Zanzibar were resumed in June and Cochin added to the network of destinations” says Randall (Official Website, Gulf Air). They left Beirut in 1976, Zanzibar in ’93, Shiraz and Baghdad in ‘97, but only for a short time, till ‘98. 2007 saw some changes, when Andre Dose, former CEO of Crossair and Swiss International Airlines, took over as our CEO from the acting CEO, Ahmad Al Hammadi who was filling in till 01 April 2007 from 01 October 2006, when Hogan resigned, Randall answers on asking about the countries did they left. In a BD 310 m ($ 825 m) restructuring programme initiated by Dose immediately on taking over, Bahrain will be where all flights start from and terminate at. On 6 May 2007, Oman also withdrew leaving us as 100% owners of Gulf Air. Dose resigned soon after and Bjorn Näf is our current President and CEO. We are exiting Alexandria, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cebu, Colombo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore, Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva, Manchester, Milan, Rome, Houston, New York, Melbourne and Sydney (List of Airfields, Official Website, and Gulf Air). When Derek Randall was asked about the person most familiar with the details of your entry into and exit from various countries, he tells us that their Board of Directors and he is familiar with the details of their entry into and exit from various countries. But it is the division head of regional operations who can rattle off details about their respective areas (Johnson et. al, pp. 26). Like any other organisation, they delegate duties and responsibilities downwards and provide authority so that the director is able to function with a free hand. “Let me give you an example of how we do it”, he said before providing this table. Entry Exit Person Responsible Johannesburg 1992 2007 Allan Donald CEO S Africa Dublin 1974 2007 Colm O’Donaghue CEO Europe Jakarta 1992 2007 Brett Lee CEO Australasia Singapore 1976 2007 Jerry Hwang, CEO Far East Hong Kong 1976 2007 Jerry Hwang, CEO Far East Sydney 1990 2007 Brett Lee CEO Australasia Chart courtesy (Moitra, April 2008) They have also commenced downsizing the force by around 25% and 500 personnel have already left (Gulf News, 11 June 2007). Derek Randall apologized on asking about the airlines’ annual financial statistics and staff strength since founding in order to get more history but he was having figures for the year 2004. Despite a BD 30 million (US$ 80 m) cost due increase in fuel prices, they recorded a profit of BD 1.5 m ($4 m) on Revenues of BD 476.3 m($ 1.26 bn), up 23.8 % over BD 384.6 m($ 1.026 bn). The results meant the airline out-performed the targets set under Project Falcon, the three-year restructuring plan approved by the Board in December 2002. In 1976, staff strength was 4,000 people. This went up to 4,500 in ’85, comprising 41 nationalities and speaking 23 languages. This is also part of our internationalisation process. Our strength today is 4,150 personnel worldwide. History in Respect of Specific Countries Then we decided to go through each country they entered, chronologically and ask them to describe the internationalisation process. We started from the Foundation Year, 1974. On asking about the countries they enter thereafter and how did they go about the internationalisation process he said that they started with a presence in about forty countries, thanks to BOAC. They then grew outwards to a number of countries. “There is really no way I can describe our entry into these countries and the time frame. Everything was done at breakneck speed and our procedure to set up shop and commence operations was based on political clearance”, he said. They were competing with Saudi Airlines. He told us about their presence in various countries starting from 1974 to 2004. In 2006, they signed an ‘Open Skies’ agreement with Thailand, which allows them, unrestricted flights between the two nations. They got their third Heathrow slot in November last year and will operate 4 non-stop flights to Shanghai starting in June. “We have quite a few code sharing arrangements to drive our passenger figures upward. This is one of our strategies, and inbound passenger traffic is more than outbound, as more and more people are coming into this country looking for jobs”, he adds. They share Frequent Flyer programmes with Gulf Air offers frequent flyer partnerships with Cathay Pacific, Jet Airways, Oman Air and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Their code sharing allies are: American Airlines, Bmi, Cyprus Airways, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Indian Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Olympic Airlines, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Thai Airways. In 2003, Gulf Air launched the Gulf Air Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP), replacing the earlier Falcon Frequent Flyer programme. The frequent flyer programme also won four awards at the 17th Annual Freddie Awards. These awards are decided by frequent travellers and were 1st Place - Best Award Redemption, (FFP), Europe/Middle East/Africa; 1st Place - Best Customer Service, (FFP), Europe/Middle East/Africa; 1st Place - Best Award, (FFP), Europe/Middle East/Africa and 1st Place - Best Website, (FFP), and Europe/Middle East/Africa. Explaining the code sharing in practical terms he says that the code sharing charter, they provide partner’s reservations, ground and aircraft support in Bahrain (Oxford Business Group, pp. 176), and they reciprocate by doing the same for us at their bases. This way they maintain only limited staff, not exceeding 40 odd people at the bases overseas. Most are locals and the supervisory staff is from here. Talking about the strategic rationale for entering any country Derek Randall finds it Pure and simple finance. “We want to expand and make money and savings are affected by code sharing, keeping overheads down. Nothing else. We do not want to deliberately poach on anybody’s preserve. Gulf Air wants to offer at least one daily service to all its destinations and then to step up the frequencies as soon as possible”, he said. He agreed that they spend a lot on advertising (FLUG REVUE 6/2003, page 26). On revealing the mode of entry into these countries he said that they came in through government support after clearing the air for either a joint venture, frequent flyer exchange, one on one route exchange or code sharing. I was unable to provide details for the 70 odd airfields they operate from in 50+ countries. Speaking about the entry dates Randall says, “Wherever possible, I have given the entry dates. Still, we started to London in April 1970. On 27 April 2006, the Governments of Bahrain and Thailand signed an Open Skies agreement; on 6 May 2007, the government of Bahrain claimed 100% ownership of the airline and on 6 November 2007, Gulf Air announced the third daily non-stop flight to London Heathrow International Airport from Bahrain. On 16 June this year, we will have four non-stop flights to Shanghai. As you know, the Gulf Air fleet would be downsized from 34 planes to 25, by keeping only the Airbuses, according to the Chairman of the Board Mahmood Al Kooheji” (Gulf Daily News, 11 June 2007). On asking what their company regards a ‘Sale’, “Anything that leads to a full fledged passenger flight to an airfield within a country”, he answers. In some countries, they operate to six or seven airports, if not more. “Take India: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad and Thiruvanathapiram. That is a great success for us, as India has about 150 million Muslims, from whom a huge number make the pilgrimage to the Haj. We are always full up in that season”, (Gulf Air in India, Online). Speaking about their strategy for India, he said, “We also receive many workers, skilled and unskilled from India. We offered them code sharing with our neighbours, the Emirates and Qatar. They were only too happy to expand, as there is a huge market in India which is facing a shortage of aircraft and crew, as well as airfields with proper infrastructure”. According to him, nobody helped him in this case. All that was required was common sense. A booming economy, close to 100% occupancy rates in the aircraft- these are all ingredients for success. He honestly accepts few mistakes in their strategies. “We did not have enough code sharing and this led to avoidable overheads. We entered China rather late, losing out on large scale Cargo operations. But we have learnt our lesson”, confessed Derek Randall. On asking about how soon they will recover your investments overseas, he said that in many cases, they have already done so, particularly in Muslim countries. With the new cost cutting programme in place (Whelan, 1983), they will be well clear of the red this year itself. Telling their commercial story in Bahrain, Randall told us about the unavailability of time due to the reason that it is quite a long story. But he promised to provide us with a brief history in written form. Speaking about his role in the expansion, involvement of others, some kind of research on possible markets and any surprise factors, he said, “I had a major role to play in the expansion eastwards, as I executed the overall plan that we had come up with at our Board Meeting. I supervised my deputies’ work and gave them the guidance or contact they required to keep moving forward”. As for research, there are many agencies that are continuously studying the market and provide the required information, for a steep cost. They cannot afford to be wrong, as all hell will break loose. There is no question of surprises-we pay for that. On asking if they missed anything he said that Gulf Air hosts the Bahrain Formula 1 Race (International Road Federation, 1991) every April end. The race is a great event and is a boon for our tourism. It is good for us and the hotels around. “We have won a number of awards, have a 4 Star rating and many more credits”, he said. In December 2002, the State of Qatar withdrew from the consortium, while the Governing Body decided to introduce the all-economy low cost full service subsidiary, the Gulf Traveller, flying on routes that had no potential for Business or First Class passengers. The airline also made history by appointing a female pilot for the Boeing 767- Caroline Le Cann, from France- the first airline in the area to do so (Flight International, 3 April 2007). On asking about their biggest failures and successes he said that their biggest success was undoubtedly the Foundation Treaty of 1974, and biggest failure was the Gulf Traveller. It proved to be a financial disaster, what with our partners backing out and we closed it down in ’07. “We had two accidents that sullied our record”, said Randall. He said that 2002, the accident and Qatar’s angry withdrawal is a sensitive topic and refused to answer. He suggested us to locate it from other sources. “All that I will say is that 2002 was a bad and sad year”, he added. Speaking about the lessons learnt both locally and overseas he said, “Every day we learn lessons. Managing an airline is a continuous learning curve which you never step off from. I think we should have studied Supply Chain Management, introduced IT-dependent work earlier, Human Relations Management by sector, etc”. There is a huge non-seasonal market to Asia. We should have used our aircraft to fly chartered operations to Europe. “For example, flights to secondary or tertiary airports in England and Germany are one possibility. With their own management and their own crew, we wouldnt be constrained by Gulf Air costs. I could go on, there are so many more. In fact, most of these are common to all airlines. All sections of the airlines are affected. It is a fallacy to think that an error committed by another airline elsewhere has nothing to offer for you-there is a hidden lesson for us, we only have to find it, disseminate it and gain in the long run”, he added. In the last stage of our interview, we asked him about what he has learnt about new country entry. He said that books have been written on this subject. “Compressing it, I think that you have to understand the culture and work ethos of any country you wish to enter. Then, is there space for us in the scheme of things? Can we bond with them? For instance, we cannot even think of any kind of bond with Israel. Is that country intellectually advanced? How large should our team be? What kind of ratio of Gulf Air employees to locals are?” he added. On asking how would he assess success quotient after one year he said that it is a general answer. “We are operating with and out of 50 odd countries, so individual assessments are not possible. If we reach the average occupancy ratio of all foreign airlines in one year, we think that we have started successfully. Thereafter, we wait for our unique offerings to take effect and if at 75% occupancy ratio, we are well on our way to success. We are at 73%, as of 6 April 2008 (Gulf Daily News, 7 April 2008). We have succeeded in many countries. But those that were a source of potential loss were removed from our list, which I have just given you”, says Randall. Talking about the interaction with his representatives overseas, he said that he manages it through daily telephonic contact, with meetings every quarter, unless something urgent comes up. On asking how decentralised he is, in terms of budgets, pricing, staffing and recruiting Derek Randall said that, “we stress that the reputation of Gulf Air must never suffer. Budgeting and pricing calls for discussions with our reps in the countries concerned. In recruitment, we give them a free hand”. Executive Summary: Gulf Air Bahrain Gulf Air, the Flag Carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, was launched as Gulf Aviation on 24 March 1950, by an individual named Frederick Bosworth, who had a fleet of ten aircraft, three De Havilland DH.86B 4-engined biplanes and seven Avro Ansons as a private share-holding company. His partner, BOAC, which brought in a Vickers VC-10 in 1970, picked up a major holding in the company on Bosworth’s untimely death in an air crash while air testing De Havilland Dove aircraft. In 1973, the four Gulf nations, viz, the Governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Qatar, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate of Oman bought out BOAC’s shares in Gulf Aviation and re-branded this entity as Gulf Air on 1 January 1974 in what was called the Foundation Treaty of 1974. The airline operates scheduled services to over 50 destinations in Africa, Europe, the U.S.A., Asia, the Middle and Far East. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport. The company’s logo features a golden falcon. It has grown with time and its current manpower strength is 4,150 personnel in over 32 countries, speaking 23 languages. It has 25 Airbus aircraft and 7 Boeings, with orders for 16 more and options on another 8. It is a 4 star airline, as sated by Skytrax and is particularly well known for its First Class which features chefs onboard to prepare meals according to a passenger’s choice. The airline is planning to downsize to 25 aircraft as the new versions come in, by selling off the old. It is currently run by Björn Näf as acting President and CEO. After going into a loss in the late 90s and early 2000s, Näf’s cost cutting strategies are paying rich dividend and is expected to show profit by end 2008. All said and done, Gulf Air is once again a popular airline. Introduction The deserts of the Saudi Arabian region have always been a nightmare to navigate, but were spared the rigours of World War II, which did not really extend beyond the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Oil had not yet been discovered in its abundance and travel eastwards to the Persian Gulf was not without its travails. Countries like Oman, Muscat, the Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain were semi-arid regions, with only the areas contiguous to the Gulf habitable. There was a lot of scope for entrepreneurs who would rise to the challenge of establishing sea links between the numerous ports along the Gulf and many did, enjoying success in the days of the short-range dhows. Air links required more enthusiasm and the dashing spirit associated with aviation. One such enterprising individual did show up, Frederick Bosworth, but the limitation he faced was non-availability of passenger aircraft. Most aircraft on the market were Bombers and after a prolonged search, Bosworth located and bought three De Havilland DH.86B 4-engined biplanes to kick-start his fledgling airline on the lines of an air taxi service, limited between Doha and Dhahran from Bahrain, simply because they had pucca runways that were more than 6,000 feet long. His enthusiasm saw him locating and buying seven more aircraft, this time Avro Ansons. On 24 March 1950, he registered his fleet of ten aircraft as Gulf Aviation, a private share-holding company. (The History of Gulf Air, 2007) In an endeavour to increase capacity and also modernise his fleet, he chose the comfortable De Havilland Dove 14-seater but crashed fatally during proving trials at Croydon in England in 1951. The void created by his death saw the other shareholder, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), picking up the bulk of shares to become the major shareholder in Gulf Aviation. Gulf Aviation then acquired a Vickers VC-10 in 1970 for service to and from London, increasing their fleet strength as revenue increased, before formally becoming part of BOAC (The Expansion of BOAC 1958, History - BOAC and the VC10). This was a short term success, as by then, the oil reserves of the entire region saw the emergence of a financially prosperous middle-East (Bradnock et. al, pp. 26). In 1973, the Governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Qatar, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate of Oman bought out BOAC’s shares in Gulf Aviation. Thus was Gulf Air born (The History of Gulf Air)? Gulf Air is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The airline operates scheduled services to over 50 destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle and Far East. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport. The company’s logo features a golden falcon. Though the Governments of the Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Qatar, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate of Oman bought out BOAC’s shares in Gulf Aviation in late 1973, Gulf Air came into being after the signing of the Foundation Treaty on 1 January 1974 (Official Website, Gulf Air). The airline is not part of an airline alliance but is part of the one world global explorer fare. It has extensive code-share services with other airlines and special relationships with Jet Airways from India and Oman Air’s frequent flyer programs. The Partners, the Aircraft and the Employees As just stated, four separate countries had bought Gulf Air from BOAC. A Foundation Treaty was signed among the four, with each partner contributing 25% of the expenses involved. Gulf Air became the national carrier of the four states in the Gulf. With money no longer a constraint, the airline established a wholly-owned Gulf Helicopters subsidiary, as, at times, the distance between two destinations was too short for cost effective airliner operations. Conveyance was also required to and from the oilfields in the backyards and helicopters was ideally suited for this short-hop role. Expansion was a natural outcome and the influence of the British started to wane. Earlier, all aircraft were from Britain. The next acquisitions were the American Boeing 737s and leased wide-bodied aircraft, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, and by 1976, the airline had expanded its route network multifold. The fleet now consisted of 4 Vickers VC-10s, 3 BAC One-Elevens, 2 Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 200s and 5 Boeing 737s. 1978 saw the Tristars increasing to 4, replacing the VC-10s and the Boeing 737s going up to 9, with the One-Elevens phased out. The 1980s saw considerable increase in air travel and growth for Gulf Air. In 1981, the airline joined IATA and in 1988, acquired Boeing 767s. May 1994 saw the Airbus A340-300 joining the airline, and 2 out of 6 Airbus A330-200 were in Gulf Air livery in 1999. Before 2003, the livery was predominantly white with a small golden falcon at the tail on a background of red, green and maroon stripes which represented the original four owner nations. Since 2003, the livery has been fully gold at the front with white at the rear and a large redesigned falcon at the tail. The uncertainty in the Gulf area saw the airline suffering with revenue dropping into the red. December 2002 was an unhappy month as the State of Qatar withdrew from the consortium, while the Governing Body decided to introduce the all-economy low cost full service subsidiary, the Gulf Traveller (Company History- Gulf Air, Online). Qatar then backed out of even being a hub, setting up its own airline, Etihad Airways. Gulf Air has announced that it will downsize its fleet to 25 aircraft by 2010, phasing out the older aircraft as new ones enter service. The average age of their aircraft is 12 years 3 months as of 31 March 2008. A leased Airbus A321-200 joined the fleet last month (April ’08). It is currently in talks with both Airbus and Boeing to lease up to 17 short-haul aircraft to replace the current ones (Official Website, Gulf Air). The Internationalisation of Gulf Air As stated repeatedly, Gulf Air was born an international airline. It had links to over 30 countries, courtesy BOAC, which it exploited to a fair degree. Unfortunately, they did not seek professional external help to convert these links into a gold mine, but preferred to go the Arab way-nice and easy. They got left behind and strategies to out-think a rival became that much more difficult. All the same, they caught up with the realities in life and decided to tread the beaten path-code-sharing and partnership in Frequent Flyer Programmes as well as promotions of events like Motor Racing, jewellery exhibitions, etc. A list of airfields operating out of is provided herewith as Exhibit A. Conclusion Gulf Air has proved to be one of the better managed and run airlines globally. After a lean period during the years of disquiet in the Gulf Area, where it lost money heavily, it is today in a good position financially, certainly better than many others who have shut down in the face of steep fuel costs and a recession in the U.S.A. The primary reason for their relatively good show has been their size and innovative ideas. The Chef-in-the-Sky is a one of its kind concept, taking luxury to its zenith. Providing 30 films in 6 languages and carry-away food is yet another crowd puller. E-ticketing at virtually all stations has proved to be a great cost-cutter, even if the initial investment in IT is high. Its occupancy levels are rising and, in my opinion, Gulf Air will regain its position somewhere at the top of the list of preferred airlines. References Bradnock, Robert. Bradnock, Roma. 2000. South India Handbook: The Travel Guide. Footprint Travel Guides Publication. Flug Revue Online. 9/2001. Motor-Presse Stuttgart. [Online]. http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/frhome.htm. Flug Revue Online. 6/2003. Motor-Presse Stuttgart. [Online]. http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/frhome.htm. Flug Revue Online. 6/2003. Motor-Presse Stuttgart. [Online]. http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/frhome.htm. Gulf Air in India. [Online]. http://www.iloveindia.com/airlines-inindia/international/gulfair.html. Gulf Daily News. 11 June 2007. Gulf Daily News. 7 April 2008. History - BOAC and the VC10. [Online]. http://www.vc10.net/History/historyBOAC.html. International Road Federation. 1991. World Highways. Route One Publishing. Johnson, Gilbert Gerald. International Monetary Fund. Clement, Jean. Eken, Sena. Pownall , Roger. Sheehy, Robert L. 1985. Formulation of Exchange Rate Policies in Adjustment Programs. International Monetary Fund. List of Airfields. Official Website. [Online]. www.gulfairco.com. Official Website. Gulf Air. [Online]. www.gulfairco.com. Oxford Business Group. 2007. The Report Emerging Bahrain 2007. Oxford Business Group Publication. Skytrax Research. 2008. [Online]. http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/Web_links.htm. The History of Gulf Air. 2007.Trade Wind Associates. Whelan, John. 1983. Bahrain: A MEED Practical Guide. Croom Helm. EXHIBIT A GULF AIR- INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS SERVED Africa Egypt Cairo (Cairo International Airport) Sudan Khartoum (Khartoum International Airport) Asia:- East Asia: China Shanghai (Shanghai Pudong International Airport) [starts 15 June 2008]. South Asia: Bangladesh Dhaka (Zia International Airport) India Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport) Bangalore HAL Airport Chennai (Chennai International Airport) Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport) [starts April 2008] Kolkata (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport) Kochi (Cochin International Airport) Mumbai (Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport) Trivandrum (Trivandrum International Airport) Nepal Kathmandu (Tribhuvan International Airport) Pakistan Islamabad (Islamabad International Airport) Karachi (Jinnah International Airport) Lahore (Allama Iqbal International Airport) Peshawar (Peshawar International Airport) Southeast Asia: Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) Philippines Manila (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Thailand Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) Southwest Asia: Bahrain Manama (Bahrain International Airport) Hub Iran Mashhad (Mashhad International Airport) Shiraz (Shiraz International Airport) Tehran (Imam Khomeini International Airport) Jordan Amman (Queen Alia International Airport) Kuwait Kuwait City (Kuwait International Airport) Lebanon Beirut (Rafic Hariri International Airport) Oman Muscat (Seeb International Airport) Salalah (Salalah Airport) Qatar Doha (Doha International Airport) Saudi Arabia Dammam (King Fahd International Airport) Jeddah (King Abdulaziz International Airport) Riyadh (King Khalid International Airport) Syria Damascus (Damascus International Airport) Turkey İstanbul (Atatürk International Airport) United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi International Airport) Al-Ain (Al Ain International Airport) Dubai (Dubai International Airport) Ras al Khaimah (Ras Al Khaimah International Airport) Yemen Sanaa (Sanaa International Airport) Europe:- Cyprus Larnaca (Larnaca International Airport) France Paris (Charles de Gaulle International Airport) Germany Frankfurt (Frankfurt International Airport) Greece Athens (Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport) Serbia Belgrade (Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport [begins June 2008]) United Kingdom London (London Heathrow Airport) Former destinations:- Africa: Alexandria, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Zanzibar. Asia: Cebu, Colombo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore. Europe: Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva, Manchester, Milan, Rome. North America: Houston, New York. Oceania: Melbourne, Sydney. AirCraft Total Passengers (1st/Buss./Eco.) Routes Notes Airbus A320-200 10 136 (-/16/120) Airbus A330-200 6 215 (8/24/183) Airbus A340-300 9 293 (12/24/257) Boeing 737-800 2 Leased from XL Airways Germany Boeing 767-300ER 2 236 (-/18/218) Boeing 787-8 16 Orders 8 Options Entry into service: 2016 Appendix A Gulf Air Fleet Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Air. Read More