By IANS,
Hyderabad : Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air, which launched its services to Hyderabad Tuesday, announced plans to add three new destinations to its network every year.
The airline, which made Hyderabad its eighth destination in India, also plans to add three aircraft to its fleet every year over the next five years and aims to become the best and biggest airline in the world.
Gulf Air, which launched services to China’s commercial capital Shanghai last month, currently operates flights to 40 destinations in 26 countries and has 30 aircraft.
Gulf Air’s acting chief operating officer Christopher Cain told a news conference here that the airline recently signed nearly $6 billion worth deal to purchase 16 Boeing-787 aircraft and placed a $5 billion order for purchase of 35 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Announcing the launch of Bahrain-Hyderabad flight, Cain said India was very important market for Gulf Air. “India is a booming economy and Hyderabad, as the fifth largest Indian city, is full of opportunities and an important market for us.”
The daily non-stop service between Bahrain and Hyderabad will be served by an Airbus A320-200.
The airline is already operating flights to Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
It operates over 275 flights per month offering 50,000 seats to eight destinations and plans to add two more destinations, Calicut and Ahmedabad, within a year.
He noted that Gulf Air, which launched its first flight to Mumbai in 1960, was one of the first few foreign airlines that started services to India at that time.
Gulf Air’s Indian subcontinent regional general manager Richard Hirsch said the airline operated 588 flights every week in the Middle East, with more non-stop flights than any other airline.