Hello from Singapore, as I continue my whirlwind review trip. After flying Gulf Air’s Airbus A321LR from Rome to Bahrain, I connected on Gulf Air’s Boeing 787-9 from Bahrain to Singapore. I was excited about this flight, given Gulf Air’s excellent seats on the 787s. How was the experience? Well…
Continue reading: Impressions Of Gulf Air’s Boeing 787 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Are you sure that it's not a service feature for beverages to be served exactly five minutes after the main course?
"Breakfast orders were taken in advance, and I ordered a coffee, which I would have liked to have prior to even being served any food; instead it was served 10 minutes after the main course (let alone that it didn’t come with the starter), despite me asking a couple of times"
It is traditional in the Middle East/South Asia (and maybe the rest of Asia), to have tea/coffee after your breakfast. We don't normally drink it before. Which is why many airlines in the Middle East will serve it to you after. This happens on Emirates and Qatar as well (in Economy Class). They will not serve coffee/tea until after the meal service, even if you ask for it. Qatar has dine on demand in Business, which is why that isn't a problem.
@ JB -- I get that in economy it's often served after the fact because it's an assembly line approach to service. But surely if you're in business class you should be able to request a basic beverage when you'd like, especially if you explicitly ask for it?
Ultimately Middle Eastern carriers are serving the needs of global travelers. A vast majority of passengers in business class on this flight weren't from Asia or from the Middle East, but rather were Europeans connecting.
I've flown Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar a LOT over the years, and never has this been an issue. Ever. And I don't think this was intentional either. On my previous flight my wine was brought to me significantly after my food was served as well. It's just bad service.
Hi Lucky. As a Bahraini myself, I must admit that service and attention to details has always been GF's Achilles' heel. That is mainly due to the policy of Bahrainisation in the country, and the fact that most staff at the airline don't have much overseas/other airlines work experience to bring back to the company. But I do agree that the hard product is solid on the Dreamliners
Ben, I travel almost weekly and I only ever fly business and first class so I think I am quite well placed to make this comment. Whilst some business class models, and certainly all first class models, in the Middle East and Asia offer dine on demand, almost all Asian and Middle Eastern cultures have their tea / coffee after a meal. It is the same as if you go to a restaurant and have a 3-course meal, you may finish your meal off with a tea / coffee. This is standard practice even with the world's number 1 carrier and one of the the most elite offerings in the sky, Singapore Airlines. Your wine may have been served late yes, but who has tea / coffee with their starter at a restaurant? Please respect the fact that not everyone has to adhere to the "European" traveller because you are certainly not the only travellers using the airline and more importantly, you as a "European" are choosing to fly a Middle Eastern airline, therefore, respect their culture and learn to distinguish between flaws in service vs cultural differences or perhaps fly an airline that fits in with your envisaged cultural appropriation.
Just a few days ago, I flew into Heathrow in Economy class cabin, I must admit the cabin crew were not very professional compared to other airlines I've flown with.
They made a mistake handing out the preordered food and that caused quite a bit of chaos.
Beware, I flew on Gulf Air today in business class, and they enforced a 9 kilo limit for carry on bags - in business class. Made me check my bag, which will be a problem for a tight connection in Singapore on a separate ticket. I think I'm done with this airline.
Beware, I flew on Gulf Air today in business class from Frankfurt to Bahrain. It was as Ben described, but they enforced a 9 kilo limit for carry on bags - in business class. Made me check my bag, which will be a problem for a tight connection in Singapore on a separate ticket. Super nice cabin crew but I think I'm done with this airline.
C'mon, he asked for it, surely they should overlook the culture when someone specifically requests it.