It’s an exciting week for Gulf Air. Not only has the airline announced plans to fly to New York (JFK), but the Bahrain-based carrier has also signed an agreement to more than double its wide body fleet.
In this post:
Gulf Air hugely expanding Boeing 787 fleet
Up until now, Gulf Air’s wide body fleet has consisted of a total of 10 Boeing 787-9s, with an additional two of those jets on order. It has now been announced that Gulf Air has ordered up to 18 additional Boeing 787s, with 12 firm orders and six options.
That means Gulf Air now has a firm order for 24 Dreamliners, with the possibility of bumping that up to 30 jets. The variants for the additional jets haven’t yet been announced, so it’s not clear if the additional Dreamliners will all be 787-9s, or if we could see new variants introduced. Furthermore, the delivery timeline also hasn’t been revealed.
For context, beyond the Boeing 787s, Gulf Air’s fleet otherwise consists of nearly three dozen Airbus A320-family aircraft, including the A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, and A321LR.
Here’s how Gulf Air Chairman Khalid Taqi describes this latest Boeing order:
“This agreement marks a transformative step in Gulf Air’s strategic growth journey as we expand our global footprint and modernize our fleet with one of the industry’s most advanced and efficient aircraft. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has proven to be an exceptional aircraft for our long-haul operations, and this new order reflects our confidence in its performance, passenger appeal and contribution to our sustainability goals. We are proud to deepen our partnership with Boeing and reaffirm our commitment to positioning Bahrain as a key global aviation hub.”
Gulf Air has some pretty lofty expansion plans
As an airline geek, I can’t help but briefly reflect on the history of Gulf Air. Gulf Air used to be the biggest and most global airline in the Gulf region. The airline was founded in 1974, when Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Oman, got together to invest in existing Bahraini airline Gulf Aviation, to create a flag carrier for the four states.
Suffice it to say that the dynamics in the region changed, and that really started with Dubai launching Emirates in 1985, chipping away at Gulf Air’s market share and dominance (Emirates President Tim Clark actually worked at Gulf Air until he was part of the team that started Emirates). Of course we then also saw Qatar launch Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi launch Etihad, and Oman launch Oman Air.
As that happened, Gulf Air’s importance in the region continued to shrink, as it struggled to compete with peers and innovate. The airline had an outdated fleet, and didn’t have a global route network. I’d argue that several years ago, the carrier basically become irrelevant as a connecting carrier.
So it’s interesting to now see Gulf Air heavily focused on growth. The airline has been positively transforming its passenger experience, and also has a nice new terminal at its hub. I am curious to what extent this expansion will be successful:
- Even if Gulf Air doubles its Dreamliner fleet, the airline will still only be a fraction of the size of it Gulf peers
- This expansion comes at a time where the region is seeing massive growth, ranging from the launch of Riyadh Air, to Indian carriers (Air India and IndiGo) trying to regain market share that has shifted to Gulf carriers in recent years
I’m curious if these additional Gulf Air planes are used for ultra long haul expansion (more flights to the United States, Australia, etc.), or if we just see a deeper network in Asia and Europe.
Admittedly turning a direct profit on flights with this expansion might be a secondary goal. After all, global connectivity has broader economic benefits, so when an airline is government owned, it’s not necessarily a bad idea to expand, even if it’s not directly profitable.
Bottom line
Gulf Air has just placed a new Boeing 787 order. The carrier previously had 12 of these planes on order (with 10 of those already in the fleet), and has now placed an order for up to 18 more of those jets, with 12 being firm, and six being options.
This represents a huge expansion for the Bahrain-based company, and I’m curious to learn more about the delivery timeline, and what exactly the carrier’s strategy will be.
What do you make of Gulf Air’s Boeing 787 order?
Sigh, at first I thought I would just skip comments from TD, then I decided to skip every post that mentioned Delta to avoid annoying comments and counter comments. Now maybe I will just skip every post about Boeing. It's really annoying and I know this blog belongs to Lucky and he's free to write what he wants but I find myself reading it less and less. Guys please start your own blogs and stop flooding the comment section
As everyone knows that a Boeing order placed today may never see the order completed in most readers lifetime, this announcement is nothing to get excited about.
I can assure you that Boeing is taking orders for new aircraft and those new orders will be delivered before the completion of existing orders.
No major supplier sells out its entire delivery schedule years in advance and esp. so that it is incapable of gaining new customers.
New 787 orders today will see first deliveries in the 3-5 year time frame.
I think it is safe to say that many readers of this site expect to be alive in 3-5 years.
:-) …. :-) …. do be careful of your predictions Tim, with the state of the mentally of some who post herein …. both yours and my effigies will be full of voodoo pin holes before the end of the month …. the poor darlinks ….
They probably need to join an alliance to make their long haul strategy work
Maybe Star Alliance can finally get a GCC airline?
Seriously, GF, just join the Star Alliance already. GF’s CEO Jeffrey Goh was previously the CEO of the Star Alliance, and is from Singapore. Star is losing out in the Gulf by not having an airline from there, so why not the airline that’s literally named Gulf Air? Meanwhile Oneworld marches ahead with QR, RJ and now WY...