Gulf Daily News September 9, 2004
Gulf Air drops jet plan
GULF Air has scrapped plans to order around 25 regional jets from two manufacturers, at a cost of around $625 million (BD236.25m).
The airline had changed its mind due to increased competiton from new regional airlines, a top official said yesterday. It had considered acquiring the aircraft from Bombardier or Brasileira de Aeronautics as part of its expansion plans.
"We were considering acquiring the 70-seat aircraft to use on short-haul routes for the airline's expansion plan up to 2010," vice-president for finance Ahmad Al Hammadi told the GDN.
"However, the decision was first discussed in 2002, before the introduction of new airlines that offer shuttle flights such as that Sharjah-based Air Arabia and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways."
Mr Al Hammadi said the airline told the manufacturers that it would not be going ahead with the plan to acquire the jets which he said cost approximately $25m (BD9.45m) each, because the market was saturated and it was no longer feasible.