I don't understand why you think Gulf Air will have a hard time standing against the "new" state carriers in the region.
It has stood the test well against Emirates and Qatar and Etihad is still only a little sheik's toy.
Just because Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar have decided to concentrate on their own airlines does not necessarily mean that pax will fly them. It's all about choice and at the moment GF are delivering one hell of a service
Remember GF are the old boys in the region and that brings with it a lot of maturity and knowledge.
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