Gulf Air Developments

[skywaytoheaven]

The fact that we're still talking about the Tristar (great aircraft that it was) says it all i'm afraid. dear oh dear...
BN gets paid to think up horse **** like that, thats the only power he has.
What i dont get about all of this is we're getting the 777-300ER with Jet Airways interiors in jet airways colours, just the safety card with a GF logo on it, whoopeedo! How is that some great achievment for Gulf Air? Meanwhile all the other crap with GF remains. We were told nearly a year ago that the a/c interiors were going to get a seeing to in Singapore, yet nothing, NOTHING has been done. With this company you really have to see it to believe it, shocking absolutley shocking.

[ODMEA]

I gradually watched as the great A340/A330 F and J cabins decline quickly. GF could have leased 777's from any carrier and kept the same interiors; the fact Jets have state-of-the-art interiors was just a bonus. It's definately not the doing of GF.

I wish all the bulls$#@ would just stop from GF...give the paying pax what they want and do it competitavely-SIMPLE. You either want to run an airline or not---otherwise GF will just remain an alternative to an employment agency for Bahranis.

Years of crap and ad nauseum announcments from GF regarding plans and future strategy has worn thin and many 1000's of KM's flown by me in f with the cabin manager kneeling by my seat telling me of glorious initiatives by GF which NEVER came to fruition. As I said a nice lounge, F and J interiors were introduced...but slowly wearing away- refer to my post about the water feature in the GF lounge..once it broke it was never fixed..WHY? a small example of the general apathy. All Gulf airlines start off superbly just as GF did, then EK now EY...but look at where they eventually end up - inconsistant with many disinterested expat staff who have NO national pride in the airline they are working for-its just an escape from poverty, joblessness in their own country or an easy tax free few years of a change. The only other alternative is QR and one only needs to read entries on PPrune to learn how it treats its staff to maintain its "5 star" status:oh: I also know that a totally locally run airline in the Gulf region would most probably be equally if not even less efficient.

I do agree that GF did have the best service of any Gulf carrier...even though the hard product was attrocious in comparison to competitors.

For a start GF can start treating its most loyal pax with some dignity and recognition-which is the main reason I lost all faith in GF. GF officials who also read this site have been in touch with me about this, however I personally feel they too are swimming against a heavy tide of apathy by the locals running GF. I am impressed at their initiatives and think its very reassuring that GF may still have some hope while people of that calibre are working there.

I loved flying GF and transitting & stopping over at BAH. The boutique airline option was(?is) there for GF's taking yet blindly and carelessly now as remote as ever. So from an ex GF gold for life member soon to be pleb silver thereafter looser blue status there you have it - I call it 'pax perspective'- we do more than just load ourselves on and off aircraft;)

I beg the question from ex Gulf air bods and current Gulf Air people...what made the tri star five star? What did GF do back then that worked? What did GF do in the early 90's when the service was execllent? and What went wrong? I still brag about my first trip with GF in 1995 in J-what happened!! :confused::rolleyes:
There now I feel better.:O:ouch:

[Flygulfair]

I believe that the B777's Will be great for GF, but i still think they should at least change the colours etc and just says its GF!

I emailed them believe it or not, and the response they gave to all things i pointed out was "the wheels are in motion" And i was just like well WHY CANT THEY GO FASTER! GO 1,000 MPH IF YOU NEED TO! :ugh:

The problem is, Every passenger has lost faith in GF, They have great service by crap aircraft. Either be crap or be good.

The amount of reviews on GF about how bad they are is annoying and quite frankly they need to sit there and see whats wrong and fix it, It is not hard!

The Frquent flyer programs is OK but sending me the newsletter 20 times is annoying.

I am happy that they have the B777's But whats going to happen to the rest of the aircraft? Why should they be crap?

The problem middle eastern airlines have is , the aircraft going to the hub is lovely spaciouse the best. Then when they go on to there connection flight the aircraft is fixed with ducktape :* Give one type of service or just dont bother :yuk:

I just hope that they get everything sorted soon, otherwise it will be another swiss air. And everyone will be crying.

So it is slowly happening but not quick enough.

I agree with sal-e, the best customer service but **** hardware :ok:

[Radar Contact]

How long the B777-300 will be staying for? Will they be painted into GF scheme? I guess not. Like the 330's they have, just a put a sticker and off you go :D

I think GF scrapped the plans for new livery and the F1 2009 unless they paint it 2 weeks prior to the race like last year :)

Regards,

[Rock&Go]

Gentlemen,

Good afternoon/evening, I'd like to know how long does it normally take for Gulf Air to send the interview invitation after having applied. I hold a JAA ATPL licence with +1000 hrs. on A320.

What is GA hiring status presently? I imagine they must be quite busy preparing the 777 fleet but would appreciate any info regarding new hires.

Thank you in advance,


Cheers

[Dessert Aviator]

I remember the day's when GF owned 50% of Jet Airways along with Kuwait things appear to have gone full circle and Jet now own GF :uhoh:

[Rock&Go]

JS3,

Congratulations on your achievement, well done!! I sent my application just a week ago, though two days sounds pretty good.

I presume you are experienced on type as well. How did you find the people at Gulf Air and Bahrain itself? I have heard it is actually one of the nicest and open minded places to live in the Middle East.
What about the whole selection process? Any advice appart from studing and preparing the cause thoroughly? :)

Fell free to PM if you need to

[Flygulfair]

One of the biggest issues is, the aircraft they have from jet is Jet airways branded so this is what customers think:
"The only good part was Bangkok to Bahrain flight on the way back, Jet Airways operated the flight and provided excellent service, AVOD, good food and space. "

You see what i mean lol :ugh:

[ssflyer]

Any pics on the new arrival?

[Albergineman]

Any news about -KA? Did it have its interior renewed?

:ok:

[stefan1138]

Well, has the first 777 now arrived? If so, are there pictures?
Thx adn regards Stefan

[Che Guevara]

Hi Stefan,
The problem here is that we are not allowed to take photos at the airport for 'security' reasons :rolleyes:
However I'm sure someone will post one soon...;)

Chao

[stefan1138]

Thank you Che. So it is there, that is good to know. I am really looking forward to the pictures.
Regards Stefan

[skywaytoheaven]

Flew A9C-KA today, it has a new cabin, although I had to convince the CSM! Good job, thats one, now lets hope they keep it up!

[MAKAVELI320]

CHE ! from where did u get that info about not allowed to take pictures at Bah airport

[Che Guevara]

From the guy that got arrested taking pictures of aircraft taking off.

It fits neatly into the category of no model aircraft flying in Bahrain, same logic I suppose.:rolleyes:

[Albergineman]

Here it goes the very first (although very small) Gulf Air's Boeing 777 photo...

Trade Arabia - Middle East & GCC Business Information | Trade News Portal (http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=TTN&artid=157388)

:)

[Fulcrum77]

Hello guys!
Please, is there anybody who can help me. I've applied as direct entry non rated F/O for A320 and I'd appreciate any info concerning possible selection as infos on GF web page are just general.
By the way is there real demand for new pilots or they are just collecting applications?

Thanks in advance

[Flygulfair]

I hope that GF's glory will show once again, and that there will be millions of good reviews about service etc now and for the future.

Finally something positive is happening.

[ironbutt57]

Not taking non-rated as of now Fulcrum...rated pilots showing up from everywhere..yes hiring is ongoing so keep your things updated....

[Radar Contact]

I can't stop laughing about the comments made in this thread regarding "GF Glory" just because they got a 777 does not mean they are going to stop losing 1 Million $ a day :ok: get real guys, over 3 years they had more than 3 CEO's and non of them can or will stop GF from loosing money. As my friend said, the only way to get back GF to stop losing money but not profit is downsizing the staff which I agree with. There are far too many thiefs and non experienced people who shouldn't be there. So guys who think getting 4 777's and retiring A340's would get GF back to it's 'glory' are totally wrong. GF glory was only due to the fact there was 6 countries investing and working on the airline now there is only 1.

[ironbutt57]

There were 4 i seem to remember..

[Radar Contact]

I know that but don't forget they are going to be under used (these planes are designed for ULR) even with 4 still, I don't think GF will go back to profit ;)

[skywaytoheaven]

Did it ever make a profit, even in the 'glory' days? I doubt it very much.

[Mephistopheles]

Radar Contact, I think if you check your history you may find that GF was owned by only 4 countries.

[Che Guevara]

Radar Contact

Does GF have to be profitable? One can argue that it is a piece of the jigsaw and serves it's part in the future business plans for this nation. Yes, operating 777s will not solve all their problems, however they will certainly enhance the 'product', reduce operating costs, increase dispatch reliability etc. etc.

You seem to question the choice of ULR aircraft for their route network, well, there is far more to the equation than the range of an aircaft for operational success as I am sure you might be aware, an example that comes to mind is the A-330 (200) which has a very long range capability, but which operators use it to it's maximum....very few you will find, however it is an efficient aircraft and a money maker for many. Furthermore the 777 gives the company to opton and flexibility to operate wherever they choose eg. the US if they choose to.

Yes, they are overstaffed, but how much does this really cost the airline, will halving the staff make them profitable, I don't think so, after all they are not paying the wages or salaries that an equivalent EU airline pays for example. I agree that it would go towards saving money, but at what social cost for Bahrain? Do EK or QR make money? EK claims they do, but is this not through clever book keeping and once again Dubai.com....which seems to be going the way of most .coms.

Did Gulf Air ever make money, probably not, however it did serve a useful purpose to it's owners, one which they outlived and finally went their own ways.

Well there you go, my humble opinion and yes, obviously I feel that 777 is a great move and with the future fleet renewals taking place, I wish them all the best in a difficult time.

Chao

[Low Tide]

Does anyone know email for Human Remains at Gulf Air ? Having problems with online application... many thanks

[Desert Diner]

You nooobies, this is deja vu!:bored:

I remember back when the tri stars were leaving and GF was betting its future with those shiny new 340s:}

I also remember when there were four owners and the parade of "owner reps" that came and went.

When the planes are new and shiny, everyone is happy. The s:mad: hits the bucket only when they stop keeping them shiny and clean.

As for GF (or any gulf) airline not having to make a profit, that is utter b:mad:ll:mad:s. Nobody wants to lose $1million a day!

The people they hire to run them may be clever enough to disguise the losses for some time, but eventually they become to big to disguise.

[Che Guevara]

As for GF (or any gulf) airline not having to make a profit, that is utter bhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/censored.gifllhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/censored.gifs. Nobody wants to lose $1million a day!


Lets try again Mr. bhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/censored.gifllhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/censored.gif...
Nobody said that losing a million dollars a day is desireable, however this certainly is not caused by overstaffing for one. Secondly, obviously they would all like to make money, however it is also obvious that 'flying the flag' at all costs is important to some, very important.

Yes, every pilot in the world likes to fly 'shiny new aircraft', it sure makes our lives easier...although an old Caravan on floats in the Caribbean is also attractive.

[repapips]

No offense Che but i always see you end most of your posts with "Chao". Shouldn't that be supposed to be "Ciao"? (as in the Italian for "Hello" and "Goodbye")
If that's another foreign word then disregard my concern.

Again, no offense...

[Sal-e]

I tend to be a little more upbeat than the naysayers as is the case with the latest Arabian Business website.

Gulf Air predicts break-even point next year - Transportation - ArabianBusiness.com (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/548731-gulf-air-predicts-break-even-point-next-year)

and

Aviation expert predicts bright future for ME airlines - Transportation - ArabianBusiness.com (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/548640-aviation-expert-predicts-bright-future-for-me-airlines)

With the latter story, GF is probably better positioned from a business point of view because of the latest upgrading of her fleet and future development plans and routes and her smaller comparative size, unlike the behemoth that is becoming of the neighbour's airlines.
The global downturn may actually suit GF's circumstance.

[gulfairinsider]

Here is the first picture

Gulf Air receives first Boeing 777 aircraft | Gulf Air (http://www.ameinfo.com/187115.html)

[stefan1138]

Well, no 777 but GF will soon receive the following A320 not taken up by a chinese airline:

Photo Gulf Air Airbus A320-214 A9C-AA (http://planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=823915)

regards Stefan

[Che Guevara]

No offense taken amigo...you know you are right the word does come from Italian, however it has been integrated into several languages with their own spelling, Spanish being just one of the many.

Hasta luego ;)

[Desert Diner]

Lets try again Mr. b:mad:ll:mad:...
Nobody said that losing a million dollars a day is desireable, however this certainly is not caused by overstaffing for one. Secondly, obviously they would all like to make money, however it is also obvious that 'flying the flag' at all costs is important to some, very important.



Amigo?

Do you have any idea where that money comes from? And just exactly how much is there?

[bluebirde2000]

Bahrain-based Gulf Air is poised to break even next year despite the financial downturn as regional air traffic continues to grow, a senior executive said.

"The industry is challenged and most airlines will take a beating but this region is growing in passengers and revenues. Gulf Air will definitely break even by 2010," Siah Joo Tan, director of corporate development said.

"All indicators are showing towards that, even the 2008 financials show a record year," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an aviation summit, declining to give specific figures as results have not been officially announced.

CEO Bjorn Naf told Reuters in November that the Bahrain state-owned carrier would return to profitability by 2010, as a massive turnaround programme it is undergoing starts to pay off.

The loss-making carrier cut its network and jobs in 2007 and started to renew its fleet, after announcing losses of more than $1 million a day.

"It is difficult to forecast this year just now but Gulf Air has set aggressive targets and with regional traffic growing, we are confident of equalling last year's numbers," Tan said.

The airline, which flies to 30 countries and has a fleet of 29 aircraft, has wet-leased four Boeing 777 planes from India's Jet Airways.

The first of the four will be delivered this week and the remaining after every two months, he said.

"Leasing planes is a short-term measure to replace ageing aircraft until we get our new planes," said Tan.

The carrier has 59 planes on order as it partially renews its existing fleet of 27 planes and plans to add three planes and three destinations each year until 2013. -Reuters

Trade Arabia - Middle East business information | Trade news portal (http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_157439.html)

[Che Guevara]

Do you have any idea where that money comes from? And just exactly how much is there?

I'm afraid you have lost me there, can you elaborate?
Are we talking about GF here or the other Gulf Airlines? If it is GF then please let us know your thoughts, in particular how much is there?
Incidentally, I was not referring to GF when I mentioned flying the flag etc.

Chao

[Albergineman]

Just saw this highlight at the airliners.net but the content is only accessible for first class members of that forum.
Can anyone here access that information?

:eek:

[boiler]

As usual, leave it to the press to misinterpret the facts. The article mentioned that GF has ordered 59 aircraft and I assume they added those to the current 29 even though those order above will completely replace all the current aircraft in the fleet.

[mkdar]

Low tide
If you want the e-mail address of Human resources in gulf air, I don’t have it, if you want the e-mail address for human remains however , it is [email protected]


:):):)

[Desert Diner]

I'm afraid you have lost me there, can you elaborate?
Are we talking about GF here or the other Gulf Airlines? If it is GF then please let us know your thoughts, in particular how much is there?
Incidentally, I was not referring to GF when I mentioned flying the flag etc.


Amigo,

I can elaborate by saying that none of the Gulf Airlines, including GF, have their revenue departments directly tied in to oil wells, in spite of what quite a few posters around here think and post.

Furthermore, I can't think of any of the airlines here and the countries that founded them that can afford to subsidize them indefinitely in order to fly their flag. They were started as businesses, run by expat airline "professionals", to make money not to lose it.


Secondly, obviously they would all like to make money, however it is also obvious that 'flying the flag' at all costs is important to some, very important.


Now would you like to elaborate on your observation?

[Che Guevara]

Thanks for the expalnation.

I think the concept of flying the flag is well understood by those that hold that opinion.

Cheers

[Desert Diner]

Anyone that actually works for any of the gulf carriers should realize by now that the concept of them being supported by limitless buckets of oil money is a fallacy.

Their owners may seem oblivious to the losses, but that has more to do with them being oblivious to said loses.

Che, just which airlines do you think are actually "flying the flag"?

I hope you are not confussing advertising gimicks like sponsoring football teams and stadiums with flying the flag!

[Pikey boy]

How are things going in the GF Ops Centre?

[buba]

herz for flying the 'new' machines...cheers

[buba]

by the way any idea how many 340s going to be withdrawn from the fleet and how many 330s to be added by 2009/2010. thanks

[Icarus]

Very surprised no-one has mentioned this (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=245311&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31355). Or was the GDN banned from GF HDQ today?

[Desert Diner]

The eight-MP Al Asala Islamic bloc yesterday welcomed the alleged sacking of a Finnish official responsible for the company's future strategy, but warned that the worst is yet to come, as new unqualified personnel were being hired.


... ... ... ... ...

For example, the marketing director who we believe should be sacked, spent around BD700,000 to bring in a musical group Simply Red, to play in one the events for an hour and what I am asking is, if this is what a sane, qualified official should have done, considering that the company needs every fil at this difficult time."


The need to be a bit more accurate with their facts if they want to be taken serious.:=

[Che Guevara]

Very surprised no-one has mentioned this (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=245311&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31355). Or was the GDN banned from GF HDQ today?

It is hardly worth the effort is it..

Just more Ethnocentrism.

[ironbutt57]

Geez Che, thats a big word...sure you're a pilot??:}

[Mephistopheles]

Desert Diner, whilst the wording was not entirely correct it did cost GF that much to host the F1 party & Simply Red were simply way, way over paid by the marketing team.
Che, although I had to get my old dictionary out to understand what you were on about, please remember that it's a 2 way street & you & some of your collegues are also guilty of the same BS that our MPs are guilty of. A certain saying about glass houses springs to mind...
Also before you accuse me of being racist or believing that I am ethnically superior I can most definately say that ALL GF managers are donkeys just with different colored passports-I wouldn't give a squirt of piss for any of them.

[brassplate]

zero squirt of piss from my end too.:ok:

[Che Guevara]

you & some of your collegues are also guilty of the same BS that our MPs are guilty of

Interesting comment there. First of all you do not know who I am, and secondly I don't know who you refer to as my colleagues. If you are referring to my colleagues as being the expatriate workforce then I think Sir that perhaps my comment might also apply to you.

Also before you accuse me of being racist

Nobody has accused you of being a racist, these are your own words; ethnocentrism refers to culture and not race.

ALL GF managers are donkeys just with different colored passports

This I'm afraid does not do your case well.

I was hoping that your pseudonym was perhaps chosen so that you could play the 'devil's advocate', this is obviously not the case as you have just hurled a massive boulder through your 'glass house'.

Finally, I thought long and hard about replying to your post as the purpose of this forum is to comment on Rumours and News in our industry and not hurl insults at each other as some people may believe. We might not all agree with other people's ideas, however we are all entitled to our opinions. The final word on ethnocentrism is that all cultures are guilty of it to some degree, however some more than others. I happen to come from a country where we are aware of it and try not to let it get in our way as we have opened our doors to people from all over the world in response for them doing so in the past for us.

Certainly if I was a racist as you seem to think, I would not be working here, that should be obvious.

[boiler]

ALL GF managers are donkeys just with different colored passports-I wouldn't give a squirt of piss for any of them.

Shameful comments as these do not belong in such a forum IMHO. I agree with Che that this is a place for rumors of the industry and not to hurl insults such as the above. Let us keep this discussion dignified and go back to the original topic of discussion.

[Chuck Y]

So Kolkatta has finally been axed. Whats next?

[wapses]

so the finnish strategy guy has gone? and MPs again calling for naf to go. they may know little about aviation themselves, but they are certainly correct when they call him unqualified.

[Sal-e]

I will defend BN in this instance. Do I like him? No. But that doesn't matter.
First, how would you define qualified? Someone with a degree in the field? Plenty of experience? Both?
I am opposed to the fact that he is being scrutinised on that basis alone. The reasons should be obvious. Results.

What has changed since he took the wheel? Or are you all too blind to notice? I challenge you to list those changes, real tangible changes before broadsiding the guy. Here's a few.

Improved aircraft conditions. Surely you would have noticed that. Only some aircraft haven't improved by that much. That can not be helped.
Improved OTP.
Improved pay and benefits. If you didn't see that, then try doing your budget based on the conditions two years ago.
Refleeting. About time too. B777 just about on line, A320s, A330s on the way, B787 down the road.

What I'm really trying to say is we've had unprecedented changes during BN's watch, mostly for the better. More changes than when GF had several owners. More changes ever.
It begs the question. Do they want him out so that others can claim the credit for all that hard work?
Because if you ask me, sacking him because of lack of qualification amidst all these fundamental changes in our airline just does not cut it.

[Albergineman]

Here is the Boeing 777 in LHR today!

Photos: Boeing 777-35R/ER Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/photo/Gulf-Air-%28Jet/Boeing-777-35R-ER/1497550/L/&tbl=&photo_nr=0&sok=&sort=&prev_id=&next_id=NEXTID)

:D

[Panama Jack]

Thanks, Sal-e for putting the first sensible post on this threat in a very long time. :ok:

[coolio545]

Hi,by the way,does anyone know about JAA medical class I center in bahrein or amman?

[mkdar]

in Bahrain :
Dr J Al tareef
Dr al safar
in Jordan :
Dr Jahshan
Dr Isam Salameh
sorry, I don't have any of there phone numbers

[T O G A Boy]

try this link to get the bahrain number

:: Batelco.com :: (http://www.181.com.bh/)

[radron]

as the widow of rad gammage could anybody assist with contact of head of staff travel,l have contacted human resources,answer machine no reply as l am still fighting for my late husbands monies due and have applied for a retirement ticket with the same ...holes who could or would not get him out of cyprus .l have been told they will consider issuing me a ticket in a months time.l need to get to a lawyer end of april,do they ever change thanks

[wastafarian]

in an atempt to apease bahrains mps, gulf air has just hired 150 morocan girls. never heard the mps acusing any of them of incompitance. :rolleyes:

[bus787]

OH That puts GF beck on line to please the RICH and ABLE!!!
First CLASS Service!!!!

[SilveR5]

Hi coolio545

Here are 2 JAA AME,s in Bahrain

1) Dr. Nader Al Saffar. Clinic Tel. +973 17710066

2) Dr. Bassel Al Zeera. Clinic Tel. +973 17310030

Personally, I would recommend Dr. Nader. While for Dr. Jaafar Al Tareef, he is not in practice anymore.


All the best

[Sal-e]

Morrocans? Fantastic! Nothing like 20 year old nymphettes to bolster the image of our fair company!!:ok:

[coolio545]

hi silver5,

thanks for the info,
do you know if they are in gulf air medical center or something??as im going to bahrein this week for pc check and will stay there only 2 nights.
how long do they take to give me the class I?

thanks..

[SilveR5]

coolio545..I've sent you PM

Good luck

[mkdar]

Coolio545

Sorry for being late to reply, busy flying as usual.
Well, I believe one of the fellows answered some of your questions,
In Bahrain, the GF clinic does 1st class medical check up but, I think if you are hired by Gulf Air only, they will do it for you free of charge, I don’t think it’s available for walk ins.
In GF clinic it’s done by Dr Aysha Alsafar and DR Nizar.
I have a feeling some one is going to tell me that no more Dr Nizar !
It takes an hour or so, inclusive of ECG, straight forward really.
Yes , the clinic is in the GF headquarter, near the simulator building.
In Jordan, It’s in Amman, there are a few Doctors approved for JAA medical checkups, including FAA as well, if you are in Jordan, give the royal Jordanian air academy a call and ask them about the names and addresses of approved doctors, again, I don’t have their Number but, try this link :

http://orange.jo/white.php (http://orange.jo/white.php)

[Mephistopheles]

Having just read the CEOs weekly b(ulls***)log on mygulfair it seems the halfwit & his merry bunch of jokers have finally realized that we are in the midst of a global economic crisis. But, thank goodness that we have these fantastic business minded individuals that make up our board & senior management to guide us through these "turbulent times"! It is very heartening to here that one of the steps being implemented is that "We have also decided to cancel this years Formula One party."
What? No clapped out overpaid old British band that couldn't get a gig playing at the Bangladeshi club! That's a huge concession by our leadership! But what about Mr Siah Joo Tan,director of Corporate Development, stating on 5th March "The industry is challenged and most airlines will take a beating but this region is growing in passengers and revenues. Gulf Air will definitely break even by 2010." Surely, this guy should be given his marching orders since that will definately reduce some of the airlines costs & the CEO said that "Each and everyone of us must be accountable and achieve results." Poor chump doesn't know his face from his a***.
As to reducing the period of the wet lease of the B777. Well, lads first of all you have to come out with a list of those that have been selected to fly it. Then maybe think about training them, then ged rid of the Jet pilots.

[Panama Jack]

I found the tone of the last Hello Gulf Air to be a refreshing change and a wakeup call. Beyond that, I wish I could be a little more optimistic about the chance of a real turn-around at Gulf Air. I found it to be very similar to the ill-received message that André Dosé delivered a few years ago. Unfortunately, there are too many players pulling the strings, in different directions, as happens at entirely too many State-run industries. When this occurs, the end result is mediocrity.

I have heard that Bangalore and Hyderabad will be going the same way as Calcutta, with a decision pending about the future of service to Shanghai. Sounds like the rumoured "3-M's" destinations that they were talking about for new services to new destinations may be reduced to only one "M"-- sending airplanes to Mojave.

Seat Belt sign . . . ON

[noellutza]

Hi.
I am from Romania and i have been selected to work as a flight attendant for GF. In a few months i`ll be in Bahrain and i`m really scared. Does anyone have some advices for me? PLEASE!:)

[tmax]

????????????????? cabin crew????????? Have u read the F........ng Thr,,,,,,d!!!try cabin crew forums!

[Ali Baba]

flight attendant for Gulf Air
Hi.
I am from Romania and i have been selected to work as a flight attendant for GF. In a few months i`ll be in Bahrain and i`m really scared. Does anyone have some advices for me? PLEASE!http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/smile.gif

This is great :rolleyes: me too, scared, really scared please bring quilt so we can hide together:cool:

[REACH-69]

Miss Romania ,pls give Mr.K.Haji (cabin crew dept.) a call ,he might offer you a part time job at amwaj island.......:ok:

[Sal-e]

noellutza,
Don't let these guys or circumstances scare you. Bahrain is actually one of the few places relatively sheltered by the surrounding turmoil.
The only issues for flight attendants is the high turn over rate. They all seem to go quickly then regret it later when the greener pastures they thought turn out to be mould.
It will be as good a place as you make of it.

[40&80]

There you go Romania girl...Ali Baba has control...please stand by for your takeoff briefing...and do not forget to check for hazards before opening anythying.

[noellutza]

At least i got an answer. The rest of you could have just ignored me. I guess i just can`t understand this kind of attitude. Help me if you can, or leave me alone. It`s not so complicated, or it shouldn`t be. Have a nice day!

[ironbutt57]

Welcome to GF!! You will undoubtedly enjoy yourself most of the time..make the best of it, and no fears about anything..:ok::ok:

[noellutza]

Fiuh...i thought there weren`t any nice people on the planet.:) Just a few are enough for me.

[sheryas777]

The past week has certainly been eventful. On Tuesday we took delivery of the first of four new Boeing 777’s. Some staff, along with members of Senior Management and myself, had the opportunity to go on board and take a look at the aircraft and what it has to offer. Like I have said before, this is a fantastic product - the best in the sky at the moment and we are extremely thrilled that it is now part of our fleet.
:=:=:=


Many of you were involved in the process of securing these aircraft, starting from negotiation up until delivery, thank you for making this a successful deal. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have sent me positive e-mails regarding the additions of the new Boeing 777’s. In the next few weeks we can look forward to the rest of these planes arriving.

This hello gulf air CEO message involved many of Gulf air staff in process of securing the leased aircraft.Mr CEO well aware that 90% of the company staff have not even seen the aircraft ,why he is involving staff in the deal,perhaps to avoid the MPs invistigations,that he was not the man behind .

[Mephistopheles]

Well, after a long sabbatical our CPO, Mr A. Al B., has decided to rear his ulgy head once more & as usual he comes bearing gifts for us at the pointy end.
His latest attempt "at steamlining fringe benefits" is to do severly degrade long service tickets for retired GF employees by reducing them to economy subload only. Also, he trying to get to unlimited ID90 tickets on GF cancelled.
Eventually these "streamlined benefits" will filter down to currently employed GF pilots. This, of course, is all being done in "stealth" mode so that we will not realise until it's too late & the policy is already in place.

[gf-jr]

Hi,
A first timer not a gf staff but son of a former one. I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the latest raids on retired employees benefits.

According to the latest decisions (or rumors) there are no id50 or 90 j class tkts for grade 11 retirees, and no f class tkts for grade 12 retirees. This is how the company rewards some of its long serving employees, especially those who worked in the 70's and 80's golden era's.

It is not the first time the company attacks these benefits. Many former senior staff had theirs suspended suddenly, although according to the company's rules and regulations they are entitled to get discounted tkts for the rest of their lives.

These changes would widen more the gap of between the benefits. Instead of having huge differences the company should distribute the benefits more equally, and gradually increase them as the staff rises in the employment ladder. Grade 11 and 12 benefits are a case in point.

According to the old scheme (God knows how will the new one look like after the recent changes) if the employee serves the required period (20 years if im not mistaken - plz review the staff travel handbook for more info) he/she and the spouse would get FOC annual leave tkt and 2 id50 or 90 tkts on y and j class, besides being able to purchase discounted tkts on other airlines that have reciprocal agreements with gf, and the children get nothing. That was for the grade 11.

However grade 12 staff (if he/she completes the required which is 20 yrs. also if im not mistaken) his/her benefits are: 1 FOC tkt for staff, spouse and children( till 23 yrs.) ug to f class subject to availability + UNLIMITED id50, 90 tks on all classes, with discounted tkts on other airlines.

My objection is on the huge gap in benefits, in comparison to the small one in the employees grades, especially the unlimited id50 and 90 tkts for the employee, spouse, and children. Wouldn't it be more beneficial if the company allows grade 10 and 11 employees(as both have the same retirement benefits), spouses and children (till they reach 23) to purchase unlimited or at least a certain amount of discounted tkts, on j and y classes or at least y class? At least under this scheme the benefits are more evenly spread.

Its time gf considered seriously the unjust retirement scheme, and by considering i mean giving more benefits instead of taking them. These recent changes makes these years of hard work at Gulf Air more and more worthless.

I know i've babbled alot, i do apologize for that i just wanted to get it out of my chest.

Thanks

[Propellor]

Watch out - BANANA skins are slippery!

[bus787]

Why does GF want to get rid of unlimited ID90??
At least this way they can fill some of the empty seats.

[Icarus]

This problem stems from the lack of foresight by previous management (last 10-12 years) in that as they did not provide adequate (if any at all most years) CPI increases. Thus departments re-wrote JD's to regrade staff to recover the losses in salary and upkeep with inflation etc. Thus there are hoards of people on G10-G12 who should really be on G6-G10. G11 & G12 are almost fully populated by people who are still doing the same job as they did 5 & 10 years ago on G8 who ar now G11 and G10 who are G11 or G12.

Thus providing all these benefits to staff who really should not have them (I mean, should a Help Desk agent get the staff travel same benefit as an FO or Capt? Really!) is now detrimental to the overall onboard product, pensions (locals) and of course retirement packages for eveyone.

What goes around comes around.

As a retired employee I am yet to be formally advised of the change - not that it matters, having now left GF I am earning more than enough to purchse my own full fare First Clas tickets for self and family. And do! :ok:

[gf-jr]

But whats the long-serving (20+yrs.) retired employees fault, my parent has been retired for more than ten years, cutting off benefits suddenly without even a warning would harm them.

As I said before the company needs to seriously review the current unjust scheme and consider G.10, 11, and 12 benefits again, because as you know there this huge gap between g.11 and g.12 benefits, which i think is unjustifiable.

thanks

[Desert Diner]

But whats the long-serving (20+yrs.) retired employees fault, my parent has been retired for more than ten years, cutting off benefits suddenly without even a warning would harm them.

As I said before the company needs to seriously review the current unjust scheme and consider G.10, 11, and 12 benefits again, because as you know there this huge gap between g.11 and g.12 benefits, which i think is unjustifiable.
thanks

This is not the GF of the last century that you are familiar with.

The modern ME company is concerned with employe benefits only to the extent imposed by its government (this is now the case for any company worldwide).

The only serious reviews that are probably going on is to see how they can reduce the current benefits. As the locals are probably immune to any changes, the only remaining targets are their expats, but this is difficult to do if they still need to hire them.

The easiest target is the ex expats who serve no usefull purpose for GF anymore.

[gf-jr]

@ Desert Diner:

Believe me even ex-locals are effected. Its now up to the company staff to voice their objection on the latest changes, before they end up having nothing once they reach retirement

Thanks

[Radar Contact]

Good to see GF are doing well in terms of fleet - They received 2 more B77W, 1 A320 (BRAND NEW FROM TOULOUSE!!!) and 1 A330 - I wonder if the A320 is LCD cockpit :) ?

[Speedbrake Lever]

Just to keep the record straight

Today i went and got my "Free" ticket from GF

as a former long term employee

The only thing that has changed in regard to staff travel is that

no longer is First Class upgrade available only Business

and your booking is now in X class

it used be in H class

so yes less seats available for a booking

but what the heck where i go there is no first class on that route

Maybe they're getting people to pay the First class Tariff

Good on them if they are :D

S.L.

[gf-jr]

@ speedbrake lever:

u could be a grade 12+ employee, which even with the latest changes you are still better off. At least u still have the unlimited tkts on j and y class for yourself, spouse and children till they reach 23.

But my parent is a long serving employee 20 yrs.+, retired ten years ago at grade 11. According to the latest changes there are no id50 or 90 tks on business class for them, and i dont think there will be an upgrade to j class if they are traveling on their FOC tkt. With these changes all of these years of work are now becoming more worthless because as you know some -like my parent- preferred to work in Gulf Air to enjoy these benefits once they retire. Its basically unfair.

thanks

[wapses]

how come mr bornnafwhatanunfortunatename is still there? there have been confirmed rumours that he is on his way / been kicked out / is about to be kicked out for months now.

i know this is a rumour network (that's what it says on the tin), but how is it that these rumours have so far not had any basis?

we need to know the truth.

[Albergineman]

The true is he will remain!

:ok:

[brassplate]

the truth is because he qualifies to be the perfect fall guy, he will stay.
because he is unqualified, he will stay.
because he is a 'yes' man, he will stay.
because when they say 'jump', he says 'how high?', he will stay.
because the shiite parliamentarians want him out, the sunni ministers will want him to stay.
because no innovative ideas came from him, he will stay.
because he's got the poster boy looks, he will stay.

in other words, he is the perfect candidate for the job as far as the bahrainis are concerned for all the wrong reasons. worst of all, he is happy with that. kinda like the worst singers auditioning for american idol. they don't know just how bad they are.

[SilveR5]

Hey wapses...

confirmed rumours?!!

What does it really mean? ;)

[wapses]

SilveR5

Some of the stuff I have picked up has been a bit more than the usual rumours. More like something with some substance.

However, I guess it was just the usual rumour stuff after all.

Interesting though that the finnish strategy guy who was fired was a bornnafwhatanunfortunatename import or at least I thought so. If the board forced the ceo to fire one of his guys its not a good reflection on him.

[Radar Contact]

Hi guys,

Anyone seen KB recently? I didn't see her and the last flight data shows February as GF002

KB, where are you?

[skywaytoheaven]

Isn't she in Singapore having the cabin done, would have thought they would sent one of the others, as KB has the F1 paint job leading up to the Grand prix?...(GF forward thinking at work?.....)

[Albergineman]

Maybe the next new A330 will boast a new F1 livery...

:confused:

[Radar Contact]

Retro fitting does it take 2 months? I doubt ... I asked GF if they will apply a new F1 livery and they said no. However, there was a plan for an F1 livery and the blue prints show KH as the one receiving it

[EK2EYengineer]

KB is under HMV should be landing in bahrain in a day or two

[Mephistopheles]

Just heard that the gentlemen upstairs have desparately been trying to find a way out of the Jet 777 contract but to no avail since,understandably, Jet management have zero interest in taking back their unwanted 777s. So who is responsible for signing these crippling contracts & will they be axed? Of course not since the ink for the contracts was supplied by the board!!! So next step is to start firing cabin crew,again.
And the cycle continues. One day, most probably after most of us are long retired & travelling in GF hat racks(Thanks to our CPO), it will come to light just how much was stolen by the blood sucking board members & senior managers.
God bless Gulf Air, she really does deserve better than this.

[Radar Contact]

I am not sure about the comments you raised however, I can for sure tell you there are companies wanting the 3 777 Frames such as Turkish Airlines and others!

[Mephistopheles]

Radar Contact, I believe THY will only be leasing the Jet 777s for 6 months dry then 25 months wet. That's until they start taking delivery of their own 777s starting in October 2010. On the other hand we have leased them for 6 months dry then 36 months dry. Our original Airbus deal had taking delivery on A330-300s starting May 2010-that since has been revised to even earlier. So I am sure you can see that it seems a bit unreasonable for us to be leasing them especially since it is a totally new type for us & we will not be getting any of our own in the future.
Also THY got a far better deal than us!!!

[Radar Contact]

Mephistopheles, I think you got it wrong - 6 months dry and then 36 months WET - CC are being trained on B77W and I heard that pilots are due to start T/R'ing for it. A good friend of mine on the A320 F/O has received an offer to transfer to the 777

Regards,
RC

[wapses]

Ref Mephistopheles comment about trying to get rid of the 777s, maybe that deal is the reason for the finnish guy being fired? Just speculating like.

[Albergineman]

What GF is trying to get rid are the two wet-leased A330.

[Radar Contact]

JWD/JWE are about to leave anyway unless they renewed them - I remember it was 6 months dry

[ironbutt57]

330's are gone bro...

[Ali Baba]

And are going to WY First one on 01 may and second one on the 17 may 09

[Radar Contact]

Ouch, that was fast. ironbutt, you sure? I saw it 3 days ago as GFA071/070 (JWD) .. WY need these badly .... Is it me or is GF keeps changing their talk every 2 minutes? 1st, they were happy with the 77W. Now, they don't want them - MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND!

[ironbutt57]

From what I understood the 330's were very short term anyway...don't see them on the sked anymore..I could be mistaken though...

[T O G A Boy]

The 330s are gone to Oman and i heard it from a lot of people. I havent seen them for a while now nor seen the Jet Airways crew lately in Ops.

[Radar Contact]

At least KB is back - it looked beautiful as always - It went off as GF005

[gf-jr]

So much for strategic planning, and by the way when is gf going to unveil its new livery and cabin designs which are designed by James Park?

And are there any news about the retirement benefits?

Thanks

[Radar Contact]

New livery & seats in September I heard

[ODMEA]

I'd appreciate knowing which brand duct tape the new seats will be in. I got quite used to the think black electrical wire brand..although some of my colleagues preferred the more narrow navy blue-a tad more regal for F class they thought.

Oddy

[Panama Jack]

New livery & seats in September I heard

Hmmmm. Somewhat disappointing that they could not have planned all of this a few months earlier, what with the receiving of new airplanes now (including the 777 fleet and the A330's).

Fingers crossed on what they will come up with.

[wapses]

I think my question would be why the need for a new livery for an airline that only had the last one five years ago. Particularly when the company is losing potloads of money. Don't see the logic. A new livery is not going to gain the airline one dinar of new business.

[evilatp]

All I know is that they are cutting schedules like crazy. I'm rostered for 48 hours this month after having an IST and another sequence removed from the schedule. All of a sudden they have an abundance of flight crew.

[gf-jr]

@ wapses:
This is Gulf Air, currently being runned without a clear plan or strategy, or as we say in Arabic 'masheya ala ilbaraka'. Besides the new livery one might ask whats the use of leasing new aircraft during these tough economical times, and with rumors about stopping services to some destinations?

Not needing to mention their latest blunder with the retirement benefits. Thats their way of dealing with the financial crisis, and saying thank you to those long serving employees who helped in building the company and gave it the strong reputation during its golden days.

I personally like the old Balenciaga uniforms, and the old cabin colours and designs at least -especially those designs on the cabin partitions represented the Gulf identity. The current f, j, and y seats are great but issues with the colours, especially the y cabin turquoise, grey, with the golden carpets, that too much for our eyes.

[Flygulfair]

Gf should not change the Livery just yet, It took 5 whole years just to build that reputation.

By them changing the look, nothing will change. The service won't be better and the load factor will never change.

I understand why they are leasing new aircraft, but to me it seems like they are not "showing off" there new aircraft. They are not adding pictures to the gulf air website, no advertising.

There are many factors that GF need to look into, and like most of you said it looks like its just small talk to try and keep most people happy.

If i was in charge of Gf i would have changed it totaly, I mean aircraft, Seating , Service and staff attitude.

They need to build a strong customer base, there's is currently shattered! Bad reviews on the internet need to be changed (Maybe they should email the posters to try and sort the issues out! or threaten to take legal action and see them disappear like most companies do).

The problem is for the past years, Gf has been seen as the last option. Worst service and you should only fly with them if you HAVE TO.

I have suggested so much to the CEO, I dont think he gets my emails or just bins them. :{

First it was the stupid sponsership of a team that is virtual unknown known in the UK.

I thought he would make it work, but since Bjorn Naf has left I am now well waiting.

[Chuck Y]

777 deal cancelled!!! 6 months wet lease only.

[Flygulfair]

Chuck Y Seriously? :ugh:

[boiler]

I heard the same from a friend of mine. No details as of yet other than it seems this came from the Bored of Directors

[SubsonicMortal]

OMG... Speechless.

[ODMEA]

And u guys wonder why ex loyal F clas pax with substantial 6 figure spend with this carrier (read me) ran - just chewed up and spat out by GF:*
Never again 'Tayaran el kha#@*' as many locals and expats came to know GF. Ask an Arabic speaking colleague for translation.

EY all the way for me:ok:

[Flygulfair]

ODMEA I totaly understand. Just wait till you see the true EK customer support. Just as bad, There is no such thing as customer support in the Arab world. Its all Money money money.

Well thats what i think.

[ODMEA]

Wouldn't touch EK with a 10 foot pole. :)

[wapses]

FlyGulfAir

Last line of your post .... now that Bjorn Naf has left .... he has???

[lpokijuhyt]

not surprising

[brassplate]

admitting the mistake should have been BEFORE they recently signed up for the 777. anyway as always, they will discontinue with the wetlease AFTER the market builds up again and when gf will then need the 777. idiots!!!!

[boiler]

If I'm not mistaken, the B777s were brought in to replace the aging (not to mention obsolete) A343s. Now that the deal is off, does this mean GF has abandoned getting in new planes and will bring the old ones back? So much for WB fleet renewal. The new A330s (-200s and 300s) that GF has on order will not make it to places such as MNL. I wonder if anyone there has thought of this situation Then again, GF has shown a complete lack of forward vision so it seems Gf will have to abandon some of its long-haul flying in the near future.

[Radar Contact]

I am starting to fry some popcorns, who wants a pack? and wait till this hits the media and MP's - it will be so much fun :)

[Mephistopheles]

boilermaker,

"The new A330s (-200s and 300s) that GF has on order will not make it to places such as MNL."

I hope you are flying around on the A330 at the moment coz if you are then you really don't know your airplane. The A330 has done MNL & PVG.

Regarding th B777, I wonder if anyone is going to get axed for this fiasco!!!

[Radar Contact]

He was already fired - I heard the Finn was behind it ... Regarding A330, They have the legs to MNL & PVG however in FULL LOAD .. they can't do the return due to the range & winds :)

[skywaytoheaven]

does this mean GF has abandoned getting in new planes and will bring the old ones back?

What are you on about, all the old a/c are still here!!

[T O G A Boy]

How true is it, i dont know but i heard today that GF got a better and cheaper deal from Boeing. Many orders were cancelled by other companies so they have 777s now that GF can buy. Plus it wont be leased but bought airplanes... I dont know the truth behind this...But if it is true then that wud have been a very smart move...

[boiler]

I hope you are flying around on the A330 at the moment coz if you are then you really don't know your airplane. The A330 has done MNL & PVG.


I do not think Gf has ever (and I am pretty sure of this) flown the A330s to MNL. 2 things according to my info:

1) Even if the A330-200 is able to make it to MNL, I will bet anything it will be payload restricted.

2) The A330-300 has a much shorter range than the -200. So if the -200 can barely make it, rest assured the -300 will never be able to make it.

[brassplate]

smart move? gf wouldn't know what that is if it hit them in the face!!!!!!

[Mephistopheles]

boilermaker

I do not think Gf has ever (and I am pretty sure of this) flown the A330s to MNL.

I have in fact operated an A330 to MNL. So I guess now we should take all of your future comments with a pinch of salt. I wonder if you are even flightdeck with GF?

[SL4T]

Someone who operated the new A330 said it has a MAX RTOW 202'000KG plackarded in the cockpit.


On a different note, just got an email stating that basically "failing to make a PA during preflight, enroute, predescent and Turbulence will lead to disciplinary action"......nice.
:D

[Chuck Y]

Just read the email regarding the PAs as well. Wow, is that harsh or what? Warning letters for not doing PAs??? I wonder which manager s*** their pants whilst travelling as a pax recently?

On another note has anyone else wondered why we now have special "cockpit trash bags"??? I thought with all thats going on these days & trying to cut costs that surely this is a useless cost with no apparent benefit. I just wonder who is leeching money from GF with this contract?

[SCATANA]

Can I delay a flight at the Holding Point to make a PA ? :}


Seriously, weren't the PAs supposed to be made when "time permitting" ?

How am I supposed to make a PA while trying to maintain turbulence speed at the same time ? :ugh:

[tmax]

PA's? That is all that every PAX need!! As far as Entertaiment or F,J class high speed tapes,that is OK. I am suppose to conclude my PA "Sit back ,relax and enjoy the service and the hospitallity of GF" What a joke!!!!!
DO NOT FEEL PROUD OF THE PRODUCT AND I WILL NOT DO THAT

[brassplate]

having to listen to the arabic, chinese, greek, etc etc version of the same pa's, i tend to think there is way to much talking to passengers.

to the minority who complains that there is not enough talking, the majority who are pleased with the silence but never voice their approval of it, will now have to put up with one announcement after another after another after another when all they want is some f*(^&%ing peace and quiet and a nap.
i'm sure the majority of the travelling public are only interested in getting on the plane, viewing the least amount of safety info because most don't remember long demos anyway, and getting from A to B with minimum fuss, noise, disturbance, and horribly voiced arab male f/as.
ey for example, has the basic welcomes, minimal but relevant safety infos, zero advertising, and a kickass entertainment system which they try not to deter you from.
just my opinion........SHUT UP.

[40&80]

Pre the year 2000 Gf issued Captains with a SOP GF PA Booklet stateing exactly what to say and when...the reason why GF did this was because the full nature of individual Captains moral, emotions,frustrations and fatigue was being noticed by passengers in their PAs.

[SERTORIUS]

Do I understand correctly that the 777 leased a/c are soon to leave? I know they are "wet" at the moment, but are thet going "dry", or altogether?

[SCATANA]

@ olbie,

I totally understand what you're saying, and you are right.

But the point is, having to deal with all the things we deal with, while at the same time worrying that any pax (or cabin crew) can now report us for not making a PA.

Like I said earlier, PA's are essential but should be "time permitting" and "necessity based". Not to mention that Gulf pilots have to repeat the same PA all over again in Arabic.

Disciplinary Action shouldn't have been an option and I doubt this would have happened if it wasn't for those traveling Management.

As you stated before, it is harsh.

Very ill conceived or rushed at best.

But hey, thats just my opinion.

[Che Guevara]

Do I understand correctly that the 777 leased a/c are soon to leave? I know they are "wet" at the moment, but are thet going "dry", or altogether?


Rumour is that they will go after the wet lease expires....

[Mephistopheles]

So much for the recruiting freeze. A new Chief Commerical Officer has been hired on BD10000+. Some guy named William Borne(not sure of the spelling). Another 1 of Naff's nut suckers.

[SERTORIUS]

A couple of Jet Airways guys in Sticky Fingers reckon it's going on for up to 3 more years. The left and right hands perhaps!

[wapses]

New Chief Commercial guy is Willy Boulter, ex VAA.

[sanook]

Willy Boulter is a very clever chap. He will do well

[Lord Bracken]

I agree the audio rubbish that cabin crew throw at you these days has gone beyond a joke (I recall recently a BA CSD taking the entire aircraft through the procedure of filling in a Visa Waiver form on departure from LHR to JFK ffs...) however you shouldn't underestimate the positive effect on passengers that comes from a relaxed, confident, authoritative message from the sharp end saying "welcome aboard, take note of the safety instructions, we'll be on time and you're in good hands." Cover that off, and there is nothing else necessary.

[gf-jr]

10000+ they should be joking, and AT these times? While at the same time cutting off some of the long-serving retired employees benefits.

[PAR31]

And this is from other news somewhere else....

Gulf Air converts eight 787 options
Friday April 17, 2009
Gulf Air officially turned its eight 787 options into firm orders, lifting its commitment to the next-generation widebody to 24 and giving Boeing its first 787 orders this year. The manufacturer recorded the deal on its Orders and Deliveries website this week even though the Bahraini carrier had committed to the extra eight aircraft last summer (ATWOnline, Sept. 5, 2008). Three customers have canceled a combined 32 787 orders already this year (ATWOnline, Feb. 20). Boeing has firm commitments for a net four planes to date.

Separately, Gulf Air said summer demand to "many of its key destinations will be strong despite the current economic climate" and that it will be boosting frequencies accordingly. Flights from Bahrain to Frankfurt will increase to 11-times-weekly from nine, service to Kuala Lumpur and Tehran will become daily, flights to Bangkok and Kathmandu will be twice-daily and Manila service will rise to 12-times-weekly. Capacity on some routes, including to London Heathrow, will be increased with the addition of 777s (ATWOnline, March 5).


:confused::confused::confused: I am really confused

PAR31

[left_to_first_class]

Friday, April 17, 2009

Cathay Pacific Airway said it would cut passenger and cargo capacity (http://airguidebusiness.*************/2009/04/cathay-pacific-airway-said-it-would-cut.html)


Cathay Pacific Airway said on Friday it would cut passenger and cargo capacity from May following a sharp drop in turnover in the first quarter of 2009. The Hong Kong-based airline is requesting its staff to take unpaid leave over the course of the next 12 months, it said in a statement. From May, Cathay will reduce passenger capacity by 8 percent and its Dragonair unit will cut capacity by 13 percent. Overall cargo capacity will be reduced by 11 percent. The company said turnover derived from passenger and cargo services in the first quarter fell 22.4 percent from a year ago.

Can't find the GF version of above so looks like its a hoax.

[SilveR5]

So is there any accurate data confirming the actual performance during Q1 this year?

[brassplate]

really bad i bet. average loads on my flights have been around a third.

[daviddea]

Dude if you can not make a PA and maintain Turb. speed at the same time you really should pick a new occupation.

[Mephistopheles]

I guess Sidestick Priority has deleted his BS post since he has been found out!!! I guess we should all keep an eye out for anymore posts from this s*** stirrer. All this guy wants is to sow panic amongst GF pilots & maybe get guys to leave again. I wonder if this d*** even works with us. Anyway thanks left_to_first_class for finding out this creep so quickly.

[SCATANA]

Dude if you can not make a PA and maintain Turb. speed at the same time you really should pick a new occupation.


You're missing my point, wiseguy. But thanks for putting a smile on my face.

[boiler]

Seems like its in dollars (almost 1 million $ per day as before).

[jetjockey737]

Just about to get even worse if the thread about Bahrain seemingly becoming dry is true....not gonna get many westeners wanting to pop to bahrain on holiday if that happens are they?

[Panama Jack]

Sad to read that the Boeing 777's will be leaving Gulf Air so soon. I have heard many extremely positive and enthusiastic reviews from a number recent passengers who have obviously been impressed by the cabin features that we have been offering on these aircraft. These aircraft have had a much-needed positive impact on improving Gulf Air's product image.

[gulfairinsider]

Dear Gulf Air Family,

You may have seen many other airlines offering similar opportunities and wondered why not Gulf Air?

Well we are pleased to be able to offer our employees this opportunity effective immediately.

Maybe you would like to go and spend extended time with family overseas? Perhaps you would like to go and learn a new language or even take a more in-depth period of study? You might just want to spend time with the family, especially if you are a new parent. Or maybe you have always wanted to travel? Well now is your chance as today Gulf Air is pleased to offer an extended period of unpaid leave for eligible employees!

[boiler]

I have in fact operated an A330 to MNL. So I guess now we should take all of your future comments with a pinch of salt. I wonder if you are even flightdeck with GF?

From BAH? No way and that is a fact. GF has only operated MNL using their A343s and A340s (ex. SQ) and that is it. The A330s were never used. And I have access to SSIM files dating back 10 years to verify what I say. If you like I can send you monthly SSIM schedules for the past 10 years of GF MNL operations (originating from BAH, DOH, MCT and AUH).

No, I'm afraid I am not one the GF flightdeck and never was.

[Not Gulfair CEO]

Boil maker if you were a flight deck then you would have known that A330-200 is not load ristricted on BAH-MNL-BAH sectors, even with strong winter head winds.:=

[Albergineman]

For those who lives in company accommodation it can be a good option extending their leaves but, imagine going for leave without any payment and having to pay a full rent! You can add an average of BHD700.00 expense on that month...

:(

[Speedbrake Lever]

Hey Boiler

not quite right

the 767 did Manila and did it very well

want a look at my log book

S.L.

[Propellor]

Gosh! Look at the squabbling!

An A330-200 can operate to MNL from Bahrain, but to the best of my (and Boiler's) knowledge, it never has and never will.

The calculation is simple: one way, the flying time would be about 10 hours in winters. At approx 5 tonnes/hour, it would imply a fuel burn of 50 tonnes, and a total fuel uplift of about 55 tonnes.

With a MTOW of 230 tonnes, the ZFW would be restricted by the MZFW of 168 tonnes. Considering an empty weight of about 123 tonnes, it would allow a payload of only 45 tonnes. That is not entirely bad, but if the loads (pax and cargo) are high, then it may be restrictive, and that is the case of GFA. On an A340, the payload would be more, despite the additional burn off.

The A330-200 operation on this route could be a distinct possibility if there was an in-flight re-dispatch policy in effect. However, that needs a change in the mindset of everyone, including the pilots who fret about small things like making PAs.

I agree that the NTC for the PAs was written terribly, but I do not dispute the intent: we have to grow up as employees and as pilots, and realize that it is not Mumtalakat alone that is paying our salaries.

Poor language is becoming the norm for GFA - look at the fantastic (sic!) leave offer from the Banana! But if the CEO's writing is limited to his travel, (mock) travails and trivia, can you blame the poor secretaries drafting the NTC on behalf of the Operations management? The language was definitely most un-officer like!

Life goes on, we can whine (pun intended ) and dine, and tomorrow is another day!

[TFM]

Any updates on the "recruitment freeze"? Is it true they are cutting people and planning to re-hire soon after?!

[buba]

did'nt get a look at the unpaid leave think..what months are they over?

[Sidestick Priority]

Meph & Left to First,
I didnt remove my post, which to you is BS and hoax respectively. But the fact is the fact: income - expenses = profit. Industry experts said that income would be less (less pax, etc), so the only thing left in the equation is expenses which need to be reduced.

Take a look at the latest mail from Mr. Banana. If you had experience with furlough, some word/phrase is very familiar;

VOLUNTARY UNPAID LEAVE – EXTENDED POLICY 2009


"As part of OUR efforts to reduce costs"

"to enable staff to take authorized periods of unpaid leave"

"If the position no longer exists due to restructuring / operational adjustment, the employee will be considered for redeployment through the GF Resource Pool, and reassigned to alternative positions of equivalent grade/skills base or made available to provide temporary cover elsewhere in GF"

"For unpaid leave of more than 3 months, Gulf Air is unable to guarantee return to the position originally held by the employee"

Go on and read for yourselves. It is not a positive news from my interpretation. :sad:

[left_to_first_class]

Sidestick - most of us are aware that GF is in a hole, how big it is is open to debate. We will all do our bit at the end of the day but whether pilot or not we'll say our piece and get on with it.

I have heard from reliable sources that the year-on-year revenue results are shockingly poor for the first quarter of this year. Adding additional capacity (B777) is a fool's game hence their return. Costs are improving as fuel has come down considerably but losses are still being made (weren't they the same $1million per day AD talked about in his brief tenure?)
GF needs a serious reduction in HQ personnel but there has to be a political will to do this which to date GF hasn't had. The bored can't agree a strategy as it probably has to be signed off by the crown prince so hence decisions like the 777, lots of fanfare and then quietly removed.

[jetjockey737]

Anyone got an idea when they will start courses again for those of us who have had their courses postponed??

[REACH-69]

I think the first guy who should take an unpaid leave is Mr.Banana himself and a bunch of smart as*** in the pink palace...............:ok:

[stefan1138]

How many A330s from MEA did Gulf Air already receive? There was some info a while ago that one of them would be in special F1 livery. Will this be ready for the upcoming F1 tournament?
By the way will there again be a special F1 flying programme over the race track again?
rgds Stefan

[Radar Contact]

They got 1 out of 3 - KH ... It was supposed to be in F1 livery but that plan got axed - Expect KB for the breath taking flyby

[surely not]

Well folks, I have just travelled economy class to Bahrain on GF543/20 Apr, and I was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

I think it was one of the new(er) 320's and it looked very smart inside. The cabin crew were excellent and seemed to get on well with each other which always makes a difference.

It wasn't a taxing flight for them as the load was very very light, but that gave them the chance to be in the cabin making the few guests feel good..

It is probably 18 months + since I last flew GF, and I noticed a difference. Maybe I just got lucky with this crew and a/c, but I hope not.

[Da Do Ron Ron]

It's in the GDN so it MUST be true

Gulf Air cancels lease

Gulf Daily News » Business News » Gulf Air cancels lease (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=248588)

Looks like GF have 6 months to get the A340's up to sctratch, large duct tape order ????

[SCATANA]

So now it's only a 6 month wet-lease deal.

[ODMEA]

Funny how a country in turmoil like Lebanon can buy brand new and own all its fleet, common rate it by type and a wealthy stable country like BAH cannot even make a decision about what colour duct tape first class seats should adorned with!!:ouch:

Who would have thought GF would be leasing MEA's left overs 5 years ago?

How the wheel turns. GF's strategy is as clear as muddy water. What a shame for a once excellent carrier.

Oddy

[Radar Contact]

@ODMEA: they are not MEA left over - They are ILFC and got leased to MEA for 8 years - now the contract expired so GF took them .. MEA leased their planes not all but some of them!

[surfer of desert]

Gulf Air clarifies on lease deal
Manama: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 http://www.tradearabia.com/showrooms/images/icon2.gifhttp://www.tradearabia.com/news/images/spacer.gif http://www.tradearabia.com/source/2009/04/21/gulfair1.gif



Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, today clarified that the airline has decided not pursue the dry lease option under its Boeing 777 lease agreement with Jet Airways.
The airline said the clarification was in response to some media reports stating that Gulf Air has cancelled its Boeing 777 lease agreement with Jet Airways.
“The lease agreement signed between Jet Airways and Gulf Air was for an initial period of 6 months on a wet lease. Some coverage has claimed that the decision to continue with a dry lease after the 6 month wet lease has been cancelled. This is not correct as no such agreement existed,” said a Gulf Air statement.
“Under the terms of the current agreement, Gulf Air has an option to sign a new agreement for a dry lease after the expiration of the wet lease but this was subject to several business considerations including market conditions. After careful analysis of various commercial and other business considerations, Gulf Air has decided not to pursue the dry lease option for the foreseeable future,” it said. –TradeArabia News Service

[Radar Contact]

Summer only; Alexandria and Salalah! :rolleyes:

[BDD]

I just checked the Boeing web site and it shows Gulf Air has placed an order
for 8 787's. I don't know if they were already reported, but sounds like good news for
you guys.

BDD

[Mephistopheles]

Propellor & boilermaker, you guys really are so arrogant & sure of yourselves. I re-state that I HAVE operated the A330 MNL-BAH. GF 157 during 2007. So boiler I suggest that you check your extensive data-base. I guess you guys must reside upstairs somewhere & have some totally inconsequential & ridiculous long winded self impoartant titles. Maybe you should leave the operational discussion to people that at least have an inkling of an idea about aviation.

[Albergineman]

Boeing just requested to Gulf Air to publish again what was published last year. This is just for political and marketing reasons since all aircraft manufacturers are facing cancellations from everywhere.
The Boeing order comprises 24 787, at the beginning it was 16 confirmed plus 8 options which eventually became confirmed.
For 2009 is very unlikely for Gulf Air to receive any extra airplane apart from 4 A330 (1 from XL, brand new and 3 from MEA) and 5 A320 (4 for replacement and 1 to be added to the fleet).

:ok:

[stefan1138]

When will the other 2 A330s from MEA and the one brand new A330 be delivered to GF?
Rgds Stefan

[boiler]

Mephistopheles, I stand corrected. Although I should add that after talking to Airbus people, while the A330 may reach MNL will full pax load, it will have payload restrictions for cargo. The new A330-200s with a higher MTOW (about 3 tons as I understand it) has an even better range than the 'older' A330s-200s.

Now let me correct you if I may as I do not work for GF so I do not work upstairs anywhere.

[bus787]

Seems that I was right when I said that is was not the good time for GF to get the 777.
Is the Chairman still there??
may I fill the vacant post.??

[boiler]

The B777 is a great aircraft and has better economics than the A340. The problem as I see it (I could be wrong) is that it is was too expensive to incur all the costs involved with dry-leasing the aircraft (spares, training, etc..) for only 3 years. Unless GF was prepared to keep this fleet or order B777 to replace the 9W aircraft once they were gone, it was a losing proposition.

[surfer of desert]

CFM wins $270m Gulf Air order (http://www.ameinfo.com/194310.html)

Gulf Air has placed a $270m order for CFM International's CFM56-5B engines to power 15 new Airbus A320 aircraft, to be delivered between late 2009 and 2013. The airline also signed a $100m, 10-year repair, maintenance and overhaul contract with GE Aviation for the new engines.
Bahrain: 1 hour, 30 minutes ago

[Sultan85]

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:ok!

[Capt Hair Y Balls]

This airline is so full of sh@t its crazy. All you guys made such a big fuss over these B777's and I hate to say this but I told you so that they were such a big carrot and you guys were suckered into thinking that someday you will actually fly them.
GF is CHEAP, it allways was and allways will be. The sheik boys will never spend their hard earned dinars on toys someone else will play with. When will you boys actually understand this.
Have fun with some more A320's and if you think that some day you may fly the B787 I have one thing to say and remember it. IT WILL NOT BE WITH GF

PS
Ironbutthead
Please refrain from being a complete management ki$$a$$

The other issue much talked about here is the CEO. No, Mr. H.A. (Pizza face's best mate) will never get the job, you know why? Because the boy is a Sheite, he may be fine for India (even there he's middle management) but in BAH he just cannot cut it. Simple
No way a Sheite will get a top job like that. Sends the wrong signal to the masses. Sheites can go as far as middle management but if they have plans for higher up the corporate ladder then they are dreaming. Frankly I agree with it totally. :D:D

[Capt Hair Y Balls]

Olbie, I'm a Captain who's been a Captain too long in the middle east.:E

[Capt Hair Y Balls]

What makes you think I'm not with GF? Perhaps I'm more in GF than most of you guys here

[skywaytoheaven]

I'm a Captain who's been a Captain too long in the middle east.
you're also a tool.

[ironbutt57]

Yup too long.....so he claims....the dry lease...was tentative..the new orders are coming as planned..hairy balls (no balls) looks like a jackass as usual..has anything changed????:confused:

[Not Gulfair CEO]

Hair no balls! How embarrassing for Gulfair to have a low class, foul mouth captain like you in the rank:O:O:O

[Che Guevara]

So, how many aircraft are being 'parked' next week? :uhoh:

[Sultan85]

I dont think ther will be any parked AC cuse we dont have so many of them!

[brassplate]

we don't have so many of pax either.

[boiler]

Or parking space either.

[boeing738driver]

Fourth 777 arrived to Bahrain?

[A300Man]

I note that at least one of the 77W's is still flying in full Jet Airways livery. One assumes that some of them may never actually wear the GF colours?

Can someone confirm if all 77W's in the GF fleet are 3-class configured?

[Chuck Y]

It seems the subject of removing 2 days travelling from our annual leave is being re-heated by our ever friendly CPO!!!

[ironbutt57]

Heard that rumour....:ugh:

[sirwa69]

I think there is something seriously wrong with GF at the moment.
The number of flights being cancelled is frightening, having flown with GF for the last 15 years 70 - 80 sectors a year for the last 6 years I was always happy to tell anyone that flight delays and cancellations were very rare I have probably had 2 cancellations in over 500 flights. But then we came into 2009, in this year to date I have only flown 10 sectors and 2 of them from Dubai were cancelled and I had to get the following flight.
One of my colleague's had his flight from Kuwait cancelled last Thursday and previously a couple of weeks ago. Another is currently stranded in Athens after todays flight was cancelled.

What is going on? :confused:

[ODMEA]

EY is just down the road my friend;)

[stefan1138]

As per the following link the new A330 which was destined for XL Airways has been spotted a few days ago in Toulouse:

Airbus A330-243 - F-WWKN (Gulf Air) by Jean-claude MAURAN | Pictaero (http://www.pictaero.com/en/pictures/picture,40971)

My question is, why has it been painted in white? Did the lease deal with GF fall through?

Thanks and regards Stefan

[CedarJet]

It will most probably be delivered white with XL charter interior as Airbus had frozen the config for this plane a year ago. ths plane will be outfitted at a third party facility into GF colors and interior config.

[Super Duper]

Hey hairy A$$ no Ball$, about the sheiat thing, I think you are spot on.

[Che Guevara]

It will most probably be delivered white with XL charter interior as Airbus had frozen the config for this plane a year ago

Actually, this could be a good config for some of our flights.....:hmm:

[Desert Diner]

Hey hairy A$$ no Ball$, about the sheiat thing, I think you are spot on.

He may be "spot on" on a few more things.

[fullforward]

Looks like the wetlease will go well beyond the initial 6 months: good loads, low operational costs, product quality infinitely better than the crippled A340 are easily justifying the decision.:ok:

[Che Guevara]

Well well well, what a surprise....not
So do we have too many pilots now?

[Mike.Park]

According to GF's careers microsite (http://www.gulfaircareers.com/careers/gulfair/VacancyList.aspx), there are no vacancies available within the whole company

[wapses]

Rumours around the pink palace that the istanbul route will be dropped. And ad-hoc cancellations on athens due to poor loads.

[Mike.Park]

Does GF have a policy of sacking rape victims?



Rape woman loses airline job

By TOM HANRATTY, Posted on » Sunday, May 10, 2009

A BRITISH woman allegedly raped by two men within days of arriving in Bahrain claims she has since lost her job as a result.

The 23-year-old said she spent a night locked in a room after being raped by Jordanian and Moroccan men last month.

However, she insists she was forced out of the airline's cabin crew training programme after authorities chose not to pursue her rape allegations - even though a boss of the two accused reportedly tried to pay her off.

The woman also claims police delays meant it was over a week before she had a medical test, adding that Gulf Air had already sent two of the key witnesses - also cabin crew trainees - home after terminating their training.

She arrived here at the end of March from the UK to complete her in-flight training with Gulf Air and was due to graduate in a few weeks.

Source: GDN (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=250155)

[T O G A Boy]

This is just as awful as it can get.. Makes me sick...

[TZZ]

well i cant understand it, where were the remaining girls.

[luck7711]

It took her two days to report this?!
Something is not right here. :hmm:

[Trader]

...ahhh ya....2 days is not unusual anywhere in the world for someone to report in this type of situation. Some never due for fear of embarrassment etc etc

[WELCO]

In this type of situation, the victim might either report it immediately or never report it at all. Does it really take two days to think about what to do?!
I must agree that something isn't right:suspect:

[REACH-69]

Sorry for what happened to you doll ,but i thought pilots were bad......i guess not:ok:........something fishy in this story:suspect:

[Radar Contact]

I can't believe this topic went quiet :P

In addition of Salalah and Alexandria, GF added Aleppo :eek:

Here is the schedule loaded into GDS;

Bahrain - Alexandria 23JUN09 to 15SEP09
GF073 BAH0130 - 0445ALY 320 246
GF074 ALY0545 - 0845BAH 320 246

Bahrain - Aleppo 02JUL09 to 12SEP09
GF905 BAH0005 - 0255ALP 320 46
GF906 ALP0345 - 0620BAH 320 46

Bahrain - Salalah 02JUL09 to 09SEP09
GF554 BAH1330 - 1630SLL 320 3
GF554 BAH1520 - 1815SLL 320 46

GF555 SLL1730 - 1830BAH 320 3
GF555 SLL1900 - 2000BAH 320 46

Have fun operating boys and girls :p

[Che Guevara]

Another dreadful Syrian Airport....well done lads!

[Radar Contact]

A9C-KD left yesterday to Singapore probably for the FULL check

[unimuts]

With no jobs being advertised within the company, how long before they open the gates again ?

Uni

[Che Guevara]

With no jobs being advertised within the company, how long before they open the gates again ?

Good question for which no one has the answer at the moment, in fact the only gates they are looking at at the moment are the Pearly ones...

You see, we have now validated and proven part one of the Peter principle beyond all expectations, where in a hierarchal organisation people are promoted to their level of incompetence and there they remain; in time all posts are occupied by the incompetent.

We are now working on part two of the theory that asserts that an employee's incompetence is not necessarily exposed as a result of the higher-ranking position being more difficult, simply that job is different from the job in which the employee previously excelled, and therefore requires different work skills, which the employee usually does not possess.

The Peter principle of course assumes that the employee was at some time competent at something which leads us into our next area of research, the Dilbert principle, where a person who has never been competent at anything at any point in time can still be promoted into management.

[wapses]

I heard yesterday of a person who is leaving Gulf Air at an outstation office because he can no longer work in the climate of complete incompetence which is in effect in the Pink Palace. Emails never answered, telephone calls not returned, decisions never made. Apparently in his words it is worse than ever. Which, based on how it used to be, must be pretty damn bad. No idea how the airline keeps operating. It is in the worst mess ever in the opinion of many who know GF well.

[brassplate]

why that's because the locals are running the show.

[gilderoy lockhart]

Are Gulf Air recruiting the BDB financed Bahrain CPL/IR holders. If they recruit the majority of them that should produce 50 or 60 FO's per year!

[Soap Box Cowboy]

I heard a rumour that they are stopping with keeping on pilots over 60, I don't know if they meant stopping keeping on those who will reach 60 from this day forward, or that those already flying in the company over 60 will be laid off or not have their contracts renewed, anyonne else heard anthing?

[Mephistopheles]

Amazing just when I thought that all Bahrain's MPs were fools one of them comes out with something interesting & very factual about GF. Check out the GDN article, its amazing how much is being stolen from our company & right under the noses(or more likely with the help) of the board.

Gulf Daily News » Local News » Probe into corruption allegations vowed (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=251007)

[Desert Diner]

You have to give it to Dr. Al-Shaikh

"In one division, with 101 employees mostly expatriates, the company spends BD4.6m a year on their wages, with one female expatriate official earning BD5,725 a month without doing anything.

"That's not all as most employees in the cargo division are expatriates, with a consultant there earning BD400 a day, which is BD12,000 a month since being appointed there in October last year and the second consultant earns BD8,000 without even being qualified."


I wonder if he is suggesting that he should replace all these expats (mostly Indians I might add and earning a few hundred BD per month) with Barhainis who will need to be paid more.

And then hire more consultants to train the new Bahrainis.

He should stick keeping 1-2 star hotel bars closed down, or at least run a proper GF witch hunt and go after the real plonkers.

[Mike.Park]

The national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf Air has signed a 10-year agreement with GE Aviation for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of its new CFM56-5B engines that will power 15 Airbus A320 aircraft, Middle East Company News reported.

The contract is valued at more than US$100m over the life of the agreement.

“One of Gulf Air's top priorities is to ensure achieving technical excellence in aircraft maintenance so that we maintain a fleet that is top notch condition. I am confident that the Airbus fleet fitted with new CFM engines are in the expert hands of GE professionals,” said Bjorn Naf, Gulf Air CEO.

Naf added: “Gulf Air's foremost priority is to ensure its aircraft are equipped and maintained in top order especially when it comes to critical items like the engine, which is the heart of aircraft."


Source: CargoNews Asia
(http://www.cargonewsasia.com/secured/article.aspx?id=15&article=19373)

[sirwa69]

I hear the Loyalty programs manager has left, but I doubt that she was the female expat getting BD5,725 a month.

[Desert Diner]

Thats USD 180K per year.

If that includes all the benefits it could be one of many.
If its just base then that another story
Then again, the good doctor may be blowing smoke from somewhere yet once more.

[left_to_first_class]

"Almost 60pc of the company are expatriates with high wages and 80pc of them occupy high-ranked jobs," he said.


Ah it's kick the expat time again - when all is failing blame anyone and everyone expect your local staff. Still trying to work out the 60%, I guess they include CC but take them away and the figure is much much less - maybe 30%.

Yes I too have heard that many of the outstation staff are completely at wits end with the pink palace ... interesting talking to some at the sales conference .... there are some major issues with GF and no one knows what to do or has any clue.
I have heard of one instance where its takes GF over 4 weeks to react to a competitor price and then HQ asks why is the load factor low on their flight :ugh:.
Even better, when an outstation asked for a short term price reduction to boost some low low load factor flights, he was denied citing 'we are protecting revenue' - what revenue :ugh:. And this from a department 95% Bahraini, headed by a Bahraini.

Time to put the old dog out of its misery. :(

[Mike.Park]

Are Gulf Air recruiting the BDB financed Bahrain CPL/IR holders.

This is what I've heard. Gulf Air are going to finance the type rating for four cadets starting next month..

[Che Guevara]

GDN today

GULF Air yesterday denied allegations that senior management had received massive pay rises. MPs had claimed on Tuesday that "deputies" to chief executive Bjorn Naf received a 50pc pay rise and a 30pc increase in housing allowance.
They did not stipulate when the rises were allegedly given, but an airline spokesman said the "allegations regarding salaries have no basis."

Interesting...notice there was no denial of the other allegations, so who is running for cover here?



Solution....dig hole in sand,insert head and get on with life. ;)

[jetjockey737]

Are Gulf Air recruiting the BDB financed Bahrain CPL/IR holders.

This is what I've heard. Gulf Air are going to finance the type rating for four cadets starting next month..

Thats nice of them seeing as myself and a load of other guys find ourselves unemployed after being offered a job by GF and then having our courses 'postponed'. And we are all type rated :ugh:

[slowjet]

Soap Box,
Good chum still in Gf, Age over 60 had not had his Contract, work permits or res visas renewed. Has just been granted a six month extention. He awaits his visas. Not looking good for further extention. He spent most of May chasing others who had claimed that everything was in order !

He tells me that even his ID renewal was rejected as he was not employed by GF !With 16 years Service & a Long Service award, some Popsy in HR asked hime....."Who are you ? " !!

I have told him to join me in Cyprus..now !

Cheers guys, glad I had the really good times. It all looks a dreadful mess right now !

[Mike.Park]

Thats nice of them seeing as myself and a load of other guys find ourselves unemployed after being offered a job by GF and then having our courses 'postponed'. And we are all type rated


I don't know if its 100% accurate that they're type rating 4 newbies from Ayla Aviation. It was just something I heard off a friend.