Dessert Aviator

I would like to hear from our ex RJ crew, there was quite an exodus from RJ to the Gulf a few years ago.

wapses

I am sure there are many many people who are extremely pleased to see the back of Mr Naf.

He brought absolutely nothing, zero, to the airline.

ShirleyNot

Ill second that, Naf did f' all, not that he could have anyhow. He certainly leaves with plenty of zeros in his bank balance (one would think).

I hate to say it, but if this new guy is any good i doubt he'll hang around for long. Anyhow lets just hope that this one works out for GF. Just please no Embryo jets like RJ now have.

Panama Jack

Why absolutely, positively no Embraers (or Bombardiers) for GF? If it makes economic sense then why not? Of course, I would love to fly the Boeing 747-800, failing that the Airbus A380 is a satisfactory substitute . . . but I don't think these things are in the cards for GF. And from what I understand, the economics of the A318 are not attractive compared to Embraer and Bombardier products.

Does it make sense to be flying around half-full/half-empty A320's or A330's, or having to drop fares just to fill them up? Regional Jets may just be the proper ingredient for GF to open up new routes, cut losses (make profits) and create better job security.

Che Guevara

PJ
In one word, baggage.

Panama Jack

Could you elaborate please, Che?

Che Guevara

PJ

The problem with the Embraers in this region apparently is the amount of baggage our passengers carry....

Panama Jack

I guess I am somewhat surprised to hear this, as Gulf Air provides for a 20 kilo baggage allowance for Economy Class passengers, which is not particularly generous by global airline standards.

I guess in this case, passengers are (should be) shelling out extra cash for excess baggage. The question is then, does this extra revenue justify the increased costs of operating an aircraft that is not an RJ???

Of course, I am not sure about how much cargo is carrier, which by the kilo often provides more revenue than a pax.

How does Saudia and Royal Jordanian fare with their Embraer Jets?

Jenniferr

Gulf air should not fly Embraers or Bombardiers as they may give the airline a low standard.Those planes are made for local flights.So where would it fly??muharaq to manama??(hilariouse) GF airplanes are mostly full when they fly in the gulf(even if its dammam..So there is not need for Ebraers.The name it self is old fashion and the airplanes are kind of old fashion.To sum up, I hope the CEO would not do something like that.I have a feeling that the board of directors wont let those Embraers ever step in to the GF fleet.Other wise i will personally meet the upper management and give them a word or two..Any way so i have a feeling he is just one of the leach whos gonna suck all the money from GFand may not do anything.OR put the airline in trouble!

DesertHawk

the baggage issue is not an issue if these aircraft are scheduled for proper routes. the real problem is they would be very isolated on the routes and therefore would have to have extremely good planning which would not happen. doh, dmm, mhd, auh, would be the only routes that i can see them operating on a regular basis. amm, dam, bey and mosy of india would only work at specific times of the year. in the end we probably could use a few of these aircraft but i dont believe GF has the forethought to plan this properly. lets be honest we are having problems with crew and aircraft planning on 2 types

Jenniferr

I hope you all are aware that India ,Pakistan etc.. are gulf airs golden route becouse they planes wich fly there are packed with passengers .Even if its the 330 aircraft.Flying those small planes may really be a very bad decision for GF.What i think 320 is enough for a small aircraft for GF.Those useless airplanes are good for saudi airlines (they alraedy own it).Most airlines use it becouse not all airports are qualified to handle the jet(not even 320s).So they need some small aircraft which is suitable for those airports.SO what im saying if that man(new CEO) orders those filthy aircraft i will classify him as another flop CEO.

ODMEA

Might this mean now an exodus of RJ staff to BAH to fill the positions of the infidel expats...isn't this the Arab CEO (and with it all the trappings) GF has been but dreaming about until now?

Hope it works out in any case. God knows GF needs every bit of optimism it can scrape.

Oddy

Che Guevara

If you remember correctly, Embraer actaully brought an aircraft here a few years ago (about the same time RJ ordered them) and one of the issues (there were more than one) was the baggage/freight capacity using GF's passenger demographics etc.
However, I do agree that sending them to isolated destinations without the required support would be a big problem.
Finally, what is wrong with the 319s and 320s? Yes, certain flights are down right now, but GF certainly is not the only airline feeling the pinch at the moment.

Desert Diner

Nothing, as air cargo is probably more lucrative for GF.

The SV requirements for RJs was to service the smaller cities.

Panama Jack

My though behind types like types like the EMB 170/175/190 or the Bombardier C series would be for thin routes and to open up new destinations. I often wonder whether there aren't opportunities to open up additional destinations to Saudi Arabia, Iran or Al Ain.

Naturally, I don't know whether we are limited by bilaterals on additional services. Then again, nor do I know if there is even a market in connecting Al Ahsa, Gassim or Isfahan with the Gulf Air network.

In any case, it seems like our business model is under threat/broken and it is good to reexamine all options from time to time.

Jenniferr

The bottum line is GF would never order those low costs cheap planes.Becouse theyr meant to be for airlines who needs to save allooooot of money.But no matter what GF would always lose money regardless of the type of airplanes

ironbutt57

We didn't have any "thin" routes till some "genius" decided to dump the dump truck boeings and replace them with?????..(321?? like showing up at a gunfight with a knife)..unlike this Einsteins' last carrier, we cannot just change our name from Gulf Air to "Gulf", erase the debt and keep going..so we are in recovery mode...not from the economy...from "consultants" with their orange ties.who just about destroyed the place...

brassplate

while others suffer from the economic crisis, gf suffers from that PLUS bad consultantancy crisis PLUS management crisis PLUS many more crises. i mean, what idiotic company wants to add to its woes? aren't things bad enough?
apart from the axing of bn, that really is just the tip of the iceberg. many, many, many more should follow both expat AND local MANAGEMENT. the biggest thing that needs to go is a certain MENTALITY that refuses to be progressive and dynamic in a very dynamic environment.

boiler

I agree, but what are you going to do when the locals are protected? The only other "quick" solution is to let the expats go and you know what will happen then and what will hit the fan soon after.

uglyraedII

peaple why are you being so negative??????? every company goes through this kind of phase!qatar airways,emirates can have fun now but in a couple of years they will havea bad time!!!!!!well im pretty sure that this "bad phase" will come to an end very soon.Becouse the airlines gettin some new airplanes and hopefully the airline will have better management.Well im not sure that this CEO is up to the standard but who cares the fututre (2013) seems really magnificent for the airline!new planes, new livery hopefully a better CEO!trust me qatar and rest of the airlines are 100 times more currpoted than GF.The only reason theyr doin good is becouse they have money (for now).Well lets wait for the future hopefully its bright!