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Gulf Air launches Falcon Gold

24th March 2010 Print
Gulf Air launches Falcon Gold

This month Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, will launch Falcon Gold, a new premium cabin travel experience offering the very best elements of Gulf Air’s First Class for the price of a traditional Business Class Fare.  

Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Samer Majali said: “The launch of Falcon Gold forms part of our new strategic direction to create a consistent and enhanced travel experience across our entire wide and narrow body fleet.  More importantly, it heralds a new era in travel with Gulf Air.  In what is our Diamond Jubilee year, we are creating an airline for the next 60 years and beyond - an airline that offers excellence in quality and service as well as excellent value.   With the introduction of Falcon Gold everyone wins.  Our traditional Business Class customers receive a superior, more consistent product and our esteemed First Class passengers continue to enjoy all the elements of the service to which they have become accustomed, at better value.”

Falcon Gold fares will be on a par with traditional Gulf Air Business Class fares with a simple choice of pricing options linked directly to the flexibility of their ticket.

In the air, Gulf Air’s multi award winning Sky Chef service, previously exclusive to First Class passengers, will be enjoyed throughout the new single premium cabin.   In addition, luxury pillows and blankets as well as overnight amenity packs will be rolled out to further enhance customer comfort onboard.

As part of its substantial fleet and product upgrade programme, from the end of 2011, Gulf Air will introduce a new state-of-the-art flat bed throughout the Falcon Gold cabins on long haul flights operating on routes over 4.5 hours.  In the interim, customers travelling on a fully flexible Falcon Gold ticket will be priority pre-seated in the airline’s fully flat Sleeper Seats, positioned at the front of the aircraft, when available. 

Passengers taking advantage of the excellent value, less flexible Falcon Gold fares will continue to enjoy Gulf Air’s lounge bed style Sleeper Seats, available on the airline’s A330-300 and A340-200 aircraft which operate on Gulf Air’s long haul routes including, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and a number of regional routes on ad-hoc basis.  Gulf Air will also be refurbishing the entire Falcon Gold cabin interior to create a comfortable and consistent feel to the newly defined premium space.  This will be completed by April 2010. 

On Gulf Air’s short haul operations, significant improvements to seat comfort, onboard services and other product enhancements will be rolled out for Falcon Gold customers to enjoy.

On the ground Falcon Gold passengers will enjoy priority check-in, lounge access, and a generous 40kg baggage allowance.  Gulf Air Frequent Flyer Programme members will earn double miles when travelling on the most flexible Falcon Gold ticket and close to 1.5 times more miles when travelling on a restricted Falcon Gold Fare. 

Gulf Air’s flagship lounge at Bahrain International Airport will undergo a refurbishment to include ‘The Dining Room’, a new restaurant concept for Falcon Gold passengers wishing to dine before their flight leaving the flight free to work or rest.

Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Kyle Haywood commented: “We are excited by Falcon Gold.  It is without a doubt the premium travel experience our customers are looking for.  We look forward to rolling out more enhancements and added value to the service over the coming months and in particular to next year when all our Falcon Gold passengers on our flights over 4.5 hours will be seated in our innovative and pioneering fully lie flat seats, which we have yet to unveil.  In the short-term, the fully flat Sleeper Seat option is available on approximately 80% of our wide body aircraft fleet, serving both long haul and Middle East routes.”

Mr. Majali concluded: “I am delighted by the speed with which we are implementing our new strategy, to create an airline that reflects the needs and aspirations of our customers with a targeted, more focused, regional and international network, a superior and more consistent product and a modern, more efficient fleet.   There is more to come as Gulf Air continues to rebuild to be a successful and sustainable business.”
 

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Gulf Air launches Falcon Gold