JEDDAH, 27 December 2003 — Gulf Air has opened a new Sabre office at the Jeddah Business Plaza, according to an announcement from Hamza Mohammad Sharif, the airline’s manager for the Kingdom. Recently, Gulf Air and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer met with senior officials from civil aviation and Bahrain Airport Services during a demonstration flight aboard the Embraer 170 aircraft. A viewing and demonstration flight around the Gulf was arranged for guests. Embraer was in Bahrain as part of a Gulf tour that culminated in the manufacturer’s participation at the recent Dubai Air Show. Meanwhile, leading businessmen in Abu Dhabi heard how Gulf Air is well on the way to recovery and how 2004 promises to be another successful year for the airline. More than 700 of the capital’s top executives were at the Arab Businessmen’s Annual Forum to hear guest speaker James Hogan, president and chief executive of Gulf Air, outline the airline’s recovery strategy. “Passenger numbers on Gulf Air are at an all-time record high, with figures up by an average of 30 percent. Our unit costs are down and the yield is up,” he said.