MANAMA, 4 June 2003 — Gulf Air has concluded agreements to lease three more Airbus aircraft, the company’s President and Chief Executive James Hogan said yesterday.
“The airline has entered into agreements to lease an additional three aircraft. This initiative will ... support the current requirements of our network, which is being planned around the provision of daily frequencies to key destinations,” Hogan said in a statement. The aircraft include two wide-bodied A340-300s scheduled to enter service during the summer on long-haul routes and an Airbus A320 which will enter service in July serving short- and medium-haul routes, he said.
Gulf Air, which currently operates a 30-strong fleet comprising a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, announced last week it was negotiating the purchase of regional jets for use on its Gulf routes with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier.
The airline, which is owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman, notched up debts of $700 million to the end of last year forcing its co-owners to pump in $238 million and defer debts under a three-year restructuring plan.
Hogan said early this year that losses for 2002 had been limited to $111 million after a recovery in the second half of the year. “In 2003 Gulf Air will halve those losses and break even in the following year,” he said.
