Bahrain

Forced out of Iran and Iraq, Gulf Air looks to Saudi market

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has extended its suspension of flights to Iran and Iraq, citing the “ongoing security situation” as prompting the decision. Gulf Air was forced to terminate services to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon in mid Mar-2011, due to security and political considerations relating to the Arab Spring uprising, which spread across much of North Africa and the Middle East over late 2010 and the first half of 2011.

The suspension for destinations in Iraq will continue to 31-Jan-2012 inclusive, while the suspension of services to Iran will stretch until and including 31-Mar-2012. At the time of the suspensions, Iran and Iraq were two of Gulf Air’s largest markets. The carrier operated four routes to Iran – Tehran, Mashad, Esfahan and Shiraz – and four to Iraq – Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Basra.

Bahrain Air’s hybrid LCC/full service model to gain more premium features amid route expansion

Bahrain Air this year will move its hybrid business model closer to the premium end of the spectrum with the addition of proper business class seats and other service enhancements as the carrier seeks to better tap the Gulf’s premium market while maintaining a low-cost base to competitively fill the back of its aircraft.

This adjustment, along with six new routes to be added this year, will help the carrier put an incredibly difficult 2011 behind it. CEO Richard Nuttall says the renewed expansion will continue the growth launched in 2H2011.

Bahrain Air has a long list of routes it has indicated it is interested in operating, particularly to Tirvandrum, Delhi, Pune, Goa, Amritsa and Chennai in India and Lahore, Multan and Peshawar in Pakistan. South Asia-Middle East links have become common due to large South Asian workforce in the Gulf. Bahrain Air also has interest in Northeast Africa as well as Iran and Turkey. No formal announcements to specific routes have been made yet.

Middle East fleet outlook: widebody popularity increases, Airbus to grow market share

The 163 aircraft ordered at last week's Dubai Airshow will keep the Middle East region with almost as many aircraft on order as in service. While the show was marked by Emirates' order for 50 B777s, adding to the carrier's all-widebody fleet, widebody aircraft currently comprise just over half the region's fleet but are set to grow. Widebodies comprise more than 70% of aircraft on order in the region.

Boeing and Airbus will see their market share increase, but Airbus more so, eventually accounting for more than half of all aircraft in the region and Boeing accounting for just over a third. These latest aircraft orders add to an already substantial order backlog by airlines in the region. Most of the orders are concentrated in the hands of the Gulf region’s three largest sixth-freedom airlines: Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates. The 163 orders from the show were from airlines and leasing companies and had a combined total value at list prices of just under USD32 billion.

The Middle East's biggest air routes: Intra-regional city pairs dominate

Jeddah-Riyadh and Dubai-Doha are by far the busiest routes to, from or within the Middle East, but there are some changes ahead. A spike in capacity on the Dubai-London Heathrow route will see it take third place, while major cities linked with Cairo will see some seasonal reductions in coming months, namely Jeddah, Riyadh and Kuwait. More seats are being added from Dubai to the key Indian cities of Delhi and Mumbai, which will see them rise up the rankings.