Gulf Air
From Open Encyclopedia
Gulf Air (Arabic: طيران الخليج) is the national carrier airline of Bahrain and Oman. It operates scheduled services to Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA. Its main bases are Bahrain International Airport, Seeb International Airport (MCT), Muscat and Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Gulf Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. Image:Gulf Air logo.png
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History
Gulf Air was established on 24 March 1950 by UK aviator Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. It started operations on 5 July 1950. It initially provided a commuter service between Bahrain, Doha and Dhahran and contract work for oil exploration companies. From then until 1970, BOAC was a major shareholder. Services to London began in April 1970 with a Vickers VC-10 aircraft. The governments of the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar purchased BOAC's shares in 1973 and with the Foundation Treaty of 1 January 1974, Gulf Aviation became the national carrier of the four states and was renamed Gulf Air. In the '70s the airline also greatly increased its fleet and subsequently its route network, flying to various destinations in both Europe and Asia.
The 1980s brought increased growth to Gulf Air and the network continued to grow. In the 1990s the airline grew rapidly and became involved in partnerships with numerous other airlines. The fleet was modernized and the route network diversified. In 2002 a recovery plan was launched in response to a loss of sales. The government of Qatar withdrew from the airline in December 2002. By March 2004, Gulf Air had hired its first two female pilots. Gulf Air also wholly owns subsidiary airline Gulf Traveller.
On September 132005, the UAE announced that they are withdrawing from Gulf Air to concentrate on Etihad, their national carrier, which started in late 2003
Incidents & Accidents
On 23 September 1983, while the Boeing 737 was en route to Karachi from Abu Dhabi, a bomb exploded in the baggage compartment. The plane crashed in the desert near Mina Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. All 6 crew members and 111 passengers perished.
On 23 August 2000, Gulf Air Flight 072, an Airbus A320-200, which was flying from Cairo to Bahrain International Airport in Muharraq, Bahrain, crashed into the Persian Gulf, North of Bahrain while doing a go-around after an aborted landing, all on board were killed.
Services
See full article: Gulf Air destinations
Fleet
The Gulf Air Fleet consists of the following aircraft (at November 2005):
See also
External links
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Afriqiyah Airways | Air Algerie | Air Arabia | EgyptAir | Emirates | Etihad Airways | Gulf Air | Iraqi Airways | Jordan Aviation | Kuwait Airways | Libyan Arab Airlines | Middle East Airlines | Oman Air | Palestinian Airlines | Qatar Airways | Royal Air Maroc | Royal Jordanian | Saudi Arabian Airlines | Sudan Airways | Syrian Arab Airlines | Trans Mediterranean Airways | Tunisair | Yemenia | | |
