Gulf Air launches its first Scandinavian destination and expands its African network

(April 13,Bahrain , Sri Lanka Guardian) Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain today announced the launch of services to two more new destinations in its network. The airline will start flying to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark from 1st July 2011 and Nairobi, the capital of Kenya from 5th July with four flights per week. Copenhagen is set to become the airline’s first Scandinavian destination and Nairobi, its third African destination.

Today’s route announcements follow the airline’s recent commencement of services to a number of destinations including Geneva in Switzerland, Milan in Italy, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Kabul in Afghanistan from 15 June bringing the number of new destinations in 2011 to eight.

Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said: “The addition of Copenhagen and Nairobi along with Kabul, which we announced a few weeks ago, demonstrates the airline’s strategy of expanding its operations to diverse and underserved cities, connecting the Kingdom of Bahrain with key cities beyond the Middle East.”

“We have scheduled both services for good connections through Bahrain, not just to allow passengers to take advantage of the airline’s regional network – the largest in the region – but also to travel to Asia and the Indian Sub-continent through our base in Bahrain – the fastest hub in the region.”

“Scandinavians are keen travellers to the Asian and the Indian sub-continent regions and Copenhagen is an aviation hub for the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. The city also enjoys good surface connections with southern Sweden. In addition, Copenhagen is home to many international corporations and organisations, and we see a strong potential for business traffic to and from the region. By connecting Copenhagen with Bahrain we are opening up new doors of opportunity for trade and tourism for both countries.”

“By re-connecting Nairobi with Bahrain we are re-opening the huge commercial and tourism opportunity for entrepreneurs and businessmen from both markets. We are confident this new route will be a success for both our passenger and cargo operations, and we look forward to facilitating business and leisure traffic between the two countries and beyond.”

Copenhagen as Denmark’s largest city is a major regional center of culture, business, media and science. With the largest airport in Scandinavia, Copenhagen is popular for hosting regional headquarters of large international companies.

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is the financial and tourism capital of the East Africa region and a city that has something for everyone. Just outside the city is Nairobi National Park, comprising 113 sq kms of vast plains, cliffs and forests that is home to many of the world’s rarest animals.

Gulf Air will be operating a Boeing 737 aircraft in a two-class configuration of sixteen Falcon Gold seats and seventy-eight seats in Economy to Copenhagen and an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 16 seats in Falcon Gold and 120 in Economy, and has the capacity to carry 4 tons of freight to Nairobi. Flights to Nairobi are subject to the required clearances being obtained.

Bookings for the flights are now open with an attractive launch fare at www.gulfair.com. Customers can also book their tickets through the Gulf Air worldwide Contact Centre at 17335777 or through any Gulf Air sales offices or Gulf Air travel agents.


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