Abu Dhabi: Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, reported on Tuesday annual losses of 62.7 million Bahraini dinars in 2014, marking a 32.8 per cent improvement from the 93.3 million Bahraini dinars in losses reported in 2013.
The figures mark Gulf Air’s strongest results since 2004, the carrier said in a statement.
The airline said that it continued to shift from low-value transit traffic through Bahrain to high-demand, point-to-point routes focused largely on the Middle East and North Africa region in 2014. This resulted in a 15.4 per cent increase in total revenue passengers.
By the end of 2014, Gulf Air had extended its destinations to 41, with new routes having been launched to Europe, India, and the Middle East.
“We are moving strategically forward, making changes to Bahrain’s national carrier that are not only positive in the short term but that form part of our greater long term strategy towards transforming the airline across many fronts … Our success to date in realising the positive turnaround of Gulf Air over the past two years gives me great confidence in our 2015 results,” stated Maher Al Musallam, Gulf Air’s acting chief executive officer.
The airline’s 28 all-Airbus fleet of new aircraft underwent specific, targeted enhancements that were completed by the end of 2014.
