Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has added Addis Ababa as latest destination to its growing global network with the launch of non-stop scheduled flights to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
The carrier’s inaugural flight GF 0705 from Bahrain touched down at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport with a high-level delegation onboard led by the airline’s Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali.
Addis Ababa is Gulf Air’s second route during the first month of the year, following the commencement of service to Isfahan in Iran. The historic city of Addis Ababa expands Gulf Air’s global network to 47 global destinations covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia.
The airline will operate four flights a week on the Addis Ababa route, using an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 16 seats in Falcon Gold and 120 in Economy and has capacity to carry four tons of freight.
Marking the historic occasion, Gulf Air also announced an expanded code-share agreement with Ethiopian Airlines. The agreement offers Gulf Air and Ethiopian Airlines passengers the choice to fly with either airline on routes between Bahrain and Addis Ababa, giving customers a choice of 16 flights per week on this route. An extension of the code-share agreement to onward flights from Bahrain to Middle Eastern and Asian destinations as well as from Addis Ababa to destinations in Eastern and Central Africa is already under discussion.
“We are delighted to commence services to Addis Ababa. We believe Ethiopia offers tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs and businessmen from Bahrain and the Middle East and that Bahrain offers unlimited business opportunities for the Ethiopian market. 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,” Samer Majali told the gathering on the arrival of the inaugural flight in Addis Ababa.
“Gulf Air operates the largest network in the Middle East with non-stop flights as well as seamless onward connections to other international destinations, connecting 47 cities in 30 countries. That combined with today’s code share agreement with Ethiopian Airlines will ensure that passengers have an extensive range of travel options.”
“Ethiopian Airlines welcomes Gulf Air to Addis Ababa and we look forward to a long-term collaboration and business partnership,” said Tewolde G. Mariam, Chief Executive of Ethiopian Airlines.
“As the pioneer in the development of the African commercial aviation industry, Ethiopian’s unwavering commitment to bring African nations closer to each other and the continent ever closer to the world continues unabated. Currently, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 39 cities in Africa and a total of 60 international destinations spanning throughout four continents.”