Gulf Air reveals new livery and 787 cabins

Gulf Air revealed the airline’s fresh livery on Friday alongside the new cabin products being installed on the 787 Dreamliners the airline will begin receiving from the end of April.

Gulf Air has 21 787s on order. These will gradually replace the current fleet of 6 A330s allowing the airline to add new destinations as well as significantly upgrade the passenger experience.

And it is quite an upgrade from the current lie-flat seats on most of Gulf Air’s A330s. Business Class is getting the awesome Apex Suites. This is the same hard product installed on Oman Air and Japan Airlines.

While the seating configuration appears to be 2-2-2 the design of the Apex Suites means that all seats including those at the window have direct aisle access.

The seats by the window are slightly offset providing a bit of extra privacy as well as that all-important direct aisle access. I can’t wait to try this product.

The economy cabin is in the standard Dreamliner 3-3-3 configuration. The cabin looks spacious with large entertainment screens and bi-fold tables improving the passenger experience at the back of the plane.

The first route to see the 787 is Bahrain (BAH)-London (LHR). Gulf Air will operate two 787 flights a day from 15 June. With the fleet set to double in size over the next few years, Gulf Air has ambitious plans to add new destinations to their network. New routes already announced for 2018 include Baku and Casablanca.

Etihad Guest and Gulf Air partnership

Etihad has signed a new partnership with Gulf Air extending new travel benefits to the members of both airlines frequent flyer programmes.

The partnership expands on the existing codeshare agreement between the two airlines. It also provides further cooperation between Etihad Guest and Falconflyer. Etihad Guest members will now be able to earn and redeem miles on all flights across the Gulf Air network.

If you’re willing to pay cash, fares on Gulf Air between London and the Middle are competitive with the other ME3 making it an interesting alternative to consider.