Gulf Air holds employees’ annual conference to review 2010 performance

National carrier Gulf Air held its annual commercial conference last night at the Gulf Hotel in which the airline reviewed its past year’s performance and discussed ways to carry forward its mission of turning the airline into a sustainable business and successful business.

Gulf Air Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Talal Al Zain and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Samer Majali addressed the gathering of over 250 employees from Gulf Air’s 46 destinations that included commercial managers and airport managers.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Al Zain said, “I am pleased to see Gulf Air has made impressive improvements since the implementation of the new strategy in Nov 2009. You all have worked hard and proved that commitment and teamwork really works and I would like to thank Samer for his astute leadership and direction. However this was not without challenges; what we need now is to continue with this momentum, and by pushing yourself a little harder I am sure we can taste the fruits of success.”

Addressing the employees, Mr. Majali highlighted the progress Gulf Air has made in 2010 across the airline’s fleet, products, network and human resources– all contributing towards the airline’s improved performance- despite several challenges.

“In 2010, we expanded our network to five more new destinations in the Middle East and Africa, re-emphasising our position as the region’s largest network carrier and have established a leadership position in a number of routes including Iraq and Iran – where we are the largest GCC operator. In line with our strategy of focusing regionally and expanding selectively across key financial centres of the globe, we are all set to launch services to Milan and Geneva- Europe’s financial hubs this March. We will continue to launch services to new destinations with minimum risk and financial outlay, building up frequency more rapidly, substantially contributing to the overall achievement of our network strategy.”

Commenting on the fleet renewal strategy Mr. Majali said, “We took delivery of 10 new aircraft during 2010 and also phased out 10 older planes. With more than 40% of our fleet being brand new we now have one of the youngest fleet in the region, with an average age of just 6.4 years. Our fleet renewal plan will continue in 2011 with four more arriving this summer and another eight in 2012. Meanwhile we have made notable improvements to our products that include the introduction of Falcon Gold Class, new amenity kits, portable entertainment system in premium class and improved menu on several routes. This year will see our fleet retrofitted with a state-of-the-art entertainment system.

He continued, “On the operational performance our seat factor has increased from 70% to 74% and our flight punctuality rate has improved to an average of 73% while the number of cancelled flights has reduced by 6%.”

On improvements in human resources areas, Mr. Samer Majali highlighted the introduction of a new compensation and benefits system to align the company’s salary structure to the local market. “The new system not only harnesses the nation’s best employment practices and standards by creating a fair and efficient working environment for all Gulf Air employees, but also sets clear objectives and deliverables that are monitored and measured by a performance appraisal system to gauge productivity and efficiency to promote performance-linked career progression.”

He added further, “We achieved the highest nationalization levels in the region during 2010 as a result of our progressive Bahrainisation programme. To date, 82% of non-flight crew positions in Bahrain are held by Bahrainis, while our overall Bahrainisation level has reached 54% of all staff. Further, in 2010, 527 Bahrainis were promoted.”

In conclusion, Mr. Majali said, “We were able to achieve these results through the implementation of these strategic initiatives, a lot of hard work, dedicated efforts, discipline by all staff members and functions. Now we need to push harder this year in order for us to achieve our ultimate goal of creating a commercially sustainable and successful business by 2012.”