Dubai: James Hogan, President and Chief Executive of Gulf Air has told an audience of top aviation financiers and other executives, that Gulf Traveller, the full-service, all-economy subsidiary airline of Gulf Air, has recorded a profit in each of the first four months of operations. The airline, which operates out of Abu Dhabi, made its inaugural flight on 1st June 2003.

Hogan, a key note speaker at the Middle East Aviation Finance Conference in Dubai on Wednesday 10 December was answering the question: ‘Gulf Traveller: Is there a market for an all economy airline?’ He said that Gulf Traveller, which was born out of the belief that a single airline cannot work in a multi-segmented market, had, in fact, exceeded all initial expectations.

“The success we have achieved in the first few months of operations is a good indication that there is indeed a market for an all economy airline,” he said. “Forward bookings are also looking very encouraging and the product is being well received by customers choosing to fly with us.”

“At the end of the day Gulf Traveller provides us with the ability to effectively target brand, provide a tailored service style and to be more price competitive with competitors on the same routes,” added Hogan. “It utilises infrastructure where it makes economic sense such as maintenance, aircraft and a management team, yet facilitates break away when it is economically viable, such as the incentivisation of contracts.

“The future looks very bright for Gulf Traveller,” he concluded. “We are already evaluating new destinations within the regions Gulf Traveller currently serves, while also looking for growth into new regions such as secondary UK ports and other cities in Europe and Africa.”

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Photo © Tim de Groot