GULF AIR   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

GULF AIR customer review :  1 February 2010 by J Euphory   (Kuwait)

KWI-BAH-LHR roundtrip on Economy. KWI-BAH on new A321. Check in and security fast, seats comfortable and aircraft clean. Flight not busy and crew friendly and upbeat, snack box served. No IFE, newspapers and magazines were offered. 4 hour connection time in Bahrain, used Gulf Air business lounge which despite showing signs of wear still offers good service cold and hot snacks and free wifi. BAH-LHR on A330, got 3 seats by window to myself - not very comfortable for sleeping but better than trying to sleep upright! Plenty of pillows and blankets offered. Crew polite and efficient and food was fine. In flight entertainment not AVOD, offered a decent selection. Cleared LHR immigration with IRIS which is great, however there was no priority baggage handling. LHR-BAH : now that Gulf Air uses T4 they no longer have their own lounge- they now share with Skyteam. T4 is pretty gloomy at night and most concessions were closed. On plus side, security was faster to clear than at T3. A340 left on time, crew efficient and minimally polite. Food and comfort decent and early arrival ahead of schedule into Bahrain. Was able to standby for an earlier flight that day. BAH-KWI on A319, busy flight, crew were pleasant and courteous. Snack box served. Considering this is economy class, not a bad experience and very good value considering the fare I paid.

GULF AIR customer review :  13 January 2010 by G Armstrong   (UK)

LHR-BAH-DAC return. 3 out of 4 flights were late. On outgoing journey we had a six hour connection and this was extended to over 8 hours by the delay but no food was offered. There were no announcements at BAH explaining the delays or giving an accurate idea how long it would be. When the connection arrived boarding took a long time as there did not seem to be enough staff. It was necessary to go through security at BAH to get to connecting flights. Inflight entertainment was poor. Only positive point on DAC-BAH flight we were upgraded to Business class.

GULF AIR customer review :  12 January 2010 by A Martin   (UK)

LHR-BAH-BKK return. Cramped tatty planes, no IFE, filthy toilets, rude, surly and unprofessional check-in staff, poor flight attendants and vile food. It’s not that the flights were cheap either. Never again with Gulf Air.

GULF AIR customer review :  10 January 2010 by M Jonson   (Canada)

It is one thing to have luggage arrive late, to have the plane leave 5 hours late causing you to miss your next international connection and to have the check in staff laughing and joking about mistakes. But it is additionally troublesome when you get no information and /or information that is so ludicrous it cannot possibly be true and information that is contradictory between agents. This does not build trust in an airline, we never will fly Gulf Air again.

GULF AIR customer review :  9 January 2010 by L Rodriguez   (UK)

London to Manila with stop over at Bahrain - Gulf Air were the cheapest fare. Headphones worked in only one ear. Carpets dirty. Food disgusting, and used trays took ages to be taken away. The crew on the plane were alright but check in desk staff were not friendly and more interested in laughing and joking with each other than serving.

GULF AIR customer review :  8 January 2010 : by G Ward   (Bahrain)

Flight to Dubai initially delayed one hour, then three. Was offered flight to Abu Dhabi plus a taxi ride - took this option as I needed to get to a meeting - and then 30 minutes later, that was cancelled. If Bahrain wants to be 'business friendly' it needs to have a reliable schedule of flights provided by Gulf Air!

GULF AIR customer review :  17 December 2009 : by J Ashiblie   (Malaysia)

DAM-BAH-KUL. Flight delayed out of Damascus but was above the Minimum Connecting Time, so my family and I were not worried. Crew attentive. From Bahrain the flight was full, crew attentive and did an excellent job. The problem was their aged A340 and clogged toilets. When Gulf Air receives new aircraft, their product will be far better.

GULF AIR customer review :  14 December 2009 : by D Christensen   (Bahrain)

BAH-BKK in Economy. Cramped seats, plane 100% full. IFE where I was, was falling apart and wouldn't extend. Sound only coming out of one headphone because of a fault in the seat. Meals gone downhill since I knew it. I used to fly a lot before to LHR in previous years. Cabin attendants are hurried and rushed. On the return it was just as bad and there were no IFE at all. The last time I fly with Gulf long-haul unless new planes arrive.

GULF AIR customer review :  11 December 2009 : by P James   (UK)

LHR-BKK-LHR. The outward flights were overbooked and service delivery slow and painful. Two point service from front of economy to the rear with the usual 1 choice of meal left at the end. I found the crew reasonably good. IFE ok but not on demand and some of the channels were jumping around. Bahrain is a great airport, cosy, all the facilities you require and a great duty free area. On return the flight from BKK to BAH was again overbooked and had no seat back tvs. The headphones had no cushion covers for the earpieces and no blankets but crew good - you do have to ask for drinks. BAH-LHR very pleasant as there was only about 45 of us onboard so loads of room, attentive service and good IFE. If looking for a good price and reasonable service then give Gulf a go, via Bahrain for good duty free.

GULF AIR customer review :  18 November 2009 : by G Lowndes   (UK)

On the first leg from LHR to Bahrain the plane was filthy, trays hadn't been cleaned and we were put right at the back of the plane - so by the time we got any food there wasn't anything worth having. Second leg Bahrain to Bangkok even worse - no inflight entertainment and plane was also very dirty. Staff were pleasant enough but nothing compared with Qatar, Emirates and Etihad. Booked with Gulf Air as I thought it would save me money - but for the sake of £50, next time I will choose another airline. Watch out when you get to Bahrain - they tell you one gate number and then it suddenly changes so its a mad dash to get to the right gate in time.

GULF AIR customer review :  5 November 2009 : by Kevin Rock   (Bahrain)

Flight delayed Bahrain to Jeddah (Monday). Now Wednesday and stuck in Jeddah - flight back to Bahrain is also delayed this time by more than 3 hours. Dont know why I bother it's just a never ending story with Gulf Air. Advise that you avoid Gulf whenever possible!

GULF AIR customer review :  3 November 2009 : by P Edwards   (UK)

Utterly horrible experience in so-called business class flying London-Bahrain. Started with appalling lounge in Heathrow T4 - queues, crowded, plastic everywhere. Progressed to boarding as a member of a mob - no separation between business and economy passengers. Onboard, cabin staff surly, disinterested. Offered only water or orange to drink - turned out that champagne was only reluctantly provided if specifically requested. Perhaps the staff get to take home what's not consumed by paying passengers (similar story for desert wine later - not offered, had to specifically ask). Food was tasteless fillet steak. Food choice quickly limited by "previous passenger choice" so if not in first couple of rows, you get whatever is left over. Service throughout reluctant and slow.

GULF AIR customer review :  3 November 2009 : by R Jones   (UK)

LHR-BAH-DAC Business class. First leg on leased Jet Airways plane that was in good condition. Cabin crew pleasant and generous with drinks, albeit upon request. Gulf has cut corners (offer water or fruit juice - need to ask for alcohol) with their business class food service bordering the BA or Air France economy product. Value for money and Bahrain offers efficient transit facility. Onwards to Dhaka was the usual confusion with their product focusing on the local labour markets.

GULF AIR customer review :  28 October 2009 : by L Warsk   (UK)

LHR-BAH-BKK return. Can only echo the many negative comments in previous experiences. Filthy aircraft, dirty toilets (where they were operating), rude and aggressive staff that had no idea how to communicate in a respectful manner. Flights were delayed with no explanation, many passengers complaining about broken seats, toilets, seating, broken or no IFE, particularly on the BAH-BKK A340 service. Be very mindful of this when booking flights with Gulf. We usually travel non-stop to BKK, but thought we'd give Gulf a go as the price was really good in comparison. I regret this now, for the small additional cost you can travel with Qatar or Etihad in comfort. One complaining passenger summed it up by informing the cabin service director that if they couldn't get the small things right what confidence could be had for the maintenance and safety? He was promptly told to shut up. We had a great holiday and will laugh about this in time to come, but will certainly be adding Gulf to our 'no go' list.

GULF AIR customer review :  26 October 2009 : by R Khan   (Germany)

DAC-BAH-IST return. Was upgraded to business class seat for first and last legs due to overbooking. Catering however provided from economy. The service standards were poor on all 4 flights. The return journey went from bad to worse. Crew on IST-BAH flight were disinterested except for chatting with passengers who apparently were other crew members or perhaps friends. One FA sat on the arm of another passenger's seat for 20 minutes while he squirmed to give her room so she could chat merrily in Turkish with two passengers in front of me. Then she went to the galley and came back with a shopping bag full of goodies for them and an armful of beer. BAH-DAC was the worst flight of my life. The business class cabin was dirty (newish A340) and toilets filthy. The crew were rude and disinterested. They offered no refreshments during the 5 hour flight other than a perfunctory meal service. I had to ask 3 times for an eye mask and earplugs - to be first lied to that they didn't have any and then to be given one by a crew who acted like it was a special favour. Meanwhile the blankets were tatty. This airline does not deserve your money. Stay away.

GULF AIR customer review :  19 October 2009 : by Simon Gurrey   (Bahrain)

BAH-CDG-BAH. I booked Gulf Air based on price and flight times but wish I hadn't. Bumped from our original flights because of gross overbooking and transferred to an overnight flight in Business (at our insistence). My wife's seat wouldn't recline so you can imagine what a great flight we had as we took it in turns to sit bolt upright and try to get some sleep. To compound this, the aircraft was scruffy (like most Gulf Air aircraft) and very hot and stuffy - three times we asked the FAs to fix the problem and three times they either couldn't or wouldn't fix it. Food was poor and took forever to be served and IFE didn't work - overall, the quality and level of service was appallingly low, especially for Business. Return flight in economy wasn't much better - slow service and you almost have to beg for a glass of wine (apart from FA who was generous in her measures). IFE useless - one screen not working, the other scratched and impossible to see the picture. Without a doubt, an airline to be avoided in the future and not one worthy of three stars. Qatar, Etihad and Emirates are all far better airlines.