Gulf Air

I'm usually a fan of Gulf Air but my latest experience with them was simply horrible. Cairo to Doha via Bahrain. Flight from Cairo to Bahrain was on A321 full flight with not one free seat. Food as usual was great (in my opinion Gulf Air's food is far superior to the food of Qatar or Emirates). However the nightmare began during transit in Bahrain. The flight to Doha was delayed 2 hours. Not one announcement was made on the reason of the delay. Airport staff in Bahrain were both rude and clueless. On the flight itself to Doha the Bahraini male flight attendants were rude and sarcastic when asked about the delay. Only water was offered to the passengers comparable to low cost airlines which Gulf Air is supposedly not. This airline is going downhill fairly quickly. Also their IFE needs an Einstein to figure it and the entertainment is very old and limited.

Dec 23 Bahrain-Paris GF19 return Paris-Bahrain January 4th. Very busy. Staff were very pleasant and I was very grateful to them for making a special allowance for me. The staff make this airline very pleasant.

BAH-MNL and still the IFE is very poor and when will it be on demand with up to date films? Lucky that we had a DVD type player as that was a godsend to have as at least it had up to date movies but battery life was not too good for a long flight. Food pretty good this time around as it seems to depend on the on-board chef as they do differ on the flights I have been on previously. Again one of the toilets was out of order which is pretty poor when this flight was completely full! Also seems that the plane was not fully cleaned beforehand as I found litter from the last flight under my seat.

DOH-BAH-BOM. Aircraft's were less two years old good seating generous allowance of 45 kgs in economy! Only downside was very limited portion of meals and limited entertainment. However when compared to prices of Jet Airways Qatar and Emirates its fare was 50 percent less. Transit Time between Gates was 5 mins.

Following my comments of 13 September 2013 which were 'pre-flight comments' in relation to my GF planned Business Flight; RUH-BAH-LHR-BAH-RUH on 24 Sept and 2 Oct respectively I was pleasantly surprised! Though my ticket RUH-BAH was economy the crew looked after me very well. On arrival at the GF Lounge in BAH my seat was immediately changed to 1G. Likewise on check-in for the LHR-BAH on 2 Oct my allocated seat was 2A. These front 'lie flat' seats are the old GF 1st Class product. The service on all four sectors was very good and the food on the BAH-LHR-BAH was excellent! A good choice of IFE with very attentive Cabin Crew who could do enough for me. I will definitely be flying GF again.

From MCT to BOM then back BOM-MCT. I must say that the entertainment wasn't good at all. The food from MCT-BAH was not very special it was a small sandwich which I think is very good for a 1 hr 20 min flight (in Europe you wont get a meal but drinks only if lucky). The connection times were very bad we arrived in Manama at around 0 am and had to catch the next flight at 10 am and we would have to sleep on the floor. The Crew were very nice nothing to complain about. The flight to Bombay was really nice the meal was a nice Chicken tikka but we could choose from vegetarian to beef to chicken.

Flew BAH-MNL and still the IFE is not on demand but at least you get a DVD type player with selected movies. But does not compare to the likes of Qatar Emirates. Food seems to be below average or maybe down to the caterer at this destination as I did not eat must of mine. Crew were very pleasant and very helpful. Toilets seemed not to be cleaned regularly during the flight as tissues and smells were evident of the previous passenger lying around on the floor.

BAH-AUH on 2 October. A320 in very good shape - updated interior. Flight departed 10 minutes early for the 55 minute flight to Abu Dhabi. Friendly flight attendants in nice attire - 2 male and 2 female. In-flight Entertainment was great - more choices on this A320 for Gulf flights than on United for 12 hour international flights. Even a chicken sandwich and drink were served. Arrived 5 minutes early and baggage was out quickly. Gulf Air is doing a great job!

This report will be published as it is before I take my trip with GF (I will follow up with a review post trip). GF changed from a 3 class airline to a 2 class airline some four years or so. I am flying RUH-BAH-LHR-BAH-RUH on 24 Sept and 2 Oct. I have used miles to upgrade and after reviewing the config of the A332 have just called the call centre to request a seat on row 1 or 2 on the BAH-LHR-BAH sectors as these are 'lie flat'. I was told I could not as these are reserved for 'J' Class passengers only; hence still a 3 class airline! The scores shown are pre flight and my feelings/dealings with the GF staff thus far.

LHR-BAH-BKK return. All flights on time. Quick and hassle free boarding at all airports. Online Check-In worked well (something that Etihad can't seem to manage). A330 aircraft on all sectors. Older aircraft but more spacious and comfortable seats than the flights operated by Emirates Etihad or Qatar. Food was fine and plenty drinks choices with regular juice and water service. Excellent Cabin Crew. Only downside was the poor IFE compared to the competition so take a ipod and a book. Very nice service through Bahrain which is in my opinion a much better transit airport than Dubai Abu Dhabi or Doha. I was pleasantly surprised with Gulf Air and I'll use them again.