Gulf Air

LHR-BAH. Airbus A340. Service is usually good equipment new check-in a breeze. I think this was a relatively old interior judging by the low quality screen. The seats in economy were terrible neither I nor the angry woman behind me could get comfortable because our knees were pressed against the reclining seat in front. I had an aisle seat - 22c and was struck painfully on the knee by a trolley woken frequently by having my shoulder knocked by stewardesses water tipped on me from a food tray being passed over no apology or explanation. By the end of the flight I felt that I had been through an assault course.

COK-BAH-MCT. COK-BAH in Business Class; one of the smiling Gulf Air staff filled the necessary immigration form on behalf of me and escorted me up to the Immigration counter. It was a pleasure travelling on a relatively new A321 aircraft with plenty of seat pitch together with the efficient crew. Breakfast was good. Once again a minus point that there was no amenities in the Business Class Toilet not even hand-wash soap. BAH-MCT sector was supposed to be in Economy Class but to my surprise while boarding an Embraer 170 aircraft at Bahrain the Falcon Gold flight attendant just pulled me back saying "you have been given Seat 3F" instead of pre-assigned 14A seat. The meal provided in this sector was tasty.

Flew MCT-BAH-COK in Business Class (Seat 2A). MCT-BAH on Embraer 19 aircraft on time with tasty light meals and the crew very active. Used Falcon Gold Lounge at Bahrain. Plenty of food and beverages available for self-service. BAH-COK an A320 aircraft in Business Class (Seat 1A). Good choice of food and beverages with cabin crew performing their duty well but the dis-advantage is the lack of amenities in the lavatory where only toilet tissues only available. On request crew provided a toothbrush and paste. Other than that the 3.5 hour flight was enjoyable and landed early at COK. Will fly again with Gulf Air.

DOH-BAH return both legs on new A320 as always service is very good departure and arrival were on time. No meals were give due to the very short trip (25 minutes).

LHR-BAH BAH-MNL return. LHR-BAH: Late to check-in online so was stuck in the middle 4 seats. My tray table kept falling down the locking mechanism had broken and was held up by duct tape. BAH-MNL: Aircraft was newer with better seats entertainment and food. I was pleased with the overall flight. MNL-BAH: an average flight. The food was okay but not to everyone's liking. On the bright side I was able to get three 15 minute Wi-Fi cards for the aircraft's wireless Internet connection. After waiting 8 hours at BAH we boarded BAH-LHR flight on an older A330-200. It didn't include Wi-Fi nor did it include live television. Food wasn't too impressive although the flight attendants were able to 'silence' crying babies with ease. It's a bit hit-and- miss with Gulf Air. I would have given the airline a higher rating if they supply Europe with their newer fleet of A330-200s.

MAA-BAH-FRA. All flights on time. Economy class but was upgraded to business class from MAA-BAH. Business class meal service was excellent. On both sectors brand new aircraft. BAH-FRA service was operated by PrivatAir on B737-700. Had ample legroom due to exit row. Free flow of snacks and drinks throughout. Breakfast adequate and filling. AVOD on both sectors but compared to competitors entertainment options quite limited.

London Heathrow-Bangkok via Bahrain return. All 4 flights were very good. Helpful cabin crew. Planes outbound were old and the entertainment slightly lacking. Return flights were newer planes and the entertainment fantastic. Meals pretty standard nothing to rave about. Would definitely fly Gulf Air again.

Flew from Copenhagen to Mumbai - a very pleasant experience. Aircraft was modern and clean with good leg room. Food was nice and staff very helpful. We had the same experience on our return except that we then were given seats in business class from Mumbai to Bahrain. Next time I will not hesitate using Gulf Air.

Overall mixed trip London Heathrow-Abu Dhabi via Bahrain. First flight on ageing A330 A bit shabby but otherwise clean. Food tasteless and I could not eat all of it it was a night flight so I slept most of the way and the entertainment was nothing to shout about. Connection to Abu Dhabi was ok but Gulf Air changed the plane to an ageing A319. The snack offered was horrible. Return connection to Bahrain a completely different story. Very new and clean Embraer E-190. Inflight entertainment was brilliant with plenty of choice. Breakfast was very tasty. Return flight was much the same with the food not very nice and the entertainment not great. I think I will be sticking to British Airways next time.

London-Bahrain Bahrain-Manila return to London. Could not fault staff very helpful food and service very good with friendly staff informative announcements and on each flight we departed on time and arrived early. All in all a good experience.