Gulf Air’s fleet of 30 aircraft are at the head of the punctuality charts this year

n 2007 Gulf Air underwent a major shift in management and a restructuring process. Less than a year later, the changes have already occasioned significant improvements, including increased profitability and an award as the Middle East’s best fare. Björn Näf, the current CEO, is personally leading the change, overseeing a series of new initiatives to help develop the Middle East’s oldest airline.

The airline has a rich history operating in the Gulf that dates back to 1950. Originally formed to run flights to the region’s oil fields, Gulf Air was jointly owned by four different states - Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Oman – and for many decades dominated the region.

As the Middle East’s wealth grew exponentially with the exploitation of oil reserves and an explosion in world demand, the region became increasingly more important as a business destination. The four countries eventually decided to go their own way, leaving the kingdom of Bahrain with sole control of the airline.

The Bahrain royals foresaw early on the importance of having a national airline for their archipelago. According to Näf, “The leadership has stepped forward and decided that a strong carrier was needed for Bahrain’s economic development.” Decades later the decision to invest heavily in the airline is paying off, as the company constitutes a significant portion of non-oil based income for the kingdom. “Gulf Air is one of the key contributors to the Bahrain’s GDP, with approximately 5,000 employees working for the organization,” Näf stated.

BJÖRN NÄF Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air INTERVIEW

The small Gulf state, approximately the size of Rhode Island, has played a major role in politics and foreign policy in the region, housing an American Naval base. The country’s prime location has also made it a major hub for air traffic from Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Officials from Gulf Air are seeking to further capitalize on the kingdom’s location with new business initiatives that strive to increase air traffic and improve customer satisfaction by cutting down on layover time. “Gulf Air’s network is based on a wave model,” Näf elaborated. “We bring passengers to Bahrain and send them off again 30 minutes later, in waves, 5 times a day.”

While the strategy may not seem revolutionary on paper, it is remarkably different from that of Gulf Air’s competitors. Rather than impose a flight schedule that forces transit passengers to wait two or three hours in the airport so that they purchase duty free items from shops, the Bahrain International Airport and Gulf Air are determined to expedite the transit process, giving passengers the gift of time. “We want to sell time, since time is the key factor for business people,” stated Näf.

Apart from decreased transit time, passengers can look forward to a competent and highly efficient staff. The airliner is expanding its commitment to customer service by investing heavily in its employees. “We are investing in our people as the highly motivated and skilled people in companies are obviously the main drivers,” Näf explained. “Our employees are highly motivated and we need to support them by training them and investing in them.”

Beyond training, the company is sharing a portion of its increasing profits with employees. “We increased the salaries of cabin crews, engineers and pilots by 50% to retain our people.”

Gulf Air’s current management is helping move away from the concept of the airliner as a state-run welfare organization and towards the idea of a profit-producing, customer-oriented, high performance-driven company. “I was confirmed as CEO, with a clear vision to convert this airline into a clear-cut business model,” Näf related.

The leaders of Gulf Air wanted to further demonstrate their commitment to the company by purchasing $6 billion worth of new planes from Boeing and $5 billion worth of additional aircraft from Airbus to help aid in the quest for the lead of the Middle East’s aviation sector.