“We are not after anyone else’s market share – we are aimed at those who can’t afford to fly regularly at the moment. We are two different products, which should complement each other but our price has to be cheaper than Gulf Air as we are a low priced airline.”
Fakhri added that Gulf Air had a bigger fleet and a bigger route and for this reason they shouldn’t feel any pressure from Bahrain Air.
Last month, after the official launch, Bahrain Air has become the first privately-owned premium low-priced carrier (LPC), with a paid-up capital of BD8 million and an authorised capital of BD10 million, will start operations as second national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain from January 17. Bahrain Air will use a fleet of modern Airbus A320 aircraft and has ambitious plans to expand its operation within GCC, Middle East, Africa and the Indian sub-continent.
The new airline is poised to grow in line with the regional surge in the aviation business and would achieve business objectives outlined in the three-year plan.
In the meanwhile, Bahrain Air announced the completion of selection of first batch of 44 cabin attendants.
Captain Ahmed Yaqubi Director of Operations and Maintenance, said: “The candidates were carefully selected through an intensive examination which included the test of their personality, efficiency in the area of customer service and their English language.”
The groups included 24 candidates from different nationalities. This has now raisin the total of the selected candidates to 44 Cabin Attendant from 12 different nationalities. The two groups will leave the Jordan to join an intensive course that takes 10 days covering First Aid, emergency and safety procedures and fire-fighting. The training shall be conducted at the Jordanian Training Academy, which has been approved by the Civil Aviation Affairs in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Company officials were keen to choose the training centers with a reputable performance and efficiency in order to maintain its high standard of service especially in the area of air safety.
He added: “Bahrain Air’s aim is to strengthen the Bahraini labour market through recruiting Bahrainis to work within the in-flight services and encourages Bahraini females to apply for Cabin Attendant positions through its website. This is in addition to other areas of specialisation.”
According to senior official Bahrain Air will set a new standard in its category while tapping the huge base of passengers flying on GCC and African destinations. Initially, the airline will cover 13 destinations and 140 flights weekly across the region.
Backed by leading investors from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with 68 per cent and 32 per cent shareholding respectively, Bahrain Air is upbeat about grabbing a fair market share by offering an innovative product.
The induction of first batch was announced at a reception attended by Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and airline’s managing director Ibrahim Al Hamer.
