One More 787 Operator Debuts
Bahrain's national carrier, Gulf Air, has an order for 16 Dreamliners, the first five of which it's going to take delivery of in 2018, with the first of that batch scheduled to be delivered in April. On Monday, the carrier announced its first destination for its new 787-9: London.
Beginning June 15, 2018, the carrier is set to launch 2x daily service between Bahrain (BAH) and London (LHR). As reported by AirlineRoute, here's the operational schedule on the BAH-LHR route:
- GF007 Bahrain (BAH) 1:15am Departure ⇒ London (LHR) 6:25am Arrival
- GF003 Bahrain (BAH) 10:10am Departure ⇒ London (LHR) 3:20pm Arrival
- GF002 London (LHR) 10:00am Departure ⇒ Bahrain (BAH) 6:35pm Arrival
- GF006 London (LHR) 10:05pm Departure ⇒ Bahrain (BAH) 6:40am (+1) Arrival
As reported by One Mile at a Time, Gulf Air's Dreamliners will offer two cabins: economy and business. The business-class cabin will offer 26 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, but there's no clue as to what particular kind of seats the aircraft will be outfitted with. But, based on the fact that the site show's they'll be arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration, they'll likely be forward-facing.
As for the other 11 Dreamliners, Gulf Air expects to take delivery of them through 2024. Because the delivery is so spread out, there's the possibility that Gulf Air could expand its long-haul operations even farther. Currently, the carrier operates a fleet of A330s on its long-haul routes, though its network isn't very large currrently. The more fuel-efficient Dreamliners will eventually replace the A330s on its long-haul service.
If you're interested in testing out the new Dreamliner with Gulf Air, the carrier is still a parter of American Airlines — but only through April 30, 2018. So, you can search for award availability via ExpertFlyer and then call into AAdvantage to book, as Gulf Air awards don't show on AA's site. On a few quick searches, there seems to be plenty of availability. Based on AA's partner award chart, you'll pay 20,000 AA miles one-way in economy or 42,500 one-way in business.
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