12 January 2017 12:00 am
Gulf Air, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national carrier, has been independently ranked by UK aviation analysts OAG the most punctual airline in 2016, amongst GCC airlines, with an average on-time performance (OTP) of 82.7 percent.
In its ranking amongst global airlines, Gulf Air garnered 9th place for punctuality amongstEurope, Middle East & Africaairlines and 19th place for punctuality globally - in 2016. OAG released their annual airline and airport Punctuality League performance report for 2016 showing alongside this, and thanks to the synergy between local aviation entities, Bahrain International Airport’s ranking as the 9thmost punctual airport in the world and the highest-placed airport in the Middle East for 2016. Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Maher Salman Al Musallam commented, “We are delighted to be recognized as a leading global player in on-time-punctuality for 2016. Recognising that on-time-punctuality is a critical element for travelers, we are committed to improving our performance to better deliver on our promise to get passengers to their destinations in a timely manner, while at the same time continually focusing on ongoing enhancements across all aspects of our product and service offering.”
OAG leverages the world’s largest network of air travel data to provide accurate, timely, actionable digital information and applications to the world’s airlines, airports, government agencies and travel-related service companies. OAG’s annual Punctuality League performance report is drawn from a database of approximately 54 million flight records for 2016 and defines ‘on time’ as within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of scheduled arrival/departure time.
Gulf Air has held the top spot in recent years for OTP, ranking first among major airlines from the Middle East and Africa for the 5th Annual Airline On-time Performance Service Awards in 2013. The airline operates one of the largest regional networks, with double daily flights or more to 10 regional cities, providing seamless connectivity for passengers travelling across its networkvia its efficient Bahrain International Airport hub. The airline’s network currently serves 41 cities in 24 countries spanning three continents (with the addition of Colombo, Sri Lanka scheduled from 19th
January 2017).