Gulf Air, which is based in Bahrain, plans that their profitability will return by 2010, while the massive turnaround program that they are undergoing begins to pay off, says Bjorn Naf, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer. When Naf was asked in an interview about when they plan to break even, he replied as late as 3 year from the time they stated the program, which was during 2007. If the plan is to go well, the fuel helps them and they are hedged, then they will break even sooner than expected, he continued.

Gulf Air, which has been losing profit, cut their jobs and network last year, as well as began to renew their fleet, following a loss of over $1 million per day. Naf would not disclose the current amount of the losses, but said that the program is suppose to show results during 2010 when the economy begins to pick up, the air is clearer, and a few people aren’t there anymore.

Looking to the future, Naf said that the decrease in air travel, while families and businesses cut their budgets during the financial crisis, will not alter the expansion plans of Gulf Air. The airline currently has 59 aircrafts on order while they partially renew their existing 27 plane fleet and plan to add 3 destinations and 3 aircrafts every year through to 2013. Naf said that he predicts only 15% of the plane orders that have made the headlines from Middle Eastern carriers will actually add capacity to seating, because most of the orders are replacing existing aircrafts.

Get more information about the carrier at: www.gulfair.com