Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has taken delivery of two more brand new Airbus A320 aircraft, taking the number of new aircraft in the fleet to 14 in the last 14 months.

The two new aircraft that arrived a few days back have already been inducted into fleet, said a statement from the national airline.

Gulf Air chief executive officer Samer Majali said. “The arrival of these two aircraft successfully completes the first phase of our fleet renewal programme as per schedule.”

"Now more than 40 per cent of our fleet is brand new, demonstrating our dynamic fleet-renewal plan, which is a core component of the company's new strategy to create a commercially sustainable business with a strong product offering."

"Besides, having a new, more efficient fleet means we can deliver a better service to our customers and at the same time we can lower our costs," Majali noted.

“As we complete our 60th anniversary year we are proud of the fact that we are on the right track in our strategy-  from receiving new aircraft, launching new routes, offering  new  products to  cost control across the board," said the airline chief.

"Our fleet renewal strategy will continue in 2011 and we will continue to receive more aircraft during 2011 and after,” Majali added.

The technically and environmentally advanced A320 aircraft are now flying on Gulf Air’s short and medium haul routes. Gulf Air currently operates a total fleet of 34 aircraft.-TradeArabia News Service