Bahrain national carrier Gulf Air and Thai Airways International have signed an expansion to the existing codeshare agreement, effective from October 28.

The expanded codeshare agreement will extend the travel opportunities for Gulf Air passengers to fly beyond Bangkok on Thai Airways to Hong Kong with immediate effect and to Singapore, Tokyo and Melbourne in the coming months and broaden the commercial partnership between the two companies.

Gulf Air’s chief executive officer, Krešimir Kučko, said: “Gulf Air has a longstanding commercial partnership with Thai that we are proud of. Gulf Air passengers can now have greater choice, convenience and a seamless travel experience from Bangkok to local Thai destinations as well as international destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. Gulf Air looks forward to growing the broader bilateral relationship with Thai.”

Thai’s president, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, said: “Thai continuously works towards making improvements for maximum passenger satisfaction. The codeshare agreement between Thai and Gulf Air will increase our capacity through the route network and sales, as well as to make travel convenient for passengers travelling between Thailand and Bahrain in addition to the Middle East. The codeshare expansion provides more opportunities for Thai passengers to travel to Bahrain and Middle East on Gulf Air. On the other hand, it also makes more traffic volume from the Middle East to Asia and Australia by Thai. This cooperation will strengthen a good longstanding relationship between both airlines."

Earlier in the summer of 2018, the minister of industry, commerce and tourism, and chairman of Gulf Air Board of Directors, Zayed R. Alzayani, and Kučko met Thai executive management and discussed strategic partnership opportunities and other commercial projects between the two airlines.

Moreover, last Sunday, Alzayani held a meeting with the Thai minister of commerce, Sontirat Sontijirawong, at the Ministry premises, in the presence of Thai Ambassador to Bahrain, Thanis Na Songkhla, and a Thai economic delegation accompanying the minister. During the meeting, the minister stressed the keenness of the Bahraini leaders and government to enhance economic and trade relations between Bahrain and Thailand.

In November, Gulf Air will start operating its latest fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Bahrain-Bangkok route. This upgrade will enhance the product and service offering to the airline passengers on this popular route. With the Thai codeshare, Gulf Air forecasts to attract more passengers from Europe and the Middle East to fly to Asia-Pacific and the Far East through the airline’s hub, Bahrain International Airport. - TradeArabia News Service