Gulf Air will upgrade the aircraft serving its Bahrain (BAH)–London Heathrow (LHR) route to the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner later this year. The new service is scheduled to begin on June 15 and will operate twice daily.
The carrier expects to take delivery of five 787-9s during the year, with additional frames arriving through the end of 2020. Each 787-9 in Gulf Air’s configuration offers 282 seats: 26 seats in the airline’s refreshed Falcon Gold business class and 256 seats in economy.
These Dreamliners will be introduced progressively across Gulf Air’s long-haul network, replacing older Airbus A330 aircraft currently used on such routes. The 787-9 brings improved fuel efficiency, quieter cabins and enhanced passenger amenities compared with the A330 fleet.
Gulf Air’s BAH–LHR service joins other carriers on the Bahrain–Heathrow market; for example, British Airways operates flights on the same route using Boeing 777 equipment.