GULF Air plans to invest US$1 billion in new aircraft as part of its turnaround plan and to keep pace with the expanding Bahrain economy.

The carrier entered a dramatic restructure phase earlier in the year under previous CEO, Andre Dose, although initial plans have been replaced with a development agenda involving the expansion of its fleet to around 50 aircraft over the next decade. Gulf Air is also considering orders from Boeing and Airbus, having abandoned its earlier policy of an exclusively Airbus fleet.

“It is by no means an expansion on the scale of Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airways, but should keep Gulf Air on a similar development path to smaller established carriers like Royal Jordanian and EgyptAir,” said Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.