Gulf Air growth plan curbed by engine issues, jet availability

Gulf Air said its growth plans are being held back by glitches the national carrier of Bahrain is experiencing with jet engines as well as the availability of aircraft delivery slots. 

The airline, which operates a fleet of about 40 aircraft, is having durability issues with the Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc-made engines on its Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners, as well as the CFM models powering its Airbus SE 320 and 321 aircraft, Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Goh said.

“Both manufacturers realize the challenges, but they need to really step up in terms of finding solutions to the reliability of their engines,” Goh said in an interview. 

At the same time, expanding the fleet is proving complicated because of the lack of availability of new aircraft, Goh said. Both Airbus and Boeing are sold out on their bestselling models for the better part of this decade, and Boeing has experienced the additional issue of restrained output as it seeks to improve its production processes. 

As a result, Gulf Air is recalibrating its network to drive more traffic while being limited in how much capacity it can increase, according to Goh, who spent 16 years at Star Alliance, including six as the CEO. Goh urged Boeing, in particular, to “have more humility and be focused on customers,” regardless of the size of an airline’s fleet. 

The airline flies to 50 destinations. Goh said demand has remained robust, with passenger numbers rising 7% in the first quarter.