A Gulf Air Airbus A330 takes off from Bahrain International Airport (file). Gulf Air is poised to announce a 40-aircraft deal for Boeing Co and Airbus Group models that will see Bahrain’s national carrier upgrade existing orders, according to Maher Salman al-Musallam, its
acting chief executive officer. The fleet plan, to be detailed at the Bahrain Air Show, will include a switch from Boeing Co’s baseline 787-8 to the larger-9 version of the Dreamliner, al-Musallam said in an interview on the first day of the expo yesterday. Gulf Air also has an
order for Airbus A320 jets that could be converted to the latest Neo model, which uses new engines to deliver a 15% performance
improvement and had its first delivery Wednesday to Deutsche Lufthansa. Once the Middle East’s top carrier, Gulf Air has been
overtaken by newer players including Dubai-based Emirates and Qatar Airways. With losses mounting, the company focused more on regional flights while cutting jobs and retiring planes after its government owner told it to shrink or face closure.