LHR/MEL/Europe FF
Mar 12, 02, 5:33 am
11 January 2002 GF149 and GF003
A little late for this report but perhaps worthwhile if you’re thinking of travelling to the Gulf.
Since my travel, Gulf Air has announced a code-share with Qantas on services between Singapore and Sydney (subject to Government approval!): Melbourne will no longer be served directly but passengers will connect via Sydney.
This code-share agreement, along with service changes on the Bahrain-Singapore sector mean that First Class will no longer be offered between Australia and the Gulf on Gulf Air.
Bahrain-Singapore services will shortly be changed to offer a two-class service only using A340 aircraft. Until July/August, the first two rows will continue to offer First Class seating (but Biz class service). Later in the year the aircraft will be completely reconfigured, but seat pitch may be increased to 56 inches (in-line with B767 two-class operations).
Anyways – on with some comments on the flights in question.
11 January 2002
Flight departure scheduled ex Melbourne at 0050 – First Class passengers are asked to arrive 45 minutes prior to departure.
I checked ITN for seating which seamed to indicate that the flight had relatively light loads but it turned out to be full in both J and Y classes. F had 6 (of 12).
Lounge used at Melbourne was that of Air New Zealand – which is small and was absolutely (to borrow a line from Ansett) full (Biz Class holds something like 24 passengers, plus the six from F).
Melbourne-Singapore
Flight of 7 hours. A340. ‘Semi-sleeper’ seats (2+2+2 @ 62 inch pitch with horizontal leg-rest and recline of 165 degrees). There were no seats with limited recline.
Pyjamas were distributed, but only in small and medium sizes – so if you are going to travel and take a larger size, it’s worthwhile to call the Gulf Air offices and make sure they uplift them for you.
Meals for this sector were a light supper (soup, choice of three mains, fruit, chocolates). This was served on a pre-prepared tray straight from the galley. This part of the service could have been done better – along with the plastic cutlery it was a bit like travelling in Eco class!
Shortly before arrival there was a choice of either continental breakfast (served 45 mins prior to arrival), or a hot meal (choice of two dishes).
The only concern about this sector, and all the others, was that the cabin crew begin to prepare for landing about 45 minutes from the destination. This includes collecting headsets.
Singapore-Bahrain
After an hour’s transit in Singapore we were back on board. The lounge in Singapore is a shared lounge and nothing to write home about. Gulf Air does not offer dedicated First lounges although they are apparently in the process of building one in Bahrain.
Flight time of 7 hours again. Brunch was served, followed an hour out of Bahrain by a selection of hot hors-d’oeuvres. (For brunch we even got a choice of having baked-beans! Note that as all meals are prepared to Halal standards, so it was chicken sausages etc.)
Worth noting (or not as the case may be) is that the food is similar in all classes: for the main dishes, they simply drop one choice as you go down the plane. For example, First is offered a choice of four, Biz gets three, Eco gets two. The two choices for Eco are also on the Biz menu, and the three from there are also on the First menu etc. In First Class it is full trolley service with separate selection of vegetables etc.
In-flight entertainment consists of personal videos, plus a selection of video cassettes (these are slotted into the arm-rests and offer ‘play’, ‘FF’, ‘Rew’ etc).
Bahrain-London
A330
On-time departure from Bahrain. Aircraft this time was an A330. First Class occupies the entire forward cabin between doors one and two.
Seating – 12 seats: 2+2+2, full-flat beds, 83 inch pitch.
When the seat is fully reclined, there is an insert available which fills the gap around the lower back. It really does give one of the most comfortable beds in the sky.
Lunch was served on this sector – the full works with 7 courses (Arabic Mezze, Hors-d’oeuvres, salad cart, soup, main dishes (choice of 5), cheeses, fruit, dessert, chocolates).
A snack is served about an hour from London. I noticed that for the second meal service Biz Class are not given tray table covers. Not sure if it was just on this sector or applies to all flights.
Arrival in London was on time, no fast-track covers were available, but on presentation of your boarding-pass we were allowed through with no problem.
Baggage was ok – there are two Priority bins for First – one for passengers originating in BAH and a second for connecting pax. The second got a little delayed, but they managed to find my bag and race it through.
Outside and into the car (provided) home.
Overall it was an alright flight. Excellent seats/beds on the A330 (you will notice that as the flight left MEL at 0050, this flight was a same day arrival in LHR so sleep was welcome) + good crew.
PS – they did manage to uplift the large p’js from BAH for me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
A little late for this report but perhaps worthwhile if you’re thinking of travelling to the Gulf.
Since my travel, Gulf Air has announced a code-share with Qantas on services between Singapore and Sydney (subject to Government approval!): Melbourne will no longer be served directly but passengers will connect via Sydney.
This code-share agreement, along with service changes on the Bahrain-Singapore sector mean that First Class will no longer be offered between Australia and the Gulf on Gulf Air.
Bahrain-Singapore services will shortly be changed to offer a two-class service only using A340 aircraft. Until July/August, the first two rows will continue to offer First Class seating (but Biz class service). Later in the year the aircraft will be completely reconfigured, but seat pitch may be increased to 56 inches (in-line with B767 two-class operations).
Anyways – on with some comments on the flights in question.
11 January 2002
Flight departure scheduled ex Melbourne at 0050 – First Class passengers are asked to arrive 45 minutes prior to departure.
I checked ITN for seating which seamed to indicate that the flight had relatively light loads but it turned out to be full in both J and Y classes. F had 6 (of 12).
Lounge used at Melbourne was that of Air New Zealand – which is small and was absolutely (to borrow a line from Ansett) full (Biz Class holds something like 24 passengers, plus the six from F).
Melbourne-Singapore
Flight of 7 hours. A340. ‘Semi-sleeper’ seats (2+2+2 @ 62 inch pitch with horizontal leg-rest and recline of 165 degrees). There were no seats with limited recline.
Pyjamas were distributed, but only in small and medium sizes – so if you are going to travel and take a larger size, it’s worthwhile to call the Gulf Air offices and make sure they uplift them for you.
Meals for this sector were a light supper (soup, choice of three mains, fruit, chocolates). This was served on a pre-prepared tray straight from the galley. This part of the service could have been done better – along with the plastic cutlery it was a bit like travelling in Eco class!
Shortly before arrival there was a choice of either continental breakfast (served 45 mins prior to arrival), or a hot meal (choice of two dishes).
The only concern about this sector, and all the others, was that the cabin crew begin to prepare for landing about 45 minutes from the destination. This includes collecting headsets.
Singapore-Bahrain
After an hour’s transit in Singapore we were back on board. The lounge in Singapore is a shared lounge and nothing to write home about. Gulf Air does not offer dedicated First lounges although they are apparently in the process of building one in Bahrain.
Flight time of 7 hours again. Brunch was served, followed an hour out of Bahrain by a selection of hot hors-d’oeuvres. (For brunch we even got a choice of having baked-beans! Note that as all meals are prepared to Halal standards, so it was chicken sausages etc.)
Worth noting (or not as the case may be) is that the food is similar in all classes: for the main dishes, they simply drop one choice as you go down the plane. For example, First is offered a choice of four, Biz gets three, Eco gets two. The two choices for Eco are also on the Biz menu, and the three from there are also on the First menu etc. In First Class it is full trolley service with separate selection of vegetables etc.
In-flight entertainment consists of personal videos, plus a selection of video cassettes (these are slotted into the arm-rests and offer ‘play’, ‘FF’, ‘Rew’ etc).
Bahrain-London
A330
On-time departure from Bahrain. Aircraft this time was an A330. First Class occupies the entire forward cabin between doors one and two.
Seating – 12 seats: 2+2+2, full-flat beds, 83 inch pitch.
When the seat is fully reclined, there is an insert available which fills the gap around the lower back. It really does give one of the most comfortable beds in the sky.
Lunch was served on this sector – the full works with 7 courses (Arabic Mezze, Hors-d’oeuvres, salad cart, soup, main dishes (choice of 5), cheeses, fruit, dessert, chocolates).
A snack is served about an hour from London. I noticed that for the second meal service Biz Class are not given tray table covers. Not sure if it was just on this sector or applies to all flights.
Arrival in London was on time, no fast-track covers were available, but on presentation of your boarding-pass we were allowed through with no problem.
Baggage was ok – there are two Priority bins for First – one for passengers originating in BAH and a second for connecting pax. The second got a little delayed, but they managed to find my bag and race it through.
Outside and into the car (provided) home.
Overall it was an alright flight. Excellent seats/beds on the A330 (you will notice that as the flight left MEL at 0050, this flight was a same day arrival in LHR so sleep was welcome) + good crew.
PS – they did manage to uplift the large p’js from BAH for me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif