Gulf Air: Encyclopedia II - Gulf Air - History

Gulf Air - History

Gulf Air was established on 24 March 1950 by UK aviator Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. It started operations on 5 July 1950. It initially provided a commuter service between Bahrain, Doha and Dhahran and contract work for oil exploration companies. From then until 1970, BOAC was a major shareholder. Services to London began in April 1970 with a Vickers VC-10 aircraft. The governments of the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar purchased BOAC's shares in 1973 and with the Foundation Treaty of 1 January 1974, Gulf Aviation became the national carrier of the four states and was renamed Gulf Air. In the '70s the airline also greatly increased its fleet and subsequently its route network, flying to various destinations in both Europe and Asia.

The 1980s brought increased growth to Gulf Air and the network continued to grow. In the 1990s the airline grew rapidly and became involved in partnerships with numerous other airlines. The fleet was modernized and the route network diversified. In 2002 a recovery plan was launched in response to a loss of sales. The government of Qatar withdrew from the airline in December 2002. By March 2004, Gulf Air had hired its first two female pilots. Gulf Air also wholly owns subsidiary airline Gulf Traveller.

On September 13, 2005, the UAE announced that they are withdrawing from Gulf Air to concentrate on Etihad, their national carrier, which started in late 2003

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki