GULF AIR

[oldsailor35]

Has anyone here used Gulf Air  BKK-LON

[Chivas]

Yes I did as long ago as 2002 and I always said never ever again. Have just booked over Christmas and New Year price was too good to pass on. Seats were tiny in 2002 hence the never again bit. I see on Seat Guru the aircraft is showing 30"-33" pitch so just a matter of finding the 33's !!

Edited August 14, 2016 by Chivas
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[Jiu-Jitsu]

Flew with them in June. Good customer service. No major issues.

[oldsailor35]

21 hours ago, Chivas said:

Yes I did as long ago as 2002 and I always said never ever again. Have just booked over Christmas and New Year price was too good to pass on. Seats were tiny in 2002 hence the never again bit. I see on Seat Guru the aircraft is showing 30"-33" pitch so just a matter of finding the 33's !!

Thanks, but probably too long ago to be relevant today.

[oldsailor35]

19 hours ago, Jiu-Jitsu said:

Flew with them in June. Good customer service. No major issues.

Thanks for this.  Looking at previews, first 3 were very bad but after that the remainder were quite favourable, i am still pondering between them and Malaysian Air which i have used several times finding them very good. The only problem with them is that they first fly to KL from BKK and then transfer to direct flight to London. Gulf Air fly direct to London with one stop in Bahrain.

 

[Chivas]

1 hour ago, oldsailor35 said:

Thanks, but probably too long ago to be relevant today.

 

30"-33" is relevant part as of 12/08/16

[manfredtillmann]

just a word of warning: do not rely on seat pitch measurements as an indication of available leg room.

the seat pitch measurement is merely the distance between a defined point on one seat to the equivalent point on the seat in front or behind.

so, a seat with a bulky, comfortable back rest and a long seat cushion, often found in premium economy, could in fact offer less leg room as a flimsy budget seat if they had identical pitch measurements.

[Razzler1973]

I can't stand them

 

I am not expecting some rolls royce service but remember an awful Dubai to BKK flight with them, just didn't see the staff. People were taking their own food trays and piling them up in the galley. No personal TV screen either, which is standard on any plane these days, I would have thought, especially in Middle East. Delays too

 

I vowed never again and then same route got a cheap deal and I thought 'oh go on then' ... nope, now never again. They are far from the worst ever but just really didn't enjoy the flight at all and so many options these days.

[sandyf]

I have been with Gulf Air about a dozen times and always found them very reasonable. The last time was last June when BA cancelled on me at the last minute and I got a flight with Gulf going out a few hours later.

I am sure their standard seat pitch is 31", the worst one I have had for that was Lufthansa. The food on Gulf is not the best I have had but it is a long way from being the worst.

 

When BA cancelled, they offered Malaysian Airways but my wife refused. I should imagine there are some good deals to be had with them.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

2 hours ago, Razzler1973 said:

I can't stand them

 

I am not expecting some rolls royce service but remember an awful Dubai to BKK flight with them, just didn't see the staff. People were taking their own food trays and piling them up in the galley. No personal TV screen either, which is standard on any plane these days, I would have thought, especially in Middle East. Delays too

 

I vowed never again and then same route got a cheap deal and I thought 'oh go on then' ... nope, now never again. They are far from the worst ever but just really didn't enjoy the flight at all and so many options these days.

 

 

Not pertinent to BKK to Lon flights. They have IFE and the service is/was good. The only thing about which I would concur is that they appear loathe to service the toilets during the flight. 

[Chivas]

11 minutes ago, Jiu-Jitsu said:

 

 

Not pertinent to BKK to Lon flights. They have IFE and the service is/was good. The only thing about which I would concur is that they appear loathe to service the toilets during the flight. 

 

Pleased to hear that. Any recommendations on which seats may have the slightly larger pitch ??   Seat Guru gives nothing away to be honest

Edited August 15, 2016 by Chivas

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I've only flown with them on one return trip and always choose much the same seats. Front, aisle.

I missed my original flight, so chose seats perhaps one day before.  I can see 21A on GF6 and 21D on GF150. Totally forgot to check in online on the way back, so don't have a record on my seats.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Jiu-Jitsu

[CNXBKKMAN]

7 hours ago, oldsailor35 said:

Thanks for this.  Looking at previews, first 3 were very bad but after that the remainder were quite favourable, i am still pondering between them and Malaysian Air which i have used several times finding them very good. The only problem with them is that they first fly to KL from BKK and then transfer to direct flight to London. Gulf Air fly direct to London with one stop in Bahrain.

 

 

I have flown on Gulf Air a few times to LHR. A330 and A340 aircraft , all pretty normal and OK when i travelled. I would fly with them again. Both MAS and Gulf Air are indirect to London. You change at KL or Bahrain. If you are flying economy and the airfares are similar the MAS A380 flight would be the superior option.

[nisakiman]

When Gulf flew to Athens, I would choose them over any other carrier. I never had a bad experience. Got upgraded on one flight, too! I like Gulf.

 

Unfortunately, they suspended their flights to Athens, so now I use Qatar, which is also a very good airline. Not so keen on the new terminal in Doha, though. Transfers tend to involve long hikes from one gate to another. My next flight with them has just 1 hour stopover on the way out, and I'm wondering if I'll make the connection...

[aussiandrew]

I have use Gulf Airlines and will continue to us happy to recommend. Enjoy your flight.

[mrjohn]

Used Gulf Air once. I decided never again. Worst flying experience ever. It was about 12 years ago though.

 

Never had any problems with Etihad or Emirates.

[Ducking and]

Tried them many years ago. Neutral.  Used them a lot in recent years.  For budget they offer great flights. I travel LHR/BKK several times a year for many years.

[Pdavies99]

They used to be terrible, but they now perfectly acceptable.

They offer a 7am Heathrow arrival time, with about a 2 hour stopover at Bahrain.

The planes are new and have personal tv screens with a good choice to watch. usb socket available also for phone charging.

The food however is only average, but lets not forget they are usually the lowest price.

[thaiguzzi]

Nothing bad to report. Pretty much the same as the rest of the ME airlines. Decent media, food service, and i liked the airport. Not too big, easier to get around than the Emirates, Etihad ones. Used Gulf May last year, BKK - LHR and return, took the whole family, first time the step daughter had been to England. Got Gulf because they were the only available decent priced tickets at short notice. Not disappointed, pleasantly surprised.

[zd1]

Have used Gulf air many times over the years most recently in February, for us it was good as the transfer times were only an hour or an hour and a half in Bahrain. We actually prefer a non direct flight with an hour or so stop on the way as it gives us time to stretch our legs and have a cigarette or two before the second leg and Bahrain is about half way between bkk and lhr. Unfortunately for us our flight for Bangkok to Bahrain was delayed which meant we missed our connection to London but gulf air put us up in a nice hotel in Bahrain and put us on the next flight to London the next morning.

We have no complaints about gulf air and would be happy to use them again.

The airline we would use again are air india used them about 4 years ago terrible transfer in Mumbai were robbed of our lighters and charged an obscene amount of money for a beer so we could have a cigarette in a dingy little room, the plane was also quite dirty and the entertainment system was pants.

Other airlines which we won't fly again on are biman, Aeroflot and tarom have had bad experiences with all of them but over 20 years ago so they may have improved in that time.

[DerringDo]

Row 40 on GF151 was the last trip with oodles of leg room as it's an emergency exit. Sat on the bulkhead D E F G seats not the doors and no complaints regarding leg room.

Fly couple of times a year as far as Bahrain can't advise on the London leg.

 

Food was terrible on the last trip out from BKK this month.

[jacko45k]

On 15/08/2016 at 11:11 AM, oldsailor35 said:

Thanks for this.  Looking at previews, first 3 were very bad but after that the remainder were quite favourable, i am still pondering between them and Malaysian Air which i have used several times finding them very good. The only problem with them is that they first fly to KL from BKK and then transfer to direct flight to London. Gulf Air fly direct to London with one stop in Bahrain.

 

That is the same thing, one change of aircraft each. You need to look how long you are in transit, and whether you prefer a break in the middle or a long haul.

Gulf Air do not fly direct to London from Bangkok.....

Many carriers do though, BA, Qantas, Eva, Thai to name a few.

 

I always felt Gulf were ok up in the air, but a shambles on the ground.

[Chivas]

On 20/08/2016 at 0:46 PM, jacko45k said:

That is the same thing, one change of aircraft each. You need to look how long you are in transit, and whether you prefer a break in the middle or a long haul.

Gulf Air do not fly direct to London from Bangkok.....

Many carriers do though, BA, Qantas, Eva, Thai to name a few.

 

I always felt Gulf were ok up in the air, but a shambles on the ground.

 

Do Qantas still go from Heathrow to Bangkok....??  Thought they had shelved that one.....??

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, Chivas said:

 

Do Qantas still go from Heathrow to Bangkok....??  Thought they had shelved that one.....??

Yes you are right, they let Emirates handle this one via Dubai.

[55Jay]

Gulf Air used to be the bee's knees in the heady 5 Star Tri Star days.  I lived in Bahrain for over 10 years, well after Gulf Air had rested on its laurels far too long.  Flew them routinely and virtually every flight had this edgy, confused feel, like it was the first time every time.  Still, I developed a warmth for Bahrain and Gulf Air,  and they improved during my tenure; perhaps assisted by achieving frequent flier tier status and I began flying up front, which helps knock the rough edges off.

 

Near the end of my time there, they began another steep decline as the Kingdom descended into political mayhem.  Serious financial, leadership and corruption issues, major routes scrapped, aircraft sold off or leased out.  Staff morale was in the toilet, Western pilots forced out or leaving as the cuts and the hard push toward Bahraini-ization staffing policies, started to bite.  Also this constant struggle to infuse Islamic values into the on board experience by the uber-religious in Parliament, which held the purse strings to Gulf's survival in their holy hands. 

 

My decision to leave Gulf Air came to a head the first time I was snarled at by the first batch of Bahraini cabin crew - in my case, a 200lb Shi'ite female gorilla with a mustache.  That did it.  I abandoned my miles and shifted over to Qatar Airways.  Even with the 1 stop hops through Doha, it was night and day, and I haven't looked back since.  I wouldn't even be tempted by a low fare. 

 

Sorry, none of this is helpful to your simple question, OldSailor,  but I had fun recollecting that period of time.