Third new direct route to the Gulf States announced in just 15 months
Copenhagen Airport’s status as Scandinavia’s Hub and main gateway to Northern Europe was cemented again when Gulf Air announced it is inaugurating a new route from CPH to Bahrain on 1 July. This will be the third new destination to the Gulf States announced within the past 15 months. Gulf Air will be operating four weekly frequencies to Bahrain, which will increase the accessibility of the Gulf States. Qatar Airways already operates non-stop services to Doha, Qatar and Emirates will commence daily service to Dubai from 1 August.
The biggest Gulf airlines operate from Copenhagen
“As one of the only major European airports, we have successfully attracted three out of four of the biggest Gulf airlines within a period of just 15 months. This reflects the potential of Copenhagen Airport and also the massive growth potential of traffic to the Gulf States. The service to Bahrain will strengthen Copenhagen Airport’s position as a traffic hub and gateway to northern Europe,” says Carsten Nørland, VP, Sales and Marketing for Copenhagen Airport A/S.
According to Mr. Samer Majali, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Air, the new service to Bahrain will help strengthen business and tourism in Scandinavia and the Baltic region:
“Scandinavians are keen travellers to the Asian and the Indian sub-continent regions and Copenhagen is an aviation hub for the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. The city also enjoys good surface connections with southern Sweden. In addition, Copenhagen is home to many international corporations and organisations and we see a strong potential for business traffic to and from the region. By connecting Copenhagen with Bahrain we are opening up new doors of opportunity for trade and tourism for both countries,” Mr. Samer Majali said.
Great value for Copenhagen and Denmark
Simultaneously with the Copenhagen Airport’s route development work, the Copenhagen Connected route development programme has held talks with Gulf Air. Copenhagen Connected has made it possible to invest in destination marketing in Gulf Air’s key markets, thereby increasing the demand for travels to Denmark.
“Gulf Air’s route opening will be of great value to Copenhagen and Denmark. We are pleased that Copenhagen Connected has been able to influence Gulf Air’s decision to operate a direct service to Copenhagen,” says Lars Bernhard Jørgensen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen and Chairman of the steering committee of the Copenhagen Connected programme.
Increased accessibility to the Gulf States
Gulf Air’s service to Bahrain is a good supplement to Qatar Airways’ route to Doha and Emirates which will open a direct service to Dubai on 1 August. Qatar Airways and Emirates open up to good connections to South-East Asia, India and Australia. However, Gulf Air focuses on connections to regional destinations using smaller aircraft and primarily operates services to destinations in the former Persia, i.e. Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Pakistan and India, but also to Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Overall, the three routes create ideal access to the Middle East for Scandinavian passengers.
Gulf Air will be using business configuration Boeing 737-700s with 16 business (lie-flat-bed) seats and 78 seats in economy class. The flights will arrive at Copenhagen at 7:30 a.m. and depart at 11:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
About the Copenhagen Connected Programme
Copenhagen Connected is part of the national route development programme Global Connected, the objective of which is to increase demand and thus accessibility to Copenhagen, Denmark and the Øresund region through destination marketing.
The objective of the Copenhagen Connected project is to contribute to improving international accessibility to Copenhagen and Denmark. The goal is partly to strengthen the current route network and partly to attract new routes from international gateways in important financial growth markets.
Behind the programme are a large number of public and private partners: The City of Copenhagen, the Capital Region, the Zealand Region, Malmø Stad and Region Skåne, the Danish marketing fund (Markedsføringsfonden), Copenhagen Airport and a number of other companies. The project enjoys broad support in the Danish society: The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the Danish Metalworkers’ Union, the Confederation of Danish Industries (DI), The Danish Chamber of Commerce, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Carlsberg, FLSmidth, the University of Copenhagen, etc. |
