Gulf  Aiir may have its own terminal at the Bahrain International Airport in the future, but in the meantime officials hope to open an exclusive fast track check-in area for passengers by the summer.

"We are keen on our own terminal in the future," said Gulf Air chief executive officer Bjorn Naf.

"Our goal is to have a 30 minutes check-in time and take off."

He said a short check-in time was an advantage that a small airport like Bahrain could have over larger ones such as Dubai International Airport.

Gulf Air is working with the airport to have an exclusive check-in area for its passengers.

"You have the business premier check-in area at the entrance, we want this exclusively for Gulf Air by the summer," said Naf. "We should treat our customers at home base special."

Naf explained that Gulf Air would also continue to serve alcohol on its flights unless it was ordered to stop.

More than 70 per cent of passengers come from outside Bahrain and if alcohol was taken off the flights it would be an issue.

"I do respect the culture and religion but it would be a challenge if alcohol is stopped," he said following calls by MPs to ban alcohol on Gulf Air flights and at the airport.

Naf was speaking on "Roadmap to Success" at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon, held at the Diplomat Radisson SAS, Hotel, Residence and Spa yesterday.

The event was attended by chamber president Khalid Al Zayani, members, ambassadors, the media and guests.

Naf said the airline had been hit with a 60 per cent fuel increase in the last few months, but couldn't pass the cost onto customers because they would lose business. Some airlines in the GCC aren't affected by fuel increases because they are subsidised.

New Gulf Air chairman Talal Alzain and Naf have been discussing with financial institutions the possibility of fuel hedging (purchasing a large quantity of fuel at a fixed price in anticipation of price rises), but nothing had been decided so far, he added.

Answering a question if Gulf Air would be able to make a profit considering that fuel prices were increasing, he said: "There are high fuel prices, but we need to do everything possible to minimise losses."

"Profit won't happen in the next two years - we have a five year plan. Within five years, we will reach profitability if market forces are with us."

Gulf Air currently has 32 aircraft that operate 840 weekly flights to 40 cities across 26 countries.

It is to add three destinations and three aircraft every year, but there are no plans to operate to the US or South America in the next two years.

However, Naf said officials were looking at adding a 10th Indian destination and one or two new locations in Europe in the coming months.

He said Gulf Air was not planning on operating a low-cost service, saying it would be bad for the country's image.

He also criticised the use of the country's name by Bahrain Air. "I don't like Bahrain Air, but it's a competitor and we will fight them commercially," he said.

Naf revealed 250 employees had left the company in June last year following reports that staff would be laid off. He said this had led to a loss of knowledge and skills - something the airline is now planning to address. - TradeArabia News Service