Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air hosted an event in Rome, just over two months before the launch of its inaugural flight to the Italian capital.

A new non-stop service starts between Bahrain and Rome on November 30 with four flights per week.

More than 100 guests from the Italian travel industry, diplomatic community and local media attended the event held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Rome.

Gulf Air chief commercial officer Karim Makhlouf presented guests with an overview of the airline, its network and products, and highlighted the benefits of flying Gulf Air.

"The launch of services to Rome, our second destination in Italy, will mark an important milestone for Gulf Air," Makhlouf said.

"Italy will become the first European country to boast of Gulf Air's services to two of its most prominent cities, Milan and now Rome, reinforcing the airline's commitment to European expansion.

"This new service will offer passengers in the northern and southern central regions of Italy access to the largest network of flights in the Middle East as well as the region's most efficient hub.

"With nearly 1,110 flights per week within the region and beyond, our customers will be able to find a flight with an efficient connection time to their destination of choice," he added.

"We are now two months from the launch and in the final stages of planning, and I am delighted to say our bookings are looking strong well into 2012," he added.

"We are delighted that Gulf Air has chosen to add Rome to its network and that Italy will become the first European country to have two major cities served by the airline," Aeroporti di Roma executive vice-president aviation Elia Pistola said.

"We have been working closely with Gulf Air in the countdown to its inaugural flight on November 30 and we look forward to welcoming passengers from Bahrain and beyond with our true Italian hospitality," he added.

The direct flights between Rome and Bahrain provide the best two-way connectivity to destinations in the GCC, Indian sub-continent, and the Far East via Gulf Air's Bahrain hub.

Gulf Air will be operating a two-class configuration aircraft on its new route.-TradeArabia News Service