Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air today (November 30) launched its services to Rome, the airline’s second Italian and 10th European destination.

An official delegation led by Gulf Air’s chief executive officer Samer Majali including senior representatives from the airline and a number of regional journalists, flew onboard the airline’s first flight to its 52nd destination.

“I am delighted that we are now connecting Rome and Bahrain directly four times a week. By launching services to Rome, we are expanding our Italian operations after Milan, which we launched in March this year and has proved to be very successful. Now with the addition of Rome, we are connecting the Northern and South Central parts of Italy to the Middle East,” said Majali.

“Expanding into Europe is part of the strategy we rolled out last year. Launching Rome will offer our customers the best network of destinations through the fastest hub in the region and the most competitive fares in the market today.”

“We’ve received positive feedback on Milan from our customers, and we trust that Rome will see the same success, and that our passengers will get to enjoy everything this great city has to offer,” Majali concluded.

The official delegation from Gulf Air was met at Rome's Fiumicino Airport by representatives of Aeroporti di Roma and the media.

Aeroporti di Roma director of Aviation Elia Pistola said: “We are thrilled to welcome Gulf Air’s inaugural flight to Rome. We see this as an opportunity for the people of Bahrain and Italy to explore the two countries, invest in potential businesses, and strengthen cultural and social ties linking the two nations.”

“We take pride in being the only European country with two Gulf Air destinations, and we hope this leads to opening more Italian routes for the carrier in the future.”

Non-stop flights to Rome will depart from Bahrain every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, leaving at 2 am. Gulf Air will operate an A320.

To celebrate the launch of Rome, special Rome inaugural fares start at BD 130 excluding taxes. The airline is also offering its Falconflyer loyalty programme members double miles for the new route for two months starting from the inaugural date. – TradeArabia News Service