They were used on short-haul flights and
served until 1981.
The Herons were replaced by two
Beechcraft B80 Queen Airs, flying in the
colours of Gulf Aviation Company. A Short
Skyvan was mostly used for cargo flights
supporting oil exploitation and also on
scheduled flights when passenger numbers
didn’t warrant a larger aircraft. The aircraft
was in service from 1970 until 1981.
On December 2, 1971 the Trucial
States, which included Bahrain, became
independent. Previously, these nations,
in the southeast Persian Gulf, formed an
informal British protectorate through treaties
(hence Trucial). Six of the sheikhdoms
(Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm
Al Quwain and Fujairah) formed the United
Arab Emirates. In 1972, Ras Al Khaimah
would become the seventh member of the
UAE. Bahrain, however, decided to remain
on its own.GULF AIR
In 1973 the governments of the Emirate of
Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate
of Oman purchased the BOAC shares
in Gulf Aviation. The Foundation Treaty
of the business was signed on January
1, 1974 which gave each country a 25%
shareholding in Gulf Aviation, which became
a holding company. The operating firm
was rebranded as Gulf Air and became a
multinational flag carrier.
The airline leased two Lockheed L-1011
TriStars in 1976 when the Gulf Air network
included Amman, Amsterdam, Athens,
Baghdad, Bombay, Bangkok, Beirut,
Cairo, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hong Kong,
Jeddah, Karachi, Khartoum, Larnaca,
Manila, Paris, Ras Al Khaimah and Sana’a.
Five Boeing 737-200s were added in- At this time, the fleet comprised four
Vickers VC10s (1974-1978), three BAC
One-Elevens (1969-1978), two TriStars and
five Boeing 737-200s (which would serve
until 1995).
In 1978, the TriStar fleet was doubled to
replace the VC10s. The airline only ever
operated four TriStars at any one time but in
total used 18 different airframes. The Boeing
fleet was increased to nine aircraft, replacing
the One-Elevens.
A single Boeing 707-320C was leased
from 1979 until 1980 for Gulf Air’s cargo
operations. Later, between 1993 and 1996,
a single Boeing 757-200F would be leased
for the same purpose.
A sole Boeing 747-100 was leased from
1984 until 1987. Three 747-200s increased
Gulf Air’s long-haul capacity between 1984
and 1985 and a single 747-200 was briefly
leased later in 1995 from Middle East
Airlines (MEA).
In 1989 and 1990, two extra Boeing 737-
200s were leased for a short period of time.
Destinations were selected to support
the oil and banking sectors in the Gulf
States and to import foreign workers, which
explains the importance of flights to Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and India.ANNIVERSARY
When Gulf Air celebrated its 40th
anniversary in 1990, the aviation landscape
had changed completely in the region.
Increasing oil revenues resulted in greater
air travel and economic growth. Gulf Air
added Boeing 767-300ERs to its fleet in- It would go on to fly 19 of this variant
plus one 767-200 and a 767-300. The
767s were replaced in 2008 by 777-300s
leased from Jet Airways. In the same year
Frankfurt, Istanbul, Damascus, Dar es
Salaam, Fujairah and Nairobi were added to
the route map.
On the downside, Emirates of Dubai
entered the market in 1985 and would soon
become a major rival. Gulf Air decided to
fight the competition by further expanding
its route network. Singapore, Sydney,
Johannesburg and Melbourne were added.
The 1991 Gulf War to remove Iraqi
forces from Kuwait considerably affected
Gulf Air and other airlines. The cost of fuel
and insurance increased. Rerouting to
avoid flying over the war zone meant using
more fuel and there was also a downturn in
58 Aviation News incorporating Jets April 2018Three Fokker F27-400s joined the Gulf Air fleet. Bob O’BrienThree BAC One-Elevens were used on short-haul flights between 1969 and 1978.
AirTeamImages/Carl FordA Short Skyvan was used by the airline from 1970 until 1981. Bob O’Brien56-61_gulf_airDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 58 02/03/2018 17:32