Gulf Air presses on with relaunch despite Iraq war

A spokeswoman stressed that the unveiling of its identity, including livery, uniforms, interiors and signage, was part of a "dramatic change" the airline needed.

She added that it had been treated very sensitively, with a 'soft launch' to dignitaries, senior airline officials and employees.

The brand identity, devised by Landor, is part of a three-year turnaround programme instigated last year by chief executive James Hogan. The redesign has also seen the airline introduce five-star on-board chefs, and improvements to its service.

An increase in flights from Frankfurt and Paris into the Gulf last year, from four a week to daily, resulted in an immediate increase in average loads from 55% to 75%. New routes are planned this year to Australia, Johannesburg and Khartoum.

Last year, Gulf Air, which is the national airline of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, made a loss of just over 50m dinars (£85.5m). This year, the airline is predicting a loss of 20m dinars (£34.2m). By 2005, Gulf Air hopes to be 5m dinars (£8.5m) in profit.

This article was first published on Marketing