Manama :  Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier has cemented its position as a global leader in on-time-punctuality (OTP). Latest statistics published by FlightStats Data, a provider of flight information services, revealed Gulf Air to be the region’s most punctual full service carrier for the first six months of 2013. The data confirmed the airline’s average OTP for its flight arrivals in the first two quarters of the year to be above 90%.

Gulf Air also ranked second globally among major full service carriers for on-time-punctuality in June 2013.

Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Mr. Maher Salman Al Musallam commented, “It’s a significant achievement for Gulf Air to be ranked as the region’s most punctual full service carrier for the first half of the year and, to be one of only two international airlines delivering over 90% of their flights on time in June. This can be attributed to the hard work of the operations and ground staff across our network and Gulf Air’s fleet which is now one of the youngest in the region at 4.9 years. We look forward to maintaining this excellent record and to operate flights as scheduled, providing our customers with the highest levels of service, whether they are travelling for business or leisure.”

He continued, “Improving operational efficiency for our passengers’ is a key element of the restructuring strategy and further evidence that we remain on-track to realising both our financial and operational goals.”

FlightStats has been monitoring airlines’ on-time performance since 2004, tracking over 150,000 flights per day, i.e. nearly 80% of all scheduled passenger flights globally. FlightStats examines flight status and arrival data aggregated from global sources including civil aviation authorities, airlines, airports, and major airline reservation systems.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar