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Jet Airways to lease 4 Boeing 777 ER planes to Bahrain’s Gulf Air

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 16:54
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Gulf Air, the national airline of Bahrain, has signed an agreement to lease four new wide-body Boeing 777 ER planes from Jet Airways, the privately owned carrier based in India.

Reports in the Indian media said the four Boeing 777-300ER aircraft would be leased to Gulf Air for 42 months – with the aircraft on wet lease for the first six months, after which they would be on dry lease.

Three of the new Boeing 777 ER aircraft will join Gulf Air in March 2009 and the fourth one will join the airline in May 2009, a statement from Gulf Air said.

The leased aircraft would be used on several routes, including flights to Heathrow Airport in London, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok as well as on routes within the Persian Gulf region. The new planes would gradually replace the Airbus 340 aircraft, Björn Näf, chief executive officer of Gulf Air, said in the statement.

He explained that the introduction of the four new aircraft was “another important step in our strategic direction towards re-fleeting, enhancing our product and strengthening our presence as the carrier of choice in the Middle East and beyond.” Gulf Air, he added, would strengthen further its successful hub-and-spoke network and operational efficiency even while offering “enhanced passenger comfort and flying experience.”

The wide-body Boeing 777-300ER is the biggest long-range, twin-engine commercial aircraft in the world.

The Gulf Air statement said the Boeing 777-300ER has a “luxurious interior” and an array of amenities providing “the most comfortable travel experience” to both premium-class and economy-class passengers. The three-class configuration includes First class, Business class and Economy class, with a total capacity of 312 seats.

Passengers on the First class of the Boeing 777-300ER, according to Gulf Air, are offered a private suite with bespoke furnishing, a fully flat bed and a personal wardrobe. The Business class – which has a herring-bone design – boats of a lie-flat bed with 180 degree recline, a privacy wall for personal space. Seats of the Economy class have more leg space, a 130-degree recline and a hammock headrest.

Gulf Air said it already has two Airbus A330 planes on short-term wet-lease from Jet Airways.

Jet Airways has been of late making efforts to lease out many of its wide-body planes after it stopped flights on some of its international routes.

According to media reports, Jet Airways has already leased out Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Turkish Airlines and recently signed a deal to lease two Airbus A330-200 planes to Oman Air.

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