Gulf Air long haul

EdInvestor

Pin

Actually it was that BB which prompted me to post here as the comments seemed to verge from very pro to very con, with all shades in between. Mention of the cabin temperature being very hot seemed a little worrying, did others notice this? Mind you, some planes are very chilly IMHO....

Seems like the opinion here is quite pro

I've since heard about a new airline called Etihad, which is run out of Abu Dhabi (Emirates being out of Dubai) and Gulf Air, it seems, now being run jointly by Bahrain and Oman.

Thanks for the views on Gulf. Anyone tried Etihad yet?

Anyone in a position to compare the two?

pin

Etihad has some VERY bad reports! People are not liking them at present.

They are taking delivery of some new Boeing 777s but they have been delayed (Mind you the 777s do look very good).

The views about the crew has been they are nowhere near as good as the likes of Gulf, Emirates or Qatar (who I reckon is probably the best middle eastern airline by a mile).

Also views on Abu Dhabi airport are not encouraging (but saying that none of the middle eastern airports are rated as that great, even Dubai now is showing signs of expanding way too fast in terms of passanger numbers but not being able to cope with the demand).

JayC

EdInvestor,

I used to live in UAE and flew on pretty much all of the airlines. Etihad have a poor reputation but can offer very good prices and their owners are chucking money at the airline to make it better, including many more decent aircraft. Their hub at Abu Dhabi is nowhere near as big as Dubai, but is easier to get to - even from Dubai. I would personally go with Gulf Air every time though - their ground staff can be a bit ropy (especially outside their hubs in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman), but in the air they are excellent. Qatar is also very good, underrated by many, but very professional and the airport is quite decent since the makeover.

If you are going to Dubai, I believe that Virgin Atlantic are starting there soon.

Totally agree with Pin about the expansion of Dubai - the best airport in the middle east has to be Muscat!