It seems that Gulf Air’s chief commercial officer has just recently reaffirmed the carrier’s commitment to Europe. This news comes just following the announcement of its brand new strategic direction, which aims to make Gulf Air a sustainable and profitable business by 2012. The carrier says that it will be focusing on international networks and a simplified, more modern fleet.

The airline’s chief commercial officer went on to say that questions have been raised as to Gulf Air’s commitment to Europe under its new strategy. However, Gulf Air will continue to fly to all of their strategic European points in London, Istanbul, Athens, Frankfurt, Paris, and Larnaca. He also pointed out that the carrier, in the not too distant future, would like to strengthen its presence in Europe. An expansion into Europe becomes more viable under this new strategy, not less.

The new strategy will have Gulf Air’s fleet focus primarily on narrow body aircrafts and regional business routes. This will include a large number of long range narrow body aircrafts, which will connect the airline’s Bahrain hub to other key financial centers in both Asia and Europe.

The chief commercial officer also said that their priority is to provide customers with a reliable and convenient service. Their new international network will reflect customers and what they want. Customers’ needs are what Gulf Air prides itself on and wants all of its routes to service people to the best of their abilities. This is something that Gulf Air feels that it can do better under its new system, which is set to help the company reach profitability.