Gulf Air Plans Bahrain To New York Flights: Launching Summer 2025?

For several years now, Gulf Air executives have been talking about plans for the airline to resume flights to the United States. In September 2024, the company’s CEO indicated that service could start within a year. Then in April 2025, Gulf Air received regulatory approval for launching such service.

I now have an interesting update, as it looks like this service might actually be starting imminently…

Gulf Air has been undergoing a transformation

Bahrain-based Gulf Air used to be the biggest and most global airline in the Gulf region. The airline was founded in 1974, when Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Oman, got together to invest in existing Bahraini airline Gulf Aviation, to create a flag carrier for the four states.

Suffice it to say that the dynamics in the region have changed, and that really started with Dubai launching Emirates in 1985, chipping away at Gulf Air’s market share and dominance. Of course we then also saw Qatar launch Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi launch Etihad, and Oman launch Oman Air.

As that happened, Gulf Air’s importance in the region continued to shrink, as it struggled to compete with peers and innovate. The airline had an outdated fleet, and didn’t have a global route network. However, the company has spent the past several years undergoing a major transformation, whereby the airline has modernized its fleet, opened a new terminal at its hub, and has focused on its core strengths.

For example, Gulf Air’s long haul fleet now consists primarily of Boeing 787-9s, featuring excellent Apex Suites in business class. The airline has 10 of these in its fleet, with a further two to be delivered.

That’s not all — the airline is also taking delivery of 16 Airbus A321neos (including some “LR” variants), and some of these feature fully flat beds in business class, which is awesome for regional flights. The airline is certainly becoming a more appealing option, though as of now the carrier only flies as far West as London, and as far East as Manila.

Gulf Air plans to resume flights to United States

For some background, in 2019, former Gulf Air CEO Kresimir Kucko stated that the airline wanted to launch flights to the United States within three years:

“We will be operating in the coming years more in Europe and also the Far East. Hopefully, in the coming two, maximum three years, we would be able to open flights to the US.”

The airline flew to New York and Houston back in the day (if I recall correctly, Gulf Air actually flew from Bahrain to New York to Houston), though that route was cut over 25 years ago. Currently the airline operates flights exclusively to Europe, Asia, and Africa.

While the pandemic probably slowed down Gulf Air’s ambitions to return to the United States, this could very well become a reality again. In September 2024, Gulf Air CEO Jeffrey Goh (for those not familiar, he’s the former CEO of Star Alliance) went on record as saying that the airline could launch flights to the United States as early as mid-2025. When discussing the carrier’s transformation and plans to fly to the United States, Goh stated:

“We are seeing the light shining through the tunnel. If all goes well, we may be looking at a mid-2025 launch, pending aircraft availability.”

Recently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued Gulf Air its foreign air carrier permit, so that it can launch flights to the United States on its own metal.

While nothing has officially been announced, a source in the know tells me that this service will in fact be launching soon. An announcement should be coming soon, and the current plan is for Gulf Air to launch flights between Bahrain (BAH) and New York (JFK) as of early September 2025. The flight will operate 3x weekly with Dreamliners.

The plan is for the 6,613-mile flight to leave Bahrain in the early hours of the morning, arriving in New York in the late morning. Then the return flight will depart New York in the mid-afternoon, arriving in Bahrain around the middle of the following day.

The one thing that confuses me is that I believe Gulf Air’s 787s aren’t actually equipped with crew bunks, so I’m curious how that will work. Maybe I’m mistaken about the bunks? I don’t know…

I look forward to the official announcement, especially with Air Canada and Gulf Air having a partnership. This would be a great way to redeem miles for travel between the United States and the Middle East (and beyond).

How does Gulf Air expect to succeed in the US?

Is Gulf Air considering resuming United States flights because the airline thinks it can actually make money flying here, or is this about prestige and business ties?

Gulf Air executives have historically recognized that the airline is more of a boutique carrier, and that’s the strength the company hopes to focus on. As the previous CEO of the airline admitted:

“You can’t compete with airlines that are bigger in size, volume or with prices. You can only compete in quality. I can compete with any airline, no matter the size, with the quality of my product. That’s the battle I willingly participate with a chance to win.”

“We want to offer our passengers traditional Arabian hospitality. Which for that to really put true meaning into practice, you really need to offer something unique.”

I totally appreciate a CEO who wants to invest in the product, though he also acknowledged that his airline couldn’t compete in terms of schedule or price.

Keep in mind that pre-pandemic, a total of under two dozen passengers per day traveled between New York and Bahrain (based on published passenger data), so there isn’t sufficient demand for this route in terms of point-to-point traffic. So this would be all about connectivity, which also means the competition would be fierce.

The reality is that Gulf Air’s biggest competitors are also known for their excellent products, whether we’re talking about Emirates’ A380 business class or Qatar Airways’ Qsuites. I doubt Gulf Air is going to find that people are willing to pay a premium to fly Gulf Air over those airlines.

So adding service to the US doesn’t exactly seem like a money-making recipe. Then again, in many ways long haul economics are better than in the past, thanks to smaller, more fuel efficient planes, like the Dreamliner.

Bottom line

Gulf Air appears to be ready to launch flights to the United States, at last. In recent months, the carrier’s CEO has made it clear that flights to the United States are imminent. I’m now being told that a Bahrain to New York route will launch in September 2025, initially with 3x weekly frequencies.

Stay tuned for an announcement, as it should be coming soon. If/when Gulf Air does resume flights to the United States, it seems like it wouldn’t be done to turn a direct profit (at least realistically) but rather to improve links between the two countries.

What do you make of Gulf Air launching United States flights?