Tag Archives: Krešimir Kučko

SriLankan Airlines and Gulf Air have entered into a codeshare partnership with effect from December 18, 2019, significantly enhancing the travel options of their respective valued customers. Under this agreement, SriLankan Airlines will place its ‘UL’ code on Gulf Air’s flights from Bahrain to Colombo, the Greek capital Athens and Larnaca in Cyprus. Gulf Air will in turn place its ‘GF’ code on SriLankan Airlines’ flights from Colombo to Bahrain. Vipula Gunatilleka, Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlines Group added, “We are pleased to enter into this codeshare agreement with Gulf Air. It is part of our strategy to create and strengthen partnerships with airlines of global reputation in terms of quality, service and reliability and we have no doubt that our valued passengers will enjoy their travel with Gulf Air.” Krešimir Kučko, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air, said, “We are happy to sign with SriLankan Airlines and increase number of direct flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Sri Lanka. With our strong network in the Europe and North Africa, SriLankan Airlines can now offer more destinations to their passengers through our flights with one stop in our fast and efficient hub, Bahrain International Airport.” The codeshare agreement followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two airlines and is also intended to further strengthen the longstanding friendship between the two nations of Sri Lanka and Bahrain.

Etihad Airways and Gulf Air have signed a codeshare partnership for travel commencing with the summer schedule. The announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two carriers at the Bahrain International Airshow in November last year and will further strengthen the strong ties between the two countries and carriers. The agreement will see Etihad place its ‘EY’ code on Gulf Air flights from Bahrain to and from Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Casablanca, Dhaka, Faisalabad, Larnaca, Malaga, Multan, Najaf, Peshawar, Sailkot and Tbilisi. Gulf Air will place its ‘GF’ code on Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to and from Bahrain, Brisbane, Chicago O’Hare, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York JFK, Sydney and Washington. The announcement was made at a signing ceremony held at Etihad Airways Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, attended by Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group, and Krešimir Kučko, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Air. Douglas said, “We are thrilled to be signing this codeshare agreement today with our long-time partner, Gulf Air. The signing today is a great example of how two flag carriers can enhance the experience of our guests by providing a greater choice of destinations and world-leading inflight service and Arabian hospitality.” Kučko added, “This is a remarkable event for both Gulf Air and Etihad Airways and we take pride in elevating this relationship further with the signing of this codeshare agreement.”

Gulf Air and Etihad are set to explore deeper cooperation following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Bahrain International Airshow. The wide-ranging MOU covers scope to introduce joint codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Manama, as well as on the global flight networks beyond the two carriers’ GCC hubs. The MOU also contains plans for greater commercial cooperation in the fields of cargo, engineering, guest experience and the optimisation of pilot training facilities. It was signed by Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group and Krešimir Kučko, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Air on the first day of the ongoing show at the Sakhir Airbase. Krešimir Kučko said, “The relationship between Bahrain and the UAE is strong in many fields, including aviation and with the signing of this MOU, we enrich the relationship by cooperating with Etihad Airways. This is an example of how two airlines can work hand-in-hand for greater mutual benefits. We are happy to work with our friends and colleagues in Etihad and support each other to achieve bigger goals.” According to Tony Douglas, “The deep ties between Abu Dhabi and Manama are well-known in the aviation world and date back nearly 70 years. Therefore, the natural way to build upon those ties is to examine ways in which the two flag carriers can work more closely together to improve business operations and enhance the experience for our guests. We look forward to the Etihad and Gulf Air teams coming together during the next few months to look at how we can put that in place, whether it is in codeshare, engineering, cargo, or through our frequent flyer programmes.”