Gulf Air appoints Richard Croft as Sales Manager Offline Europe, he will be responsible for the management and development of commercial activity throughout the European countries that Gulf Air does not currently fly to. Croft boasts considerable experience across the aviation and travel industry in general. He spent the last four and a half years with Qatar Airways, and held the role of Sales Manager Offline for the last two years.

Prior to Qatar Airways, Croft worked with Discover the World Marketing—the world’s largest travel representation company—and before that with bmi.

“Gulf Air is going through a very exciting phase, and I am looking forward to the challenges role will offer. I welcome the opportunity to boost Gulf Air’s profile in Europeand make an even bigger impression with passengers and competitors alike over the coming years,” said Croft.

The announcement of Croft’s appointment follows another highly successful year for the award-winning airline.

Gulf Air has introduced key business initiatives including state-of-the-art Sky Beds, to boost passenger numbers and enhance customer service.

The investment is already showing dividends, with passenger numbers in 2004 reaching record numbers, and propelling the airline to report a profit of $4 million in 2004, its best financial performance since 1997.

Further recent expansion by Gulf Air includes the launch of Dublin’s first-ever scheduled services to the Middle East and a return to services from Johannesburg.

The non-stop Gulf Air flights will allow direct travel to the Kingdom of Bahrain and onward connections to more than 40 cities in the Middle East, Africa, the Far East and Australia.
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