Gulf Air from Bahrain: the smallest Gulf carrier, the calmest Gulf city, and the honest case for the third option
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#1 Bahrain, Gulf Air, and every Gulf thread is Emirates versus Qatar with Etihad as the third, and Gulf Air is the fourth that people forget exists. It was the first. Here is the case for it.
The airline
The national carrier of Bahrain, older than all the others, smaller than all the others. A fleet of 787s and A320 family aircraft. A network across the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt and more), and some Asia and Africa. Not the global giant. A solid regional and medium long haul operation with a history.
The city
Bahrain is the calmest Gulf city by a distance. Smaller than Doha, much smaller than Dubai, more relaxed socially than either, with a licensed hospitality scene that the Saudis drive across the causeway for on weekends. The cost of living is lower than Dubai. The crew accommodation is provided in the same way as the neighbours. The commute to the airport is short because everything in Bahrain is short.
The flying
A mix of short Gulf turns, medium haul to India and Pakistan and Egypt, and the European long hauls with real layovers. Fewer of the 16 hour ultra long hauls than the neighbours, which the body notices. More of the 3am regional turns, which the body also notices. The roster is the Gulf roster at a smaller scale.
The pay
Below Emirates and Qatar on the headline, comparable on the structure: tax free basic, allowances, accommodation, transport. The saving rate for a careful crew member is similar because Bahrain costs less. Nobody comes to Gulf Air for more money than the neighbours. People come because the neighbours did not call, or because Bahrain suits them, or because a smaller operation suits them.
The honest case
If you want the biggest name and the widest network, the neighbours. If you want the Gulf life at a gentler pace, in a smaller city, at a smaller airline where the seniority list is short and the promotion comes sooner, Gulf Air. The crew who are here have often chosen it deliberately for exactly that. Some are here because it was the offer they got and have stayed because it was better than they expected.
Hiring
Recruitment events in the Gulf, the subcontinent, and occasionally Europe and Southeast Asia. Smaller batches. The same requirements as the neighbours (21, 212 reach, no visible tattoos, hospitality background). A candidate who did not get the Emirates call should look here and should not treat it as a consolation. It is a different thing.
Questions welcome from anyone who has forgotten we exist.
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#2 Etihad, and Tariq's 'one step smaller' logic is exactly the Etihad versus Emirates logic one step further, and it is a real logic. The Gulf has three sizes of small. Choose your size.
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#3 Riyadh based, and the Saudi crew know Bahrain well from the causeway weekends, and the calm is real, and the Gulf Air crew we meet are the most relaxed Gulf crew in the region. That is not nothing in this job.
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#4 Air Algérie, deciding about the Gulf, and I had not put Gulf Air on the list at all. It is on the list now. The shorter seniority list at 33 is exactly the thing I was worried about at the giants.
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#6 Gulf carrier, Egyptian, and the Gulf Air Cairo route is full of Egyptian crew who chose Bahrain for the calm and the Cairo proximity. It is a known choice in Egypt. Less known in Europe. This thread helps.
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#7 Qatar, and I did the Gulf Air assessment in London before Qatar called and it was smaller, friendlier and faster, and I would have gone if Qatar had not come first. It is not a consolation. Tariq is right.