Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, took delivery of 2 new Embraer 190-100 aircraft this month, taking the number of new aircraft in the airline’s rapidly-growing fleet to 12 in the last 12 months.
Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said: “By selecting aircraft that are optimally-sized for our network and meet our customers’ aspirations, we are offering our passengers unbeatable choice in terms of schedule convenience and in-flight amenities and at the same time, we are accelerating the expansion and frequency of our regional network".
He added: “Our aim is to serve every capital and major city in the region with at least a double daily service. This objective can now become a reality thanks to the size, reliability, comfort and unbeatable economics of these new regional jets.”
“With the induction of 12 new aircraft in the past 12 months and the phasing out of 12 older aircraft, the average age of our fleet is just 6.8 years, which compares very well with the region’s other airlines; this means we are offering our customers a modern, fuel-efficient and younger aircraft to fly to their destination of choice as we continue to re-fleet,” Majali said.
Passengers onboard the new Embraer 190-100 aircraft that comes with 12 Falcon Gold and 84 Economy seats will be treated to luxuriously-appointed interiors, furnished with all-leather upholstered seating throughout the aircraft with no middle seats, offering exceptional comfort.
The aircraft, slightly bigger than the E170s, also features state-of-the-art technology entertainment system with individual seat back TV screens where every passenger will be able to experience interactive personal audio and video-on-demand entertainment. With over 3,000 video titles and audio channels to choose from customers are spoilt for choice from a wide range of movies, music, news and documentaries in Arabic, English and several other international languages.  
The two newly-delivered E190-100s will be used to serve 8 to 10 intra-Gulf and regional routes on Gulf Air’s network throughout its summer and winter schedules.
The new aircraft entered the fleet on a 3-year lease agreement with the option to extend it. Their arrival brings the number of regional jets in the airlines fleet to 4. Gulf Air took delivery of 2 E170 regional jets from Embraer in March 2010 on a 3-year lease agreement with the option to extend for a further 5 years.