Pole position
Bahraini motor-racing star Hamad Al Fardan is speeding to success with Gulf Air
Bahrain’s international motor-racing star Hamad Al Fardan is on the fast track to more pole positions thanks to Gulf Air. The young race driver – who competes in the British Formula Three International Series – got a welcome boost with Gulf Air’s Platinum sponsorship.
Under the agreement, Gulf Air will fly Hamad to race destinations within the airline’s network until February 2008. Sporting Gulf Air’s logo during the race season, which began on 17 July 2007, Hamad will take part in as many as 11 European events.
“As the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the official sponsor of the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix until 2010, Gulf Air is proud to support the nation’s talented youth, like Hamad Al Fardan,” says Lee Shave, Gulf Air executive vice president marketing and sales.
“Hamad’s racing skills are phenomenal and he is one of the Kingdom’s brightest prospects in the field of motorsport. We see him as the perfect ambassador to promote the Kingdom, both regionally and internationally. Bahrain has already established itself as the “home of motorsport in the Middle East”. We hope to see Hamad engage in Formula One racing one day.”
Hamad was just 16 when he completed his first season in single-seater racing, competing with team Belgravia in the 2004 Formula BMW Asia series. He finished an impressive third in the Rookie Championship.
In 2005, Hamad joined the championship-winning team Meritus for the Formula BMW Asia series and was the second youngest driver. He finished the season in third place, with four wins, two pole positions and seven podiums. He moved on to New Zealand in 2006 to compete with Meritus in the Toyota Racing Series.
The Bahraini driver’s rise on the Formula Three circuit continued last month with his third straight podium finish in the fifth round at Monza.
Hamad, driving for Performance Racing team, was third in the second race of the third round, held in Bucharest, and made the podium again when he finished third in the fourth round at Snetterton, UK, last month. His results moved him up from seventh to fifth in the 11-driver table, with 59 points after 10 races.
The wheel deal
Gulf Air’s Chauffeur Drive service is now available at even more destinations
Gulf Air is pleased to announce the expansion of its Chauffeur Drive service to Premium passengers in Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle. These have been added to existing stations, which are available in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and Muscat. The service is available on a complimentary basis up to a pre-determined radius, for two points of service per round trip.
This service is available only to passengers on full revenue tickets on Gulf Air’s long-haul flights (listed below) and with confirmed reservations in First Class (A, F fares) and Business Class (J). Long-haul flights are: flights between the GCC and Europe (Athens, Frankfurt, London, Paris); flights between the GCC and Far East (Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila); flights between the ISC and Europe and the Far East; and flights between the Middle East, Europe and the Far East.
Exclusions for which the Chauffeur Drive service is not available include passengers on C and D class fares, Frequent flyer redemption fares and other rebated travel, or wait-listed bookings.
Five-star cuisine
Gulf Air wins top catering award for the fifth year in a row
At the recent Skytrax World Airline Awards 2007, Gulf Air won first place for onboard catering excellence in First Class – our fifth victory in succession.
“The Gulf Air SkyChefs have clearly been serving up some mouth-watering meals because the airline is a repeat winner,” the citation says.
The airline was also the only Middle East carrier to be ranked in the top five in the Business Class catering category. The global service awards are very highly regarded because they are voted for by the travelling public and have become a benchmark for the aviation industry.
“Our SkyChefs are a real celebration of food inflight and winning this award for the fifth time bears testimony to our on-board catering excellence,” says Gulf Air acting president and chief executive Björn Näf.
“We are very proud of our achievement and we thank our dedicated chefs – and our inflight crews – for their hard work and commitment,” says Lee Shave, executive vice president marketing and sales.
Made to measure
Britain’s ambassador to Bahrain, Jamie Bowden, explains how the UK is changing the way it issues visas to make use of the latest biometric technology – backed by a special campaign
What is biometrics?
Biometrics, also known as bioidentification, is the measurement of a person’s physical characteristics to verify their identity. This data can be stored electronically in passports, identity cards and visas, and is harder to forge or change than traditional forms of ID.
Biometric visas for Britain
By the end of 2007, the UK will have rolled out its biometric visa system across the globe. Laser scanning technology records an applicant’s fingerprints in less than five minutes and a digital photograph is also taken.
Visa Application Centres (VACs)
From this month, the UK will be outsourcing its visa application administrative services around the world, including the Gulf. In partnership with the private sector, we will be opening Visa Application Centres (VACs) away from our embassies. In the Gulf, our partner is Visa Facilitation Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Kuoni travel group.
The benefits of VACs
VACs will be a one-stop shop for visa enquiries, form-filling assistance, submission of applications and biometrics, visa fee payments and the collection of passports/visas. Separate family facilities and sensitivity to local customs will be standard. For a small fee, passports can be couriered to the applicant’s home or office. Of course, UK visa officers will still make all decisions on visa applications.
Convenience of biometric enrolment
To make travel to the UK easier, regular visitors with a proven travel history to the UK should apply for a 10-year visit visa.
You will only have to enrol your biometric data once and we will transfer such visas into new passports without the need to re-enrol your biometrics or attend a VAC. At present, there is no charge for visa transfers.
So how long will it take to get a UK visa in the future?
Generally, still around 24 hours.
Will the biometric data be protected?
Yes. Our private sector partners will be obliged to operate in compliance with the UK’s Data Protection Act and security systems will conform to internationally recognised standards. The partner will not store any biometric data, which will be sent, encrypted, directly to a secure UK database. The results of any checks carried out in London are returned to the embassy alone and not to the Visa Application Centres.
The future
Biometric technologies are constantly evolving; automatic gates that rely on iris scanning will become commonplace at British ports of entry.
For more information ABOUT UK-OK! and visiting britain from the middle east go online at www.uk-ok.info
Gulf Air launches its World Wide Call Centre
Further enhancing customer service standards, Gulf Air inaugurated its World Wide Call Centre in Bahrain last month. Chairman of the Board of Directors Mahmood Al-Kooheji inducted the first batch of call centre agents during a ceremony held at the airline’s Muharraq HQ.
“As the flag carrier for the Kingdom this is a very positive development for both Bahrain and Gulf Air,” said Mr Kooheji. “As one of the biggest local employers, we’d like to encourage more local talent to contribute to the progress of this nation.”
Gulf Air received over 150 applications in response to its recruiting announcement, from which just the 12 best candidates were selected. Before taking up their jobs, the candidates were given intensive training in Gulf Air’s SABRE reservation system and procedures,.
“The inauguration of the Call Centre is a significant development,” said Gulf Air Acting President and Chief Executive Bjorn Naf. “Operating from our headquarters, we will be able to manage customer enquiries better and provide our customers the service they deserve.”
The Call Centre operates 1-9pm Sun to Thurs; Bahrain customers can get their travel-related service over the phone by dialling 1733 5777 |
