The Best Part of Gulf Air Business Class Happens on the Ground

Gulf Air is one of those airlines Western travelers rarely think about, overshadowed by its bigger and louder neighbors (Emirates, Qatar Airways, etc). They're the flag carrier of Bahrain and the oldest airline in the Gulf, founded in 1950, back when they were the shared carrier for several Gulf states before Qatar and Abu Dhabi left to build their own. These days they're flying about 50 aircraft against neighbors with roughly 260 each, so they compete on hospitality and lounges instead of scale. But Bahrain sits in a useful spot, and if you're moving around the Gulf you'll end up on one of their A320s sooner or later.

I flew their A320 in Falcon Gold, Gulf Air's business class, on a short hop from Bahrain to Muscat of under two hours, and it turned into a flight of two halves. On the ground, I had one of the best airport and lounge experiences of my life. In the air, I got a cabin that's clearly near the end of its life, with just enough space and charm to carry it.

Ground Experience

I arrived from Doha on a connection with the same ticket straight through, so I had no check-in to deal with at all. All I had to do was clear security on the transfer, and even that was quick. It was the smoothest transfer I've ever done.

Then I got to the terminal itself. Bahrain International is one of the quietest and nicest airports I've been through. There's an enormous amount of seating and a lot of good food, including real sit-down restaurants rather than the usual grab-and-go. The whole place feels bright and calm.

Honestly, that had me worried about the Gulf Air Falcon Gold Lounge. When a terminal is this good, the lounge usually can't compete.

The lounge was better.

It was noon and there were maybe three of us in there, along with what felt like a million employees. The space is bright and airy and enormous, and it's exactly what you want out of a lounge. The food selection is genuinely excellent. When I walked over, staff came and opened every container for me, and I know that wasn't a show because they hadn't noticed me photographing everything beforehand. One worker then told me they could make burgers or pasta to order. Later on I was looking around for a fork, and someone spotted me from across the room. He disappeared and came back with a fork, a spoon and a napkin, and handed them straight to me.

On top of all that, they came around with hot towels. In the lounge.

Is this a first class lounge? It did get slightly busier as the afternoon went on, but relative to its size it stayed close to empty the whole time I was there.

Boarding

I headed to the gate, which is a nice enough area, though I'd note it's carpeted. Carpet is the enemy of the rolling suitcase and I will die on this hill.

Boarding time on the screens said 14:40, which is a full hour before departure. That's a lot for an A320, and it turned out to be wildly inaccurate anyway.

Gulf Air boards business class first, which is more than some of their neighbors manage. It began with a gate agent quietly saying "business class" in the general direction of the seats, and that was it. I was first on board again. I'm too good at this.

The crew said hello at the door and pointed me toward my seat, and a pre-departure beverage came around not long after. I had the choice of water, orange juice or lemon mint, which is more than you get on a lot of regional flights.

The livery, by the way, is my favorite in the sky right now. The new one is a genuine improvement.

Once I got settled, the boarding music started, and I need to talk about it. It's genuinely enchanting, and it actually got me excited for the flight, which is not a sentence I expected to write about a 500 mile hop. It's the best boarding music I've heard.

The rest of boarding was long and strange, with a few passengers trickling on every few minutes for what felt like forever. The flight was quite empty in the end, and only three of the sixteen business seats were occupied.

Seat

Falcon Gold on the A320 is four rows in a 2–2 layout, sixteen seats in total across rows 1 to 4. I was in 2C.

The headline here is legroom, and it's incredible. These seats are enormously spacious, and that space is what makes the whole product work. There are awkward bars and IFE boxes under the seats, which on most aircraft would ruin a window seat. Here, there's so much room that it genuinely doesn't matter.

Compare it to short haul business in Europe, where you're just getting an economy seat with the middle blocked. This is a completely different league, and the same goes for most regional Asian products.

The seats themselves are comfortable enough. The padding is clearly tired and the seat back is on the hard side, which is what happens to a cabin of this age. On the other hand, they recline properly and have leg rests, which is more than most narrowbodies offer.

I also got individual air vents, which I will always appreciate. The cabin was freezing, though, even with all of mine shut.

Overall the aircraft is in decent shape for its age, and it was reasonably clean aside from a crumpled napkin on the floor.

Amenities

This is where it all falls apart.

The in-flight entertainment screens do not work. Not just mine, but any of them. This appears to be the case across Gulf Air's A320 fleet; the screens simply don't turn on.

Gulf Air does offer Wi-Fi, but it only gives you access to the streaming IFE portal rather than the actual internet. In other words, you get Wi-Fi that connects you to entertainment on an aircraft where the entertainment doesn't work.

The pillows, on the other hand, are amazing. Some of the best I've had.

Catering

The meal service started with Arabic coffee and dates, which is exactly right and always welcome.

I'll admit I didn't really catch what the flight attendant said when reading out the meal options. I can only recall her offering "hot bites" or something cold with turkey. I opted for the hot bites.

Getting a full meal at all on a flight this short was a pleasant surprise, especially since this wasn't much longer than the Doha to Bahrain hop I'd taken earlier the same day in the same cabin. The combo bread was fun, and the bread itself was surprisingly good.

The rest of it wasn't great. It was dry and clearly reheated, though I'd still rather have it than not.

After that, nothing happened. There was no second drink service, no refills, and nothing else offered for the rest of the flight.

Service

The greeting at the door and the pre-departure drink were a decent start, and I'd expected the rest to follow from there.

It didn't. Beyond that, the service was flat. Gulf Air crews generally feel more restrained than other Gulf carriers, and this one didn't seem especially energetic or happy to be there. To be clear, nothing went wrong, nobody was rude and everything arrived. But there was none of the warmth the lounge staff had shown me an hour earlier.

Same airline, same city, and a completely different energy.

The Verdict

Falcon Gold on the A320 is an old product carried by one enormous strength, and that's space. The legroom beats most short haul business class anywhere in the world, and it papers over a tired seat, a dead entertainment system and a forgettable meal.

For me, though, the ground experience was the real story. Bahrain International is a superb airport, and the Falcon Gold Lounge is one of the best I've been in. Not because it's lavish, but because the staff were extraordinary and there was nobody else there competing for their attention.

Would I fly it again? Yes, easily, especially at the right price. Just get to the airport early, eat in the lounge instead of on the plane, and bring your own entertainment.