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HIGH-FLYING United Airlines executives have been busy wooing potential passengers in Bahrain in recent weeks urging them to jump on board the company's new daily flights from the kingdom, via Kuwait, to Washington DC.
They have been on the charm offensive addressing business executives and meeting key players on the island as plans for take-off in April near completion.
Rob Humphries, the airline's general manager covering offline sales and the emerging markets such as the Middle East and India, said: "We are very excited about expanding our services to the Bahrain market and believe it offers a huge area of growth."
As well as Bahrainis and expats living in the kingdom and the families attached to the US 5th Fleet, United is confident it will tap into the equally lucrative neighbouring provinces of Saudia Arabia too thanks to the causeway link. As a global carrier the company will be competing head-to-head in the region with the ever-expanding Emirates and Etihad Airways and have shown its ambition by placing multi-million dollar orders for 50 new aircraft with Boeing and Airbus.
The flights from the Gulf on Boeing 777 aircraft will take between 11 and 14 hours and passengers travelling from Bahrain will have a stop-over in Kuwait of between 75-90 minutes, as a 'tag' to an existing service launched in 2006.
Mr Humphries said the carrier was confident it could provide a quick and seamless service and has similar experience with tag-along services such as London/Brussels in Europe and Rio/Sao Paulo in South America.
However, if the demand for seats warrants it, direct flights from Bahrain will be on the cards but for the time being United will be testing the water hoping to see a similar take-up which saw an increase from three-a-week to a daily service in Kuwait and flights from Dubai which took off in 2008.
The company believes its link to Washington will prove particularly popular with travellers wanting to use the American capital as a hub to other US destinations, including popular holiday hotspots such as Florida.
United Airlines managing director for Europe, the Middle East and India, Marcel Fuchs, recently addressed guests about the new service at the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain luncheon at the Gulf Hotel.
He said: "United's new route will be the only same-plane service operated between the Kingdom of Bahrain and North America. The flights are conveniently timed for connections at Washington Dulles, United's principal transatlantic gateway to and from dozens of cities throughout the Americas."
The airline offers more than 275 daily departures to more than 90 cities and was first in on-time performance for domestic scheduled flights among America's five largest global carriers for 2009 as measured by the US Department of Transportation.
Among this group of carriers, it climbed to first place surpassing Delta, American, Continental and US Airways, with 81 per cent of United flights arriving at their destinations within 14 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Washington DC may also become a must-see destination for Bahrainis and expats too wanting a West Wing tour of the White House, or a trek around its monuments, museums and restaurants. Look out for special promotional prices for United First, Business, Economy Plus and Economy tickets.
Depart Bahrain to Washington Dulles 21.25hrs and arrive 06.47hrs (next day) and leave Washington Dulles to Bahrain at 18.12hrs and arrive 15.55hrs.
The service will be launched on April 18. All fares include taxes - Economy: BD374.200, Business: BD1,913.200 and First: BD3,664.200.
