It says on there site HERE that alternative arrangements have been made for people who have booked and paid for flights.

Kath HT Admin

Yes, Gulf Air are really struggling at the moment, with a lot of very old aircraft being retired, and without the financial support that other airlines like Emirates & Etihad have, they are not yet able to replace them.

TBH honest, it could be a good thing as you might be reprotected onto Emirates or Qatar. I've flown Emirates the last two times to Jakarta, and apart from the extra stop (Singapore or KL) have thoroughly enjoyed flying them.

Poor old Gulf Air they were the Airline of choice for expats out of Saudi in the early Eighties and my I say the Best Airline in the Middle East but sadly with Emirates,and mainly Qatar Airways they have gone downhill fast my last flight with them was Istanbul to Dubai November last year and what passed for Buisness Class was a joke.When the Qatari goverment pulled out of the joint venture that was Gulf Air it left them struggling.Getting rid of all the European staff did not help either.

They are also very poor when it comes to luggage allowance. 20kgs is fine, but I told them i was taking SCUBA gear and they said I could not have any extra allowance whatsoever. If I did end up taking over 20kg due to the SCUBA gear, they were going to charge me £40 per extra kilo!

I can appreciate why you are unhappy with Gulf Air for cancelling your flights but I'm at a loss as to why you think that because you have a hobby that requires heavy equipment the usual rules re luggage allowance shouldn't apply to you. I think it entirely reasonable that if anyone for any reason exceeds their luggage allowance then they pay extra for it.

I fully sympathisd with the anger and frustration of one poor woman I queued behind at check-in who was being charged excess baggage for the sin of wanting to take 5kgs of extra clothes with her for a long term winter break whilst all those golfers with their great heavy golf bags where being allowed to check them in free of charge over and above their ordinary luggage allowance. I suspect that she, just like me, might consider it a plus that an airline treats all its passengers all the same. Medical equipment, yes, I can see the case for making an additional allowance available but sports equipment?

SM

Hi SMA

That example you gave about the woman and her extra clothes... with Gulf Air, she would have had to pay an extra £200... probably more than the value of the items! To be honest, I feel it might be one reason the airline is failing!

The reason I made that point about the luggage allowance was because OTHER airlines allow extra allowance for sports equipment. E.g I used Excel airways to Egypt and they allowed 10kg extra if we showed are diving qualification. The new airline I'm flying with to Jakarta (Etihad airlines) allow 30kg allowance no questions asked! Due to this, I don't understand why Gulf Air can't do the same.

I disagree with your point about every passenger should be treated fairly... everyone IS treated fairly but some take advantage of the extra luggage allowance if it's available - it has no effect on other passengers.

everyone IS treated fairly

I still don't see what is fair about allowing sport hobbyists to have an additional free luggage allowance. What seems fair to me is saying 'this is the luggage allowance that EVERY passenger is entitled to, whether and how you use it and what you choose to take is up to you'. Then if you want to take scuba diving gear with you it has to come out of that and you have to leave something else behind if you are going to exceed the total weight, and if a longstay visitor wants to use it for clothes and gifts for the family well that's their choice too. Saying that all passengers have a luggage allowance for their clothes etc but that some of them get an EXTRA allowance if they want to take sports equipment is what doesn't seem fair to me.

SM

I don't think there should be concessions for sports equipment either. Everyone should get the same allowance and pay for any extra.

Peter

Last year my hubby tried to take a Gazebo which was boxed up as we own property overseas, he was told he couldnt take it unless he paid £20 the item was well within his baggage allowance as he only travels with hand luggage, they told him he could take a bike for free and other sports items but not the gazebo.. I found this unfair, he ended up putting it in the property hold dept at the airport of which it cost him money to get back on his return. The next time he flew he put it in a golf bag with a few clubs and they let it through no problem, cant see the logic, maybe sometimes it depends on the check in operator and what mood they are in. Cheers Jayjan

It doesn't make any difference whether you think it's fair or not, airlines do it as a marketing tool. To be able to offer free golf club carriage, or scuba gear brings a lot of extra business as there are a fair amount of said enthusiasts, and a lot of them have lots of money, and could well fly in the premium cabins. And be very loyal.

Offering everyone extra baggage allowance will just increase the fuel bill, and they would have to raise their ticket price to compensate. However, if they raise their ticket prices, they are uncompetitive, and will lose business, so have to lower their prices to match their competitors, who offer a lower baggage allowance. Chances are, their low margins won't cover the additional fuel costs, so they are getting more passengers, but losing money. Catch 22 and all....

Having travelled for a year on 12kgs, and nowadays travel with 12-15kgs, I still don't understand how 20kgs is not enough for anyone. Although my girlfriend pushes it close on most trips.