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Belt up and buckle up for a bumpy ride into a profitable future ... this message rang loud and clear as Gulf Air's new CEO, Samer Al Majali, gave his first address to staff members of the beleaguered national carrier.
The meeting was staged on Sunday at the Movenpick Hotel and the new man in charge was joined by Talal Al Zain, chairman of the board and CEO of the airline's owners Mumtalakat.
Mr Al Majali announced that Gulf Air had initiated a comprehensive strategic review to define the airline's future business model and to develop a sustainable business that serves the traveller, national economy and business community.
The boss aims to report back on the results by the end of the year with a series of clear recommendations. While stating that one of his key priorities was to safeguard jobs and invest in training, Mr Al Majali said: "We all need to fully understand and appreciate the need for change.
"The world in which Gulf Air has been operating is changing again and we need to evolve to meet the demands of our markets.
"We might have to make some difficult choices. But whilst the journey might not always be an easy one, I can assure you that we have the ability to continue to build and develop a national airline for the Kingdom of Bahrain that we can all be proud of."
Saying that "We all make up the Gulf Air team," Mr Al Majali told employees that the company was currently not sustainable and could not rely on government subsidies indefinitely.
Outlining a variety of challenges that faced the airline including streamlining the network, upgrading the fleet and rationalising costs in the current competitive market, Mr Al Majali said that the entire team of Gulf Air had to work together if they wanted to turn around the airline into a profitable business.
Later while addressing the media, Mr Al Majali added: "We need a change in the mentality of staff ... a cultural change is required.
"We need a change in attitude. They need to change in the way they think ... the way they deal with a customer, how do they work and how do they approach their work ethic, how they approach their jobs and give their everything to the company and not consider it as an 'eight to five' job.
"This company can only be changed around by the staff, the whole staff and if they change it will be greatest stuff on earth. We can bring in the best consultants in the world and put money into in but that alone is not enough.
"I have to convince the staff that this is their company and they have to give it more than a hundred per cent. In the airline business, margins are very thin and competition is very high. We need to go beyond what we do right now and go on an overdrive to do what we need to do."
Mr Al Zain echoed this message, stating that while Gulf Air was important there was no bottomless pit of funds to keep it alive. He expressed confidence in Mr Al Majali who has a positive track record of turning a national airline (Royal Jordanian), which was dependent on government subsidies before evolving into a self-sufficient profitable business.
Mr Al Zain said: "If I look at Mumtalakat my mandate is to improve growth and there are 36 companies that we invest in, so I cannot keep manoeuvring cash into one company.
"The way Gulf Air is managed financially today is different to how it was before. There is no 'open budget'. It is a budget that is agreed upon and this is what they must operate within.
"But I would like to say that I am already seeing progress and I am confident that under Mr Al Majali's leadership, Gulf Air can make it."
Mr Al Majali, the former president and CEO of Royal Jordanian, took over the helm of Gulf Air from Bjšrn NŠf early last month.
The airline was at one stage reported to be making losses of $1 million a day although latest figures have not been revealed.
