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PRESS RELEASE
April 6, 2004

GULF AIR AND ROYAL JORDANIAN SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Gulf Air and Royal Jordanian announced a new codeshare agreement, effective 1 May 2004 , on services between Abu Dhabi and Bahrain to and from Amman. This will combine the world-class offerings of both airlines to provide more convenient air travel services in the Middle East , as well as greater connectivity to destinations around the world.

The agreement was signed today in Bahrain by Gulf Air's President and Chief Executive James Hogan and Royal Jordanian's President and Chief Executive Samer Majali.

“The region has enormous potential for expansion and development, and alliances such as these will strengthen the regional market place,” said James Hogan.

“Our relationship with Royal Jordanian is consistent with industry behaviour across the world with airlines entering into alliances to leverage off each other's network strengths where they themselves cannot effectively operate or on routes which they currently operate, but do not offer the desired level of frequency. In this case, Gulf Air and Royal Jordanian will collectively offer their customers increased choice. By extending our relationships through alliances such as this, both the airlines and customers win as the airlines are able to achieve cost synergies and our customers gain access to a broader global market.”

Other destinations for codeshare between the airlines, including Australia , are planned for the future. Additionally, Royal Jordanian will carry passengers to onward destinations in Europe and North America , while Gulf Air will provide Royal Jordanian passengers with onward destination services to Australia and the Far East .

“We are pleased to be teaming with Royal Jordanian to offer our customers more options and convenience when travelling in the Middle East and around the world,” Mr. Hogan added.

"We are trying to rationalise the operations between Amman, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in order to offer better quality services to the public, better schedules and a greater choice of flights,” said Samer Majali, President and Chief Executive of Royal Jordanian. “Codesharing beyond Jordan and the Gulf will allow each carrier to offer new destinations without incurring the cost of doing so."

About Gulf Air

Gulf Air was founded in 1950. Today, it is owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain , Oman and the UAE and is the only truly pan Gulf carrier in the region. The airline's network stretches from Europe to Asia & Australia and covers more than 45 cities in 34 countries. The fleet is one of the most modern in the Middle East and comprises 34 aircraft.

The airline is in the second year of a three-year strategic recovery programme, headed by President and Chief Executive, James Hogan. The airline's aim is to further evolve by taking its renowned cultural strengths, technical expertise, modern fleet and professional management team which have been developed over more than half a century, into a global competitive environment.

Gulf Air was recognised with the prestigious Airline Turnaround of the Year Award by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in 2003. Gulf Air also received the Super Brand Award in the UAE for 2004.

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