Gulf Air – Paris (CDG) to Bahrain (BAH) - Flight GF 18

Gulf Air – Paris (CDG) to Bahrain (BAH) - Flight GF 18: The heart and soul of an efficient and well-regarded airline is its quality of service. All the cutting edge comforts and technological wizardry in the world can make for a very relaxing and even enjoyable flight, but if the agents at the luggage check-in scowl at you for your over-sized luggage and the flight attendants look like they couldn’t care less about you, then it’s quite difficult to consider that to be a good airline. (Click here to read our Paris hotel and restaurant reviews and click here to read our Bahrain hotel and restaurant reviews.)

Check-In: When it was my turn to check-in at the Paris airport, there was this contract agent who was simply rude and generally unpleasant. She barely seemed to want to wait on us! There was an actual Gulf Air employee on site and when I complained to him, he simply shrugged his shoulders and gave a blank look. I was unimpressed to the point of disgust.

First Impressions: As I had just flown Gulf Air 10 days earlier from Bahrain to Paris I knew what to expect, that is, I’ve not come to expect much. A well-worn and rather dated cabin was pretty much what I got.

The Cabin: One would expect the first class seating area of any airplane to be a lot more spacious and luxurious, however the first class cabin of this Airbus A330 only had two rows with a 1x2x1 configuration. Although the cabin felt quite cramped, it felt more spacious as soon as I made it to my seat.

The Flight (Service/Food/Drink): Despite my negative experience with check-in, I must say that I enjoyed the dinner spread that they offered. Aside from the main dishes that would be served on the flight, they have an express menu that contains items which get served to your table hot and fresh in under 15 minutes. Talk about fast food while flying the friendly skies!

We were offered some delicious dinner options such as cod fillet Sayadia, which is a Middle Eastern style fish and rice dish, some herb and gruyere cheese chicken, Spinach tagliatelle pasta as well as the chef’s recommendation (which I tried): beef baked in a golden brown crust with carrots, vegetables and pasta on the side.

For dessert, Gulf Air had some sticky date pudding, Corsican peach cheesecake (which looked great but would have been too much) and an international selection of cheeses and fresh fruit which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The airline’s selection of wine was good with three white wines and three reds plus a nice dessert wine in the form of a De Bortoli Nobel One 2004.

The food was quite good and the service was consistently adequate. I admit that I never felt blown away by their service but then again, they did do their job. It was not as friendly as the Bahrain to Paris crew but still quite good nonetheless.

In-flight entertainment provided 24 channels, 4 movies, 1 world cinema, documentary, CNN, sit-coms, sports, lifestyle, and some Arabic and Hindi programming. Well-stocked for an airplane if you ask me!

Arrival: We arrived into Bahrain on time and nicely rested as we headed to Gulf Air’s First Class Lounge which, even though relatively small, had some of the best service and food in the business. There’s nothing like traveling in style and comfort to get rid of stress!

Overall Impression Overall, I’d have to say that the flight was pleasant—meaning that there weren’t any major issues to address and at the same time nothing that made it really stand out from the rest. I give the Gulf Air flight 19 from Paris (CDG) to Bahrain (BAH) a Between Bombastic and Not rating.


Be sure to read our Paris hotel and restaurant reviews and our Bahrain hotel and restaurant reviews.

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