Gulf Air named world's family-friendliest airline

Gulf Air has been named the winner of this year’s Family Friendly Airline Award.

Bahrain’s national carrier received the highest number of votes for the accolade, ahead of American Airlines' Kids in Need Programme and Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer Programme.

“The array of services offered by Gulf Air takes a comprehensive approach to serving families through a wide range of service touch points on the ground and in the air,” commented Jay Sorensen, president and founder of Kids First Fund, which organises the annual Family Friendly Airline Award.

Gulf Air has developed a range of ‘family friendly’ services, including fully-qualified onboard sky nannies, ‘family first priority’ bag tags to ensure early delivery to the bag belt, specific seating zones for families on the aircraft, and activity kits with age and gender appropriate games. In addition, a special check-in counter at the carrier’s hub in Bahrain has steps to bring kids up to the eye level of agents.

“We are honoured to receive such a high level of global recognition and this is a demonstration of the success of the family friendly brand that was launched recently,” said Marcus Bernhardt, Gulf Air’s chief services officer. “The result reflects the airline’s dedication and commitment to our different passenger segments and continuous innovation of new products and services.”