After almost 30 years, an airline many thought was gone for good from the United States has come back: Gulf Air. On October 1st, 2025, the Bahraini flag carrier touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport for the first time since 1997, relaunching the only direct route between the U.S. and the Gulf nation. Naturally, this one has been on my radar since it was announced earlier this year, and I was thrilled to fly it!
Server: Solo
Airline: Gulf Air
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Origin: Bahrain International Airport, Muharraq, Bahrain (BAH)
Destination: John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York (JFK)
Flight Number: GF91
Route: OBBI-KJFK
Seat: 3A (Falcon Gold)
Time En Route: 13 Hours 20 Minutes
Pre-dawn boarding at Gate 22 in Bahrain. Gonna be exciting to make history on this flight, which makes spending the night here less stressful.
Backtaxi on Runway 30L on our way to 30R for departure. We’re in Gulf Air’s Falcon Gold business class on its flagship 787-9, which is by all accounts an improvement over its predecessor, the A330-200.
Takeoff from BAH! Back when Gulf Air first served New York, it used the A340-300 (which had to have used up every inch of 30R/12L on hot days) and operated to there via Lanarca, then continued on to Houston. Now, service terminates at JFK and will bw flown thrice-weekly non-stop, taking advantage of the 787-9’s enormous range to eliminate the tech stop.
Climbout over the Persian Gulf, heading northwest along the coast of Saudi Arabia
In cruise near Baghdad
The adrenaline rush from the excitement of being on the first Gulf Air flight to the United States in almost 30 years has started to wear off, so as the Sun starts to rise while we cruise over Turkey, we close the shades to get some much-needed sleep
Waking up with the announcement that we have started our final descent into New York, we raise the window and get a good view of Long Island. That wide V-shape in the distance is the site of Grumman’s former Calverton plant, which built naval aircraft for six decades. After Grumman closed down their plant following the end of the F-14 program and the merger with Northrop, it saw some use as Calverton Executive Airpark before it closed permanently, being used today for National Hot Rod Association racing events on its 7,000 and 10,000-foot runways.
“GULF AIR 91 HEAVY, welcome back.”
“Roger, Kennedy Tower, it’s good to be back.”
Touching down on Runway 04R 13 minutes ahead of schedule
Taxiing into the Terminal 1 ramp. Next year, Gulf Air and a number of other carriers will move from here to a larger, modernized Terminal 1.
Disembarked after an outstanding flight. Gulf Air has really improved from where they used to be, to the extent of being competitive with even thr “Big 3” Gulf carriers of Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad. Would definitely recommend this flight to any fans of the Dreamliner, Middle Eastern airlines, or simply someone who likes flying unique and fun routes.