Gulf Air to ground A340s

Gulf Air is set to ground five of its Airbus A340s to contain costs and start fuel-hedging Bloomberg reported.

The carrier will replace five A340s with Boeing 777 twins jets, according to chief executive Bjorn Naf.

Gulf Air intends to take delivery of four Airbus A330 widebodies and five A320s this year.

The carrier is seeking to expand its route network in Europe and India, as well as considering flights to the US, with a target of achieving profitability by 2013 or earlier.