The Bahraini national carrier announced the deal for 15 medium-haul A320 planes and 20 long-haul A330s on 28 May at the Berlin Air Show.

The deal was signed by the airline’s chief executive officer, Bjorn Naf, who says the A320s will be deployed on routes in the Middle East, while the A330s will be used on the airline’s network to Europe and the Far East.

The new order continues Gulf Air’s recovery, following an overhaul of the business in 2007 when the company was losing more than $1m a day.

The airline currently has a fleet of 40 aircraft, and had 16 firm orders in place and another eight options for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner before the latest deal.