Cairo – Decypha: Egypt’s aviation industry has been poorly performing over the past years due to terrorism and political uncertainty that have hit the country, accompanied by a low-performing tourism sector.
The country is suffering while it is trying to secure new aircraft deals, both civil and military, but burdened by the tough economic circumstances, according to Mada Masr.
A study conducted by Mitre Corp revealed that growth in the aviation sector over the next 25 years will generate demands more than what local Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) can meet.
In 2015, a Russian aircraft crashed over the Sinai peninsula shortly after it had taken off from Sharm Al-Sheikh airport. The so-called Islamic state (IS) claimed its responsibility for the crash that killed over 200 passengers and all the crew members. The incident undeniably took its toll on the civil aviation industry in Egypt.
Egypt, however, has several civil airlines, both national and private, that have been suffering due to the recent events. However, they are still growing strong in their offers.
Egypt Air
The state-owned airline is deemed the largest in the country. It was founded in May 1932. It also has the highest number of destinations that amount to 75. Its destinations include countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.
With the company constantly attempting to improve its fleet, EgyptAir is getting ready for the delivery of nine new Boeings the 737-800 (B738) on its 85th anniversary , the CEO and Chairman Safwat Musallam told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Besides the new aircrafts, president of Boeing Bernard Dunn stated that his company offered EgyptAir to win a new aircraft deal that he refused to disclose its details, the Daily News reported.
EgyptAir aims at about $1 billion in the current fiscal year in order to recover from the continuous losses that it has faced, according to Daily News Egypt.
The airline suffered losses that amounted to EGP4 billion during the first half of the 2016-17 fiscal year due to the high prices of US dollars and high prices of fuel, among other reasons.
In 2015, Egypt was ranked among the top five largest carriers in Africa in terms of available Seat Kilometers (ASK) and the Revenues Passenger Miles (RPM), according to an annual report issued by AFRAA.
Al Masria Universal Airlines
The private airline was established in 2007 and based in Egypt’s capital of Cairo. It has several destinations in Europe and the Middle East. It was founded amid a global financial crisis to take advantage of the global economic crisis to benefit from the low prices, according to travelstart.
Not only does the airline offer charter and weekly scheduled flights, but it also operates as a cargo operator. The company is currently operating a fleet of three crafts.
Recently, the airline has cancelled several international flights for the lack of their economic benefit.
Air Cairo
The airline was launched in 1997 as a charter specialist. However, and after the state-owned EgyptAir became a shareholder in 2003, the airline started to diversify with low-cost flying.
The vast majority of Air Cairo flights don’t depart from Cairo. Rather, they depart from secondary cities including Sohag and Assiut, Hurghada, Sharm Al-Sheikh and Alexandria, according to routes online.
CEO Yasser al-Ramly said that the airline has naturally been negatively impacted by the Russian plane crash in 2015. He said that the first half of the year 2016 was rather tough. However, the airline operates about 30 flights per week to different cities in Europe with good loads.
The response of al-Ramly to all the instability that happened in recent years was to change the business model of the airline again and change to resemble regional competitors such as Kuwaiti Jazeera airways. They decided to slash charter operations to just 15%.
The CEO added that the airline has a different strategy, he said that Air Cairo wants to make its scheduled flights available to several customers and not limited to the tour operators.
The group is planning to increase its fleet from 75 to 120 aircrafts by 2025. However, these plans seem unlikely as the airline ordered just 9 planes last year.
Nesma Airlines
It was established in June 2010. Due to the challenges that have been facing the region, Nesma airlines had to change its schedule model from the charter operator to a fully-scheduled carrier, according to routes online.
The managing director Ashraf Lamloum admitted that it wasn’t planned, but rather triggered by the circumstances.
When the airline first started off, its aim was to target Europeans who visit the Red Sea and the Nile River resorts. However, it shifted after a while to flights to Saudi Arabia. It currently flies to 9 different cities in the kingdom with three Airbus crafts A320. It also has several destinations in Europe including Italy, Spain and France, and the Middle East.
While Nesma airline is headquartered in Cairo, it is a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Nesma Group, according to Travel Port.
The company has a total of 32 daily flights and about 11 destinaions.
Nile Air
Nile Air started its operation in Egypt in 2011. It’s an Egyptian airline with its key hub in Cairo International Airport.
The airline principally covers several destinations in Egypt and the Middle East, Southern Europe, Asia and the Persian Gulf, according to center of aviation. It has an overall of over 22 destinations.
Nile Air has become the second largest airline in Cairo, right after EgyptAir and the biggest private airline, according to the latest report released by the UK-based air travel intelligence company OAG, Daily News Egypt reported.
The private airline has almost 500 flights each month from Cairo, with about 32%year-on-year growth.The growth rate of the private airline is expected to grow I the near future.
Nile Air is planning to increase its destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The private airline is focusing on the growth of domestic and international tourism.
The CEO of Nile Air, Ahmed Aly, said that the company has increased opened routes to areas that were never served before over the past six years, Egypt Today reported. He added that the airline and its team play a pivotal in Egyp’s pivotal market.
Additionally, Nile Air increased by 18%, moving from 87 flights per month to 115, OAG report said.
The airline recently ordered an Airbus 321neo to add to its property of Airbus A320 and A321, Egypt Today continued.
Nile Air is associated with Al Tayyar travel group.
By Toqa Ezzeldin
