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EgyptAir Airlines Company, operating as EgyptAir (Arabic: مصر للطيران, Misr Lel-Tayaran) is the Cairo-based national airline of Egypt. Wholly owned by the Egyptian government, it operates scheduled services to 70 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, the USA, and Canada, as well as running a domestic operation. Its main base is Cairo International Airport.

EgyptAir is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. EgyptAir is Africa's second-largest airline and is a future member of the Star Alliance. The airline is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007.

History

Egyptair was established on 7 June 1932 and started operations in July 1933 using a Spartan Cruiser on the Cairo-Alexandria route. The plane could only seat 4 (including a pilot and co-pilot). It was founded in association with the Airwork Company under the name of Misr Airwork. In 1935 12 De Havilland aircraft were added to the fleet. During the Second World War the Egyptian government took charge of the airline and its name was changed to Misr Air in 1949. In January 1961 Misr Air joined Syrian Airways to form United Arab Airlines (UAA) as a result of new political links between Egypt and Syria, but this accord was shortlived, lasting only 10 years. It retained the name for a time until it changed to EgyptAir in October 1971. EgyptAir was the first airline in the Middle East to operate jetliners. In 2002, EgyptAir became a Holding Company with nine subsidiaries to date.

EgyptAir experienced a decline in custom satisfaction standards and this led to the management coming under fire in response to the overused fleet, the lack of service and commitment and frequent delays. However the airline has enjoyed a renaissance in which the network and company has been restructured, to meet the aviation industry's service levels and to meet the criteria needed to become a full Star Alliance member.

Operations

EgyptAir is a state owned company with special legislation permitting the management to operate as if the company were privately owned without any interference from the government. The company is self-financing without any financial backing by the Egyptian government. The airline reported a profit of £EGP303 million in 2003/2004, £EGP443 million in 2004/2005 and £EGP485million in 2005/2006. The airline's financial year is from July to June.

EgyptAir wholly owns EgyptAir Express and Air Sinai. The airline also has stakes in Air Cairo (40%) and Smart Aviation Company (20%). It has 20,734 employees (at March 2007).

In 2006/2007, Egyptair's passenger traffic increased by 12% to 6.5 million passengers.

In 2007 Skytrax rated EgyptAir a 3 Star Quality Certified Airline.

In March 2007 the carrier signed an agreement with Goldman Sachs for consultation on an IPO for 20% of the holding company. Proceeds from the IPO are expected to raise a total of US$900 million, which will be used to purchase 12 new aircraft, increasing EgyptAir's fleet to 62 jets.

EgyptAir launched its regional jet division in June 2007. The new subsidiary called EgyptAir Express will operate Embraer E-170s. The new subsidiary will connect Cairo to the domestic airports of Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan and Alexandria but will operate selected international services in the latter half of 2007 to complement the parent company's operations. A further six Embraers are also held on option and are expected to be converted to firm orders in October 2007 (either Embraer E-190 or Embraer E-195).

On the 16th of October 2007 the Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance voted to accept EgyptAir as a future member. The airline has forged commercial and cooperative agreements with several members of Star Alliance includng Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Swiss International Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines and bmi. Assimilation into the alliance is expected in 2009.

The carrier is also a founding member of Arabesk.

EgyptAir Holding Company

The EgyptAir Holding Company was created in 2002 with 7 companies (2 were added at later dates):

• EgyptAir Airlines
• EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering (EASA Part 145 Certified)
• EgyptAir Ground Services
• EgyptAir Cargo
• EgyptAir Inflight Services
• EgyptAir Tourism & Duty Free Shops
• EgyptAir Medical Services
• EgyptAir Supplementary Industries Company (formed in 2006)
• EgyptAir Express (launched in June 2007)

Subsidaries

The airline also has stakes in:

• Air Cairo (40%)
• Smart Aviation Company (20%)
• Air Sinai (100%)

Destinations

See full article: EgyptAir destinations (last update: October 2007)

Fleet

The EgyptAir fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2007:

EgyptAir operates one of the industry's youngest airplane fleets, with an average age of 7.6 years.

Codeshare agreements

EgyptAir has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Incidents and accidents

Fatal events include:

• On 19 March 1972, EgyptAir Flight 763 crashed in Vietnam killing all 30 passengers on board.
• On 25 December 1979, EgyptAir Flight 864 crashed into an industrial complex in Bangkok, Thailand, after the crew failed to correct the descent rate. Twenty of the 52 on board were killed, and 72 on the ground were killed.
• On 23 November 1985, EgyptAir Flight 648, a Boeing 737 aircraft was hijacked to Luqa, Malta by three men from Abu Nidal group. Omar Rezaq was among them. After several hours of negotiations, Egyptian troops stormed the aircraft and battled with the hijackers, who threw several hand grenades and shot five Israeli and American passengers in the head. The aircraft was severely damaged by the explosions and fire. Two of the six crew members and 58 of the 91 passengers were killed.
• On 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, a Boeing 767 flying between John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City and Cairo, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket. The pilot, Gameel Al-Batouti, was suspected by U.S. authorities of committing suicide and intentionally crashing the plane. Egyptian officials have strongly disputed that claim due to inconsistencies in the American report.
• On 7 May 2002, EgyptAir Flight 843 crash-landed on its approach to Tunis, killing 14 of 62 occupants.

References

1. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 76.
2. NTSB Group Chairman's Factual Report, January 18, 2000
3. Boeing

External links

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• Official site
• Fleet Age
• Fleet
• EgyptAir to Integrate Boeing 737-800s into Fleet (1)
• Egyptair's First Boeing 737-800 Delivery
• Egyptair Expanding Services
• Egyptair adds 12 new aircraft to its fleet
• Egyptair Orders 8 Airbus A-330 Aircraft

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• Airlines of Egypt
• Airlines established in 1971