Egyptair (1971–onwards)
Egyptair inherited UAA's staff, equipment, assets and liabilities. On 19 March 1972, EgyptAir Flight 763, a Douglas DC-9-32 carrying Yugoslav registration YU-AHR crashed into the Shamsan Mountains, 4 mi southwest of Aden, killing all 30 occupants. On 16 June, an Ilyushin Il-62 (SU-ARN) was involved in a landing accident with no reported fatalities. In July, Tupolev Tu-154s were ordered for US$60 million, with three of them slated for delivery in July 1973, three in November 1973 and two in March 1974. Before firming the transaction up Egyptair had also considered the Boeing 727, but financing for these US-manufactured aircraft could not be arranged. Under the terms of the contract, light maintenance was to be performed in Egypt, whereas airframe and engine overhauling was to be undertaken in the Soviet Union. In July 1972, the acquisition of four Boeing 707-320Cs valued at US$40 million was announced. At this time, the airline had four Boeing 707s already in operation. The handover of the new aircraft had been arranged for March, May, June and September 1973. On 5 December 1972, one of the four 707s already in the fleet (SU-AOW) crashed near Cairo while on a training flight. The crew of perished in the accident. Reports indicating the airframe had been shot down were denied by the Egyptian government. An Ilyushin Il-18, registration SU-AOY, was involved in a deadly accident near Nicosia on 29 January 1973 when it crashed into mountainous terrain, killing all occupants. Delivery of the four new Boeing 707s took place during the year, with two more 707-320Cs being ordered in September. In October the three Il-62s were returned to Aeroflot because of elevated operational costs and technical issues. Also that month, the first Tu-154 entered the fleet and was used for pilot training. From Moscow, the handover of the Tu-154s was made through London-Heathrow, where these aircraft were fitted with British-made seats.
The outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 had forced the carrier to suspend the Tokyo service; it was resumed on 15 March 1974 via Bombay, Bangkok and Manila. During 1974, the flight to Khartoum was extended to Kinshasa. One of the brand new Tu-154 aircraft, SU-AXB, on 10 July 1974 after takeoff from Cairo International Airport during a training flight, killing a crew of on board. Following the crash Egyptair requested the return of its Tu-154 fleet to the Soviets and a refund for the price paid for them. The capacity shortage caused by the grounding of the Tu-154s was partly alleviated by the lease of aircraft. The airline had already been looking for other aircraft to replace them and an order for Douglas DC-9-50s was placed in November. On 9 December, an Il-18, registration YR-IMK, crashed into the Red Sea; there were fatalities. In January 1975, the government turned the order with Douglas down and moved to Boeing for the provision of new equipment. An agreement with the Soviets for the return of the Tu-154s was struck on 10 February; early in the year, the An-24s were traded back to the company that represented the Soviets as partial repayment for the loan taken to acquire the aft-engined Tu-154s. The Boeing order was finalised by March and consisted of Boeing 727-200s and Boeing 737-200s. There were plans to trade the first Boeing 707-320Cs in for the new aircraft as part of the deal with Boeing. Valued at US$60 million, the transaction was partly financed by the United Arab Emirates. In May, the order was homogenised to Boeing 737-200s with deliveries slated for April and May 1976. Arrangements were made to sell the four Comets both to raise money to finance the new aircraft and to have an all-Boeing fleet.
A link between Cairo and Milan began in January 1976 and a new flight to Vienna started in April. Following allegations from the Egyptian parliament that airline officials had been bribed by Boeing to favour the 1975 order, the chairman Gamal Erfan resigned in February.[13][14][15] On 22 April, a Boeing 737 flying from Cairo to Luxor was hijacked by Palestinians; an Egyptian commando team regained control of the aircraft with no damages to its structure. The Comets were sold to Dan-Air on 9 October. During the year, Boeing 737 Advanced entered the fleet. A serious accident involving a Boeing 707 took place on 25 Dec when a non-regular flight from Cairo to Tokyo crashed into a textile mill while on approach to Bangkok, killing all passengers and a crew of ; fatalities and injured people on the ground were also reported. Early in 1977, the first arrests related to the bribery case involving the Boeing order took place when a former pilot admitted he had been bribed for US$150000. In February, an agreement to lease Airbus A300B4 aircraft from Germanair and Trans European Airlines was signed. On 1 April, services to Abu Dhabi and Karachi were launched. The first A300 service flew the Cairo–Karachi route on 3 June. The lease conditions for the aircraft owned by Bavaria Germanair changed to a lease/purchase agreement. Egyptair eventually acquired the two leased A300B4 aircraft. On 21 February 1978, a Boeing 707 made an emergency landing at
At March 1980 the number of employees was 9,610 and the fleet consisted of two Airbus A300B4s, seven Boeing 707-320Cs, seven Boeing 737-200s and two Beech Barons. There was a major financial reorganisation in November 1980 when ownership of the company was shared by the National Bank of Egypt and the Misr Insurance Company. In 1981, options for two Airbus A300B4-200s were converted into a firm order. This took the count of A300 aircraft pending delivery to four. At November this year the airline had five aircraft of the type in the fleet, two of them leased. Another A300B4-200 was ordered in 1982. Overall, eight new Airbus A300B4s were introduced during the early 1980s. Three Boeing 767-200ERs (named "Nefertiti", "Nefertari" and "Tiye") were phased in during 1984. Two Boeing 767-300ERs (named "Tuthmosis III" and "Ramses II") were phased in during 1989. On 31 October 1999, "Tuthmosis III" crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 217 people on board.[16]
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.[17]
The airline underwent a major corporate re-engineering in 2002 when its structure was changed from a governmental organization into a holding company with subsidiaries. The move coincided with the establishment of the Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation and the government's ambitious strategy to modernize and upgrade its airports and airline. The airline was given the right to operate without any interference from the government and the duty to do so without any financial backing.
Egyptair wholly owns Egyptair Express and Air Sinai. The airline has stakes in Air Cairo (60%) and Smart Aviation Company (20%).[18]
In May 2006,[19] the airline launched a regional subsidiary called Egyptair Express with a fleet of new Embraer E170 jets with services commencing in 2007.[20] The carrier links Cairo with Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan, Marsa Alam, Abu Simbel and Alexandria (Egypt) in addition to secondary destinations to complement the parent company's network. In June 2009, the subsidiary received the last of the 12 E170 aircraft on order.
This is fortified by huge assets of more than US$3.8 billion. The airline's financial year is from July to June.[21] For the fiscal year ending 31 July 2007, Egyptair achieved a record total revenue of US$1.143 billion. Total group revenue grew by 14%, as compared with the previous year.
In early 2007, the airline partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation and Egyptian Holding Company for Airports & Air Navigation to form a new corporate airline, Smart Aviation Company, based at Cairo Airport.
In 2009, Egyptair's operations at its Cairo International Airport hub (where it holds 61% of the airport's departure slots) were notably overhauled due to the inauguration of the new Terminal 3 in April 2009. The airline transferred all its operations (international and domestic) to the new terminal that has more than doubled the airport's capacity. Under the Star Alliance "Move Under One Roof" concept at Cairo Airport, all Star Alliance airlines serving Cairo have moved to Terminal 3. In 2010 the airline will overhaul operations at its Alexandria base by transferring operations from the older facilities at El Nouzha Airport to the new airport in Borg El Arab Airport.
During the 2009–2010 Paris Airshow, the airline announced a new venture with US lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) and other Egyptian private and public shareholders to establish a leasing joint venture focusing on the Middle East and Northern Africa region. The new joint venture – named Civil Aviation Finance and Operating Leases (CIAF-Leasing) will initially focus on narrowbody aircraft.
Following the revolution of 2011, Egyptair is reported[22] to have suffered considerable losses. Egypt's civil aviation minister Wael El Maadawi said the airline lost an estimated 1.3 billion Egyptian pounds, or around $185 million, over the 2012/13 fiscal year, mainly due to an increase in fuel prices, the devaluation of the Egyptian currency and continuous strikes within the company. Losses for 2011/12 were apparently around double the 2012/13 figures. The carrier has reportedly suffered total losses of more than 7bn pounds, or nearly $1bn, since the 2011 uprising.
In the middle of 2012, a group of flight attendants asked for the right to wear hijabs as part of their work uniform. The company granted their request and hijab-wearing flight attendants first appeared in November 2012.[23]
In November 2015, two weeks after the crash that brought down Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai peninsula, Russian authorities banned Egyptair from flying to Russia, citing security concerns.[24]
In January 2016, Egyptair was fined US$140000 for leasing aircraft to Sudan Airways during 2010–11, breaking economic sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1997.
In April 2018, Russian authorities lifted the ban that prevented Egyptair from flying to Russia.[25]
Egyptair is one of the few airlines which does not serve alcoholic beverages on its flights.[26]
As part of a restructuring of Egyptair, Aviation Minister Air Marshall Younes Hamed announced the merger of Egyptair Express, Egyptair Cargo, and Egyptair Ground Services Company with the mainline airline. As of 4 November 2019, only Egyptair Express was officially merged with the rest of plan to be completed by the end of 2019.[5]
