The suffering aviation sector

While promotions and marketing could help revive the national economy, some airline companies have increased the price of tickets, because they have a monopoly.

The aviation sector has a lot of problems. Egyptian Law permits airline companies to rely 100 per cent on Egyptian capital.

If there were foreign capital, the airlines would work according to the charter system and all the Egyptian companies would benefit, as would the economy, while more jobs would be created.

However, the private airline companies are also suffering from fierce competition. The owner of one of these companies recently committed suicide because of his debts, while another one had to sell off all his aircraft, save one.

The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for safety and quality control. Ahmed Ismail, who owns one of these aviation companies, whose capital is 100 per cent Egyptian, says that the Ministry of Civil Aviation should do more to help Egyptian airlines, whether belonging to the State or privately owned.

“It is illogical that the Ministry should only be concerned about EgyptAir and its 71 aircraft. Egypt needs at least 200 aircraft, whether for Egyptian passengers or tourists,” he notes. “Emirate Airlines has 146 aircraft and there are four airlines in the United Arab Emirates.”

Why do some Egyptians prefer to use airlines other than the national carrier? It seems that the services and the times of the flights are the reason why Egyptian passengers often prefer foreign airlines, while the tickets are also cheap.

These airlines often run special offers, while some Egyptian airlines actually increase ticket prices when business is slack.

The State provides every facility for private Arab airlines to operate here. Why doesn’t it provide the same facilities for private Egyptian airlines?