EgyptAir Loses EGP 4 Billion in 6 Months due to Currency Float
Travel while you still can! EgyptAir will be increasing prices, or trying to get the government to help them to offset the losses after the float of the Egyptian Pound.
According to the chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company, Safwat Musallam, total losses reached EGP 4 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year which ended January 31st.
Musallam largely blamed the loss of EGP 3 billion on the exchange rate difference after the floatation of the Egyptian pound in November.
Musallam estimated the “fair price” of Umrah tickets to be around EGP 9,000, while the company sells them at around EGP 4,500. He stated that local flights are losing EGP 30 million due to the high costs of operating flights.
After the floatation of the Egyptian Pound in November, EgyptAir tickets did not immediately increase to reflect the exchange rate difference, Musallam stated that different standards will be applied to handle the losses.
The float of the pound led to an increased cost in imports, such as fuel, ranging between a 200-300 percent rise as the Egyptian Pound lost over 65 percent of its value relative to international currencies.
*Photo from Yahoo
