EgyptAir connecting India with the land of the Pharaohs
With an almost four-decade presence in the Indian market, with flights connecting Mumbai to Cairo and beyond, Egypt Air opened its second gateway in India with four weekly flights from New Delhi in August 2023. TTJ interacted with Amr Ali, Country Manager, EgyptAir, to learn more about the airline's current offerings and roadmap for future growth in India.
Adynamic aviation industry veteran with a career spanning over 24 years with EgyptAir, Amr Ali has worked across multiple departments, functions, and roles within the airline. His initial years saw him promote inbound tourism into Egypt from the Japanese market for EgyptAir. He was part of the first team that formed the EgyptAir call centre, then moved on to international affairs and was elevated to the post of GMInternational Relations of the airline. He has also served a stint with the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation and as Country Manager at EgyptAir in Ethiopia. Currently based out of New Delhi in his new role as country manager for the last eight months, Ali is optimistic about the growth potential between India and Egypt.
The India Opportunity
EgyptAir currently operates four weekly flights from Delhi to Cairo, in addition to five weekly flights from Mumbai. The DelhiCairo route is operated using an Airbus 320 Neo aircraft, which offers a twin-class configuration with 16 seats in business and 126 in economy class.
With a flying time of just over six hours, Cairo is the gateway to the wonders of Egypt, and travellers can also connect to destinations in Africa, Europe, and North America. Bombay has a steady flow of business and VFR travellers to Egypt and beyond, along with MICE movements and leisure. Delhi offers a great scope for official government travel, leisure, MICE, and VFR traffic. Great connections exist to cities in
Europe like London, Manchester, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Moscow, and also other cities like Geneva, Athens, Larnaca, and more.
Ali further elaborates, “EgyptAir also flies to four points on the North American continent, to cities that are very popular with the Indian market and especially from North India: EWR-Newark, New Jersey, JFK-New York, IAD-Dulles International Airport, and YYZ-Pearson, Toronto. EgyptAir offers a twopiece baggage policy to North America that makes it very convenient for VFR and student segments.”
Making it Convenient
EgyptAir provides STPC at Cairo to passengers of long-haul destinations depending on their earliest flight connection and connecting times. A transit visa for 24 hours is free for EgyptAir passengers in transit. Passengers can visit the pyramids, museums, and markets or take a cruise on the Nile. Passengers of EgyptAir long-haul destinations transiting through Cairo can also obtain a free 96-hour transit visa if they hold a valid USA, UK, Schengen, Japanese, or Australian visa. Ali also mentions, “The Egyptian Embassy has a fast-track visa programme for passengers of EgyptAir; the visa is granted in a maximum of two working days. Holders of valid USA, UK, Schengen, Japanese, or Australian visas can also obtain a visa on arrival at Cairo”.
All land arrangements, sightseeing tours, and Nile cruises can also be booked at the EgyptAir offices through Karnak, which is the tourism arm of EgyptAir and is one of the subsidiaries of EgyptAir Holding Company.
Making Inroads
Talking about plans for business development, Ali mentions, “It is very important for us to reach out to multiple feeder markets across North India. We will soon be doing promotional visits to Punjab, Jaipur, and Lucknow and explaining the tourism potential of Egypt and its cultural heritage to industry players in these markets. Also, I would like to emphasise that Egypt is an extremely safe destination, and the conflicts in the neighbourhood have no impact on us. Egypt has a lot to offer throughout the year, and we look forward to an increased number of visitors between our two countries.”