Cairo- Airlines Egyptair, from Egypt, and Lufthansa, from Germany, have signed a cooperation agreement to improve the quality of the air and onboard services of the Egyptian airline. This information was disclosed last week by the chairman of the board of governors of Egyptair, Tewfic Assi, during a press conference with journalists after signing the agreement.
"We are very pleased with signing this contract with Lufthansa due to the excellence of the company’s model," stated the Egyptian minister of Aviation, Ahmed Shafic. "Egyptair has already presented remarkable results in the several projects developed with Lufthansa Group in the past and up to now these works have only brought us joy. Apart from that, Lufthansa Services, in Lufhansa Group, has a great number of clients and may help us in our marketing work in Europe," added the minister.
With the agreement, Egyptair passengers may be benefited by the quality of the services offered by the German company. "Lufthansa Services will guarantee, from now on, the Egyptair flights and all the services, also including food and beverages. This should be the first catering service provided by Lufthansa outside Germany in almost 30 years," stated the operations vice president at Lufthansa Services, Thomas Nagel.
According to him, Lufthansa Services is considered one of the world leaders in air services. "Ever since Egyptair entered Star Alliance (a global network of airlines) in August last year, the company has been trying to develop and improve not only its equipment, but also the quality of its services," said Assi. "What makes us happy nowadays is that we are crowning the efforts of over four years to persuade Lufthansa Services to cooperate with Egyptair in the promotion of its ambitions," he added.
The agreement also establishes the creation of a joint company between Lufthansa and Egyptair. It should be established with investment of US$ 10 million, of which 70% of the capital comes from Egyptair In-flight Services and 30% from Lufthansa Services. According to information supplied by the Egyptian company, the new enterprise should be called LSG Sky Chefs-Egypt and its products will be sold under the Lufhansa Services brand due to the company’s international reputation.
LSG Sky Chefs-Egypt, to be launched globally, should supply the demand for services in the Star Alliance companies, including Egyptair. The new company should start operating, provisionally, in Terminal 2 of Cairo International Airport until installations turned to Star Alliance, in Terminal 3, may be occupied.
"Cairo International Airport is the second largest on the African continent and Egypt represents one of the most important markets for Lufthansa on the continent, apart from also being one of the most dynamic and fastest growing in North Africa," said Nagel.
*Translated by Mark Ament
