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Nile Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
NP NIA NILE BIRD
Founded2006
Commenced operationsMarch 2011
Hubs Cairo International Airport
Secondary hubs Borg El Arab Airport[ citation needed]
Fleet size6 (2023)
Destinations23
Headquarters Cairo, Egypt
Website nileair.com

Nile Air ( Arabic: النيل للطيران) is an Egyptian airline based at Cairo International Airport that operates scheduled services to destinations in Egypt and the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Southern Europe, Asia and Africa. Nile Air is the largest private airline in Egypt and second only to Egyptair. It is a full-service carrier (with business and economy class services) that operates scheduled services, [1] using a fleet of Airbus A320-200s & Airbus A321-200s. In addition to operations from its hub at Cairo International Airport, the airline operates a smaller base from Alexandria's Borg El Arab Airport[ citation needed].

History

On 1 November 2009, the airline received its Air operator's certificate (AOC) from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, which permitted the airline to launch operations. The airline had ordered nine Airbus A321-200 aircraft in 2007, [2] however in 2015 this order was adjusted to two aircraft. It launched operations in August 2010, operating a short-term wet lease contract with Libyan Arab Airlines, before starting scheduled services from Egypt in March 2011, [1] with the launch of flights to Saudi Arabia.

In January 2011, the airline became the first private Egyptian airline to publish its schedule and flight availability on the Global Distribution System (GDS) and is now covered on all 3 GDS systems; Amadeus, Sabre Corporation & Travelport.[ citation needed]

In 2013, Nile Air joined the Arab Air Carriers' Organization and the African Airlines Association in 2016.[ citation needed] Also in 2016, the airline became the first airline in the Middle East to use Amadeus’ complete Airline IT portfolio, which provides end-to-end IT solutions. [3] In June 2016, Nile Air and Lila Design worked together on the Nile Air A320 special 'Egypt Tourism' livery which was unveiled on an Airbus A320 (SU-BQM).

In 2017, the airline became the official airline of the Egypt national football team - the first deal of its kind. In addition, the airline is among the main sponsors of the team.

In 2023, the airline wet leased the Sudan Airways A320 which is banned by the EU, to fly regional and domestic flights under Nile Air flight numbers.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Nile Air is an Egyptian Joint Stock Company established in 2008, with 60% ownership by Egyptian individuals & companies and the remaining 40% by Dr. Nasser Al Tayyar, former President of Al Tayyar Group (now called Seera [4]), a prominent travel agency based in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with operations in over 15 countries. [1] Nile Air is shown in the accounts of the Al Tayyar Travel Holding Company as a 'related company'. [5]

There have been several press reports in recent years that the airline was looking to go public on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, with as much as 30% of the carrier's stock being offered to Egyptian investors, with the owner and founder Nasser Al Tayyar retaining a 40% stake. [6]

Business trends

Nile Air is a private company, and annual reports are not published. In the absence of these, limited information on financial trends especially, is available. Available figures are shown below (for years ending 31 December):

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Turnover n/a
Profits n/a
Number of employees 665 762 770
Number of passengers (m) 0.35 0.93 1.36 1.04
Passenger load factor (%) 66.9 68.5 70
Number of aircraft (at year end) 2 4 4 6 7 7
Notes/sources [7] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Head office

The airline's head office is located opposite Cairo International Airport's Terminal 1 in Cairo, Egypt.

Destinations

A Nile Air Airbus A320-200

As of July 2017, Nile Air serves the following destinations with scheduled services: [11]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Egypt Alexandria Borg El Arab Airport
Aswan Aswan International Airport
Cairo Cairo International Airport Hub [12]
Hurghada Hurghada International Airport
Luxor Luxor International Airport [13]
Sharm El Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
Germany Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport
Iraq Baghdad Baghdad International Airport
Basra Basra International Airport
Italy Rome Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport [14]
Kuwait Kuwait City Kuwait International Airport
Saudi Arabia Buraidah Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport
Ha'il Ha'il Regional Airport
Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport
Jizan Jizan Regional Airport
Sakakah Al Jouf Airport
Ta’if Taif International Airport
Tabuk Tabuk Regional Airport
Yanbu Yanbu Airport
Sudan Port Sudan Port Sudan New International Airport
Sweden Stockholm Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Turkey Istanbul Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
United Arab Emirates Al Ain Al Ain International Airport
Uzbekistan Tashkent Tashkent International Airport

Fleet

As of August 2023, the Nile Air fleet consists of the following aircraft: [15] [16][ needs update]

Nile Air Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A320-200 4 8 156 164 [15]
Airbus A321-200 2 8 196 204 [15]
Airbus A321neo 2 [17]
TBA
Aircraft deliveries in 2020
Total 6 2

References

  1. ^ a b c "About Nile Airline". Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Airbus wins Nile Air Order". Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Nile Air adopts complete Amadeus IT portfolio". Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Al Tayyar Travel Group is now Seera". Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Al Tayyar Travel Group Holding Company Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Nile Air looks to go public on Egyptian Stock Exchange in 2017". Arabian Aerospace. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Nile Air bids to turnaround Egypt tourism". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  8. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2017" (PDF). AFRAA. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  9. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2018" (PDF). AFRAA. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  10. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2019" (PDF). AFRAA. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  11. ^ "Our destinations". nileair.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Nile Air Adds New Rome Charters from mid-Sep 2023".
  13. ^ "Nile Air Adds New Rome Charters from mid-Sep 2023".
  14. ^ "Nile Air Adds New Rome Charters from mid-Sep 2023".
  15. ^ a b c "Our fleet". nileair.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 13.
  17. ^ "Airbus makes 46 aircraft deliveries in April 2017 - Wole Shadare". 6 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.

External links

Media related to Nile Air at Wikimedia Commons