EgyptAir is scrambling to prevent Arab carriers from poaching its top pilots, writes Amirah Ibrahim When EgyptAir became a holding company four years ago the two most pressing issues facing the new management were the employment packages offered to pilots, who had regularly threatened strike action during the peak season, and an upgrading of maintenance services to end the chronic delays that had plagued the airline. Now both issues are back on the agenda. Arab airlines are keen to poach experienced pilots and engineers from Egypt's national carrier, offering significantly higher salaries and more comprehensive benefits. This, in turn, has improved the negotiating position of pilots and engineers when it comes to salaries, retirement packages and insurance policies. EgyptAir's 570 pilots have long been excluded from the airline's 20,000-member Retirement Fund. Now, though, the Aviation Ministry has announced that the retirement packages of pilots will be calculated on the basis of how long they have been with the company. "This system gives the pilots what they always wanted while at the same time protecting the rights of the company," Sherif Galal, head of EgyptAir's airline division, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Pilots will receive a high interest cash deposit, starting at LE20,000, which will increase annually in accordance with experience, performance and loyalty to the company. At retirement, a pilot's package could reach up to LE250,000." Galal criticised attempts by Arab carriers to lure pilots away from other airlines, a tactic that has already seen Royal Jordanian lose 30 of its most senior pilots. The Arab Airline Companies' Organisation (AACO) has been working to resolve the problem, which for Galal "is a question of ethics". "These carriers," he says, "should desist from actions that damage other companies." The dilemma facing EgyptAir is compounded by plans to increase its fleet from 42 aircraft to 60 by 2010. While the company intends to recruit more pilots, the Aviation Ministry last week raised the age of retirement from 60 to 65. EgyptAir, which has always suffered from shortages in qualified and licensed engineers, plans to hire an additional 100 engineers annually over the next five years. But at a time when other Arab carriers are also expanding their fleets and technical support bases, the demand for qualified personnel is high. "Other carriers attract technical experts by offering higher salaries and bonuses," says Abdel-Aziz Fadel, who became head of EgyptAir's Technical Support and Maintenance Company a year ago. An experienced engineer earns on average LE6,000 a month in Egypt, while Arab carriers offer salaries as high as $7,000 a month. "I fully understand why engineers seek to move so as to ensure a better life for their families," Fadel told the Weekly. Several measures have been adopted in an attempt to increase the incomes of technical staff, says Fadel, the key strategy being to attract servicing contracts from other airlines. "The majority of staff have worked hard," says Fadel, "and now we have been awarded the European Aviation Safety Association (EASA) certificate which allows us to carry out daily maintenance work on aircraft registered in Europe. And we are working on obtaining the next level of EASA certification which will allow us to overhaul aircraft bodies and components." EgyptAir's Technical Support and Maintenance Company has concluded 12 contracts for daily maintenance with Arab and European airlines worth LE30 million a year.
