CAIRO: Egypt's national airline carrier EgyptAir promoted for the past few weeks a 25 percent discount on all tickets purchased on Tuesday in the country. However, when users went to reserve and buy tickets, they did not receive the promise discounts. And EgyptAir refused to tell Bikyanews.com why this false advertising was pushed. "The price you see online or at any of our branches in the country is the final price and is discounted," said one EgyptAir agent. When asked why the prices have not been reduced a promised 25 percent, he responded "this is the final price we have been given." The airline's corporate offices did not immediately respond to requests for details on the supposed discount day. Users were understandably upset. Trying to buy a ticket from Cairo to Beirut, normally around $340 came out to just over $300. A discount, but not the 25 percent expected. For David, who was planning on going to see family in the country it was frustrating. "I just feel that if you are going to make a big deal about discounts and reduced prices, you should stick to what you promise, no? It is not right," he told Bikyanews.com after coming out a downtown Cairo EgyptAir office. "This is a major problem. It is just greed and lying. It seems too many companies do this anywhere in the world." The airline's website does say the discount fares are subject to "terms and conditions" but when the link on the bottom of the page is clicked it takes the user to the Facebook page of the airline, making it nearly impossible to find information on what routes are and are not discounted. "It's a major problem we always have in trying to buy tickets. The companies say this and that, but never actually follow through," said Ahmed, a 34-year-old computer technician. "People just want to travel and be comfortable in the country." BN
