Links Restored With Cairo
Cairo-based Egyptair is making a comeback to Copenhagen on October 1, on a route that was dropped in 2004, and will be the only African carrier to serve Copenhagen non-stop. Routes News examines Copenhagen's historical lack of a direct service to Africa and why the time is ripe for that to change.
Copenhagen airport calls itself 'Scandanavia's Hub' and serves as a Star Alliance hub for main operating carrier, SAS. That status will be strengthened when the airport welcomes another Star member, Air Canada and its new daily service from Toronto in June, as well as the return of Egyptair, who will offer a non-stop three-times weekly service from Cairo, starting in October.
The airport says that the Cairo route will "close an important hole" in its route network and Egyptair has opted to use 737-800s, configured to seat 24 passengers in business and 120 in economy.
The significance is that Egyptair will be the only legacy carrier operating scheduled services from Africa to Scandanvia. Ulv Elbirk, senior route development manager, Copenhagen Airports told Routes News: "This aircraft very much suits business demand and we see big potential for this route as Africa is an ill-served market for us." Elbirk also spoke about the African continent as a strong market for the airport, pointing to the growth economies there, as well as a long-term absence of direct routes between the Scandinavian hub and Africa. He said: "The strongest traffic flows [to Africa] go to Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco, so in my view a direct route to Cairo will not only boost the Copenhagen to Cairo market but also African-bound traffic due to Cairo's connectivity to the African continent."
IATA BSP Data (Airport IS) shows that between March 2009 and the same period in 2010, 574,499 passengers flew between Scandinavia and Africa. Traffic flow between Copenhagen and Cairo represented 31,000 of the total figures and Egyptair will undoubtedly be looking to capture not only this O&D demand, but the traffic from Scandinavia to Africa.
Historically, the route hasn't been consistently served. Egyptair originally began linking Cairo with Copenhagen over a decade ago but pulled the five-times weekly service in April 2004 and its other remaining Scandinavian route, to Stockholm Arlanda. It is believed that poor yields and loads contributed to Egyptair's decision to cut its only Scandinavian routes.
Meanwhile SAS filled the void in October 2004 and ceased flying to Cairo in March 2006. While Maersk Air (now Cimber Sterling), which began serving the route in November 2000, dropped it less than a year later in October 2001, returning again in May 2004 and running the service until February 2006. (Source: Copenhagen Airport Data).
Scandinavia-Africa Network: Today's Picture
A closer look at the airline schedules shows a clear lack of competition in the Africa-Scandinavia sector. Three airlines operate one weekly flight each according to Flightbase data (14-20 June, 2010). Transavia.com flies between Copenhagen and Hurghada (HRG), a tourist spot on Egypt's Red Sea coast, while Norwegian Air Shuttle operates from Oslo (OSL) to Marrakech (RAK) and Karthago Airlines flies from Tunis to Copenhagen tagged to Stockholm Arlanda. All three are leisure-based operators serving leisure markets and will be supported by tour operators.
These carriers will not be a threat for Egyptair and the lack of competition creates opportunities for Egyptair. The airline's acceptance into Star Alliance in July 2008 also opens up many connection possibilities.
What Can the Route Bring to Star Alliance?
As well as focusing on the premium paying passenger, Egyptair is leveraging off its Star Alliance membership and is likely to form a close cooperation with SAS, which offers connectivity from Copenhagen to over 55 destinations.
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