EgyptAir hires U.S. firm for restructuring

Egypt's national carrier said on Tuesday it had hired Texas-based airline advisory firm Sabre Airline Solutions to prepare a restructuring plan for the state-owned company, which has suffered about a billion dollars in losses since 2010.

A company statement did not mention the value of the contract, but it said the restructuring would focus on EgyptAir Airlines and EgyptAir Express, subsidiaries of EgyptAir Holding Company which provides flights mostly to destinations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

"Signing this contract comes in the context of EgyptAir seeking to effect a radical change in the business, financial, administrative and operational structures of the two countries," Sameh Hafni, the president of EgyptAir Holding Company, said in an emailed statement.

He said the plan would aim to return EgyptAir to profitability by mid-2016.

EgyptAir has suffered losses of 6.914 billion Egyptian pounds ($966.99 million) in the three fiscal years ending in June 2013, mired by political turmoil in the most populous Arab country that has scared away foreign tourists and investors.