By Constantinos Psillides
CYPRUS Airways chairman Tony Antoniou confirmed on Friday that the national carrier has reached an agreement to sell one of the two timeslots at Heathrow airport to Qatar Airways, explaining that it is a part of a strategic plan to move the company forward.
Speaking at a press conference to unveil a deal for 64 charter flights scheduled for the Easter holidays and summer, Antoniou played down criticism from the pilots’ union who oppose the sale of the slot at Heathrow.
He said that the board and technocrats are better suited to make business decisions than pilots.
“Our pilots are excellent professionals in their field. But they should leave business decisions to us. This is the way to move the company forward,” Antoniou said, wondering if the pilots preferred to be out looking for jobs.
The timeslot in the most sought-after airport in Europe, has been valued at $20m or just under €15m, but according to Antoniou it accounts for €5m in losses a year.
The Cyprus Mail contacted the head of the pilots union, Petros Souppouris, who said that his members are interested in the long term viability of the company.
“The timeslot will be profitable in the long run”, said the union boss, arguing that ticket prices for London will go up. “Heathrow will become a rich man’s destination. Tickets will get so expensive that only rich people will be able to afford them”.
Asked whether the union is planning to go on strike to prevent the company from going ahead with the sale, Souppouris said that a strike wasn’t on the cards.
Antoniou said that as regards the reduced number of flights to London, the airline is looking to buy a timeslot from a neighbouring airport, Stansted, Luton or Gatwick. “It’s very simple. Heathrow is one of the most expensive airports in the world. We are losing money there, so we are exploring the possibility of shifting some flights to another airport”, he said, adding that CY is considering additional flights to Manchester to accommodate students, while the board is looking into resuming a flight to Brussels, despite decisions two years ago to cut back on routes.
On the issue of a strategic investor, Antoniou said that a number of reputable companies have shown interest and that talks will start in February, after the cabinet appoints the negotiating committee on January 22.
“We have worked hard towards creating a viable, self-sustained organisation with good prospects. We will release the financial results this month and people will see just how well we did in 2013”, the chairman added.
Regarding the charter flights, Antoniou said that a deal was signed with the tour operators Top Kinisis and Xenos Travel and will offer Cypriots the chance to travel to the Greek islands and other European holiday destinations. The estimated profit for the company, according to Antoniou, is around €500,000. “Our aim is to give our customers more travel choices and lower ticket prices”, he noted.
Asked if the deal would be affected by a possible deal with a strategic investor, Antoniou said this is highly unlikely because even if a deal was made tomorrow, there would still be a six-month transitional period before any new plans take effect.
The CY chairman also took a swipe at the media, accusing reporters of snooping around for confidential information regarding the company’s business plans.
“You shouldn’t ask us for that kind of information. You are hurting the company. We signed confidentiality agreements with the companies interested on buying the time slots and leaked information hurts us”, Antoniou said.
