Eurocypria

[Carnethy]

From an article in the Cyprus Mail it appears that Eurocypria may be in trouble, requiring a €35m cash injection. If this doesn't happen by Friday the operation might be shut down. :sad:

Stavrakis: Eurocypria will close by Friday without cash boost - Cyprus Mail (http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/stavrakis-eurocypria-will-close-friday-without-cash-boost/20100209)

[EISNN]

Sorry to hear this. I guess it must be from the likes of Budget Travel and a few other tour operators going out of business along with the recession that is causing this. I hope that there can be some resolve. I flew with Eurocypria before and the crew were great. Best wishes for the staff there.

[sam1993]

Eurocypria are finding it hard to convince the government to inject 35 million into the business. The government of Cyprus are concerend that only 3 of Eurocypria's aircraft are actually based in Cyprus with 2 in Greece and another in either Egypt or Poland. They are then investing money to bring tourists to competing destinations - something they are obviously reluctant to do!
I hope all the troubles at Eurocypria are resolved soon and wish them the best of luck for the future! :ok:

[sam1993]

Don't know whether anyone is interested but good news for Eurocypria!

Eurocypria back from the brink - Cyprus Mail (http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/eurocypria-back-brink/20100219)

[transwede]

Definately good news, they are a substantial operator to the UK, supporting the activities of both large and smaller independant tour operators! State support can work when appropriate, as opposed to just hand outs.

[STN Ramp Rat]

Looks like its closing down effective 13th Nov

Cypriot state-owned charter airline to shut down - BusinessWeek (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9J9DLRG0.htm)

Eurocypria bombshell - Cyprus Mail (http://www.cyprus-mail.com/aviation/eurocypria-bombshell/20101104)

[TSR2]

A sad day for aviation but to be honest, I think it was inevitable

[Phileas Fogg]

Eurocypria was set-up because Cyprus Airways staff had a habit of going on strike, with Eurocypria specifically in place to operate Cyprus Airways services in the event of a strike, it seems the strikes curtailed.

That was 19 (ish) years ago, perhaps Eurocypria has served it's purpose or perhaps the strikes may return!

[john2408]

Sorry to see them go, as a regular at HUY four times a week. Welcome Cyprus Airways.

[kotakota]

You think Cyprus Airways will be interested in Humberside , Newcastle etc ?
Good luck with that , if Eurocypria cannot break even on charter routes then CY never will , they are also in BIG trouble.

[wanna_be_there]

Cyprus Airlines have just cut BHX, and reduced LHR flights, so dont expect them at HUY any time soon.

Shame to see them go, used to see one parked at HER a lot last year, and sometimes there were 2 on the ground at MAN. Good luck to everyone involved!

[RoyHudd]

They should have stayed with A320's, instead of the expensive switch to new 73's. I know that their fleet change budget back then was high, as they needed to bring in many temps like me to fly the 320 whilst their permanent pilots were learning the 73. (btw, this is very much tongue in cheek, as all this was back in 2002, but many of their pilots were not best pleased with the switch to old technology)

Good luck to the lads and lasses now seeking new employment; not too many airlines to choose from in Cyprus. And I am sorry for the people in the hotel/holiday industry there too. This is damaging.

[EISNN]

Good luck to the lads and lasses now seeking new employment; not too many airlines to choose from in Cyprus. And I am sorry for the people in the hotel/holiday industry there too. This is damaging.

Indeed best of luck to all now trying to seek employment in the airline industry in Cyprus. As for the hospitality industry I don't know if they'll suffer too severely. There are enough charters flying in there year round and indeed isn't M'OL starting flights to LCA from Charleroi and Girona ... already. Maybe he had a bit of foresight and this could be like what's going on in Malta. Will the Cypriot gov be in a situation like the Maltese gov where it's either invest money in (read 'prop up') an ailing airline or invest it in marketing of tourism for their country? I would imagine that tourism is the bigger contributor to the state exchequer in both cases.

Indeed if landing and passenger handling charges were lowered in LCA you might even see more airlines flying in there.

[dublindispatch]

What about Nicosia airport is that defo beyond commercial use now?

[sunshine79]

Nicosia Airport closed in 1974. The only other airport in the region is Ercan, which is in TRNC and it's a bit out of the way to the coastal resorts, not to mention having to cross the border.

[goatface]

The UK doesn't need Eurocypria or CY.
Where there is demand, it will be filled by the plethora of other charter operators on behalf of all the the likes of TUI etc and no one in Cyprus will care.
The facts are that the tourist trade is so important to Cyprus it doesn't matter who flys the tourists in and out, just so long as they are there to spend their Euros and bring the Russians in to tend to their holiday homes.:hmm:

[dublindispatch]

Did CY not sniff around Dublin looking at the preclearance for TA flights from LCA to the states a while back?

[eu01]

"A week after state-owned Eurocypria announced the termination of operations, economists say there is little the government can to prevent Cyprus Airways (CY) from a similar fate"- writes the Cyprus Mail (http://www.cyprus-mail.com/aviation/national-carrier-must-ditch-its-extra-baggage/20101114) newspaper. The national carrier, which is 70 per cent state-owned will now pay the price for previous failed corporate decisions and the inflexibility which prevented it from capitalising on its previous restructuring process, said European University economics professor Marios Mavrides.(...)

"The only thing that could currently save Cyprus Airways is to find a strategic investor to inject cash into the company," Mavrides told the Sunday Mail. "But nobody would put money into this company now that its book value is already negative," he added.
Bernard Musyck, associate professor in economics at Frederick University said that as long as the state remains the majority shareholder, the company may not survive, let alone become a success story(...)

"For many years the company offered a convenient place for politicians to arrange jobs for boys," said Musyck, an expert on aviation economics.
He said Cyprus Airways was only one of the very few remaining state-owned airlines in Europe, which was a liability for the carrier.

Cyprus Airways saw its personnel cost rise in 2009 to €71.6 million from €68.8 million in 2008, even after cutting staff by 48 to 1,417. The company reported €3.3 million in losses last year after total revenue fell 20 per cent to €249 million, compared to a €1.7-million profit in 2008.

"There is such fierce competition in the air transport market that no government run company can survive in the long run," Musyck said.

[cyflyer]

Sad to announce that Eurocypria Airlines has ceased to exist :(.
On Tuesday 3rd Nov, it was announced that Eurocypria Airlines would cease operations from the 13th of the month. The news came as a great shock to the employees, who ceased work effective immediatedly in protest at the shoddy way they had been treated by management and the state. A week of high profile protest has ensued culminating in protesting crews dumping ties and uniform jackets outside the finance ministry in Nicosia, along with dorbing red paint on the ministry walls and heckling the finance minister, such was the indignation of the crews toward management, ie the government.
It is a pity, the crews are highly skilled professionals, and fine people, and have been treated very badly by the government, the owners of the airline. They have been left with no work effective immedately. Although it was known that were financial troubles, always the fault of management and not the hard working employees, the finance minister had been making false promises such as "if the company has to close, no one will lose their jobs because all the staff and crew will be absorbed into Cyprus airways" (which also has serious financial troubles) . These promises have proved hollow as the masters in Brussels have effectively closed this door quoting EU regulations, regulations which the finance ministry knew about before.
As of yesterday, the last of the 737-800's has been returned to the leasing company, and the skilled and experienced Captains, copilots and cabin crews are without work because of the incompetence of management.

[akerosid]

A fine airline; it will be sad to see it go. I sincerely hope the crews will find employment elsewhere and soon.

JetPhotos.Net Photo » 5B-DBR (CN: 30720) Eurocypria Airlines Boeing 737-8Q8 by John Fitzpatrick (http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6315529)