ORCA AIR, a new Egyptian airline based at Sharm el Sheikh on the tip of the Sinai peninsula has ordered, two 19-seat Fairchild Metro 23s and taken options on four more.
The aircraft will be the first 23E models, incorporating an electronic flight-instrumentation system (EFIS) cockpit. The first two are due to be delivered in the first quarter of 1996. Operations will begin this month with a new Beech King Air.
The Metros will be used principally to carry tourists from Sharm el Sheikh to destinations including Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada. Flights to Santa Katarina and Petra, in Jordan, are also planned, says airline president Diaa El Gabbani.
El Gabbani, who together with other local businessmen, founded the airline with a capital of $17 million, hopes that by going for an air taxi licence of up to 50 seats, rather than for a scheduled services licence, the new airline will avoid the wrath of EgyptAir, which has suffered badly from the slump in tourist traffic because of terrorist action.
Source: Flight International
