The chairman of state-owned EgyptAir said on Tuesday, May 22, he had discussed a $160 million loan from a New York bank to buy two Boeing 777 aircraft.
"I explored with a New York bank delegation a loan worth $160 million to finance the purchase of two Boeing 777s," EgyptAir Chairman Mohamed Fahim Rayan told reporters.
He said after meeting the visiting New York bankers that their loan offer had been picked from several because its terms were more favorable than those set by other banks.
The identity of the New York bank was not immediately clear and EgyptAir officials could not be reached for comment.
Rayan earlier met a delegation of Boeing safety inspectors to discuss the October 1999 crash of an EgyptAir Boeing 767 off the US coast, which killed all 217 people on board.
Egyptian investigators have until mid-June to respond to a report by the US National Transportation Safety Board into the causes of the crash before its findings are made public.
Egyptian investigators say a mechanical error may have caused the disaster, while US investigators have suggested that one of the pilots deliberately downed the plane. ― (Reuters, Cairo)
© Reuters 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
