Structure

Syphax Airlines was launched in March 2012 as Tunisia’s first privately owned airline, and its first flight took place on 29 April 2012. The carrier was set up by Mohamed Frikha, an entrepreneur, who established Tunisian software engineering company Telnet in 1994.

Frikha used money raised from Telnet’s initial public offering in April 2011, along with an approximate 20 per cent stake from Telnet to set up the airline. It was launched with TD10m ($6.3m) of capital.

Syphax Airlines’ main base is at the airport of Sfax Thyna in the south of Tunisia. It also operates flights from Djerba and Tunis. Currently, it flies to Paris and Marseille in France, Tripoli and Sebha in Libya, Istanbul in Turkey, and a newly launched destination of Casablanca in Morocco. The airline was permitted to fly from Djerba and Sfax from April 2012, but had to wait until October of that year for an operating licence to fly from Tunis-Carthage airport, when it launched its Paris service, landing at Charles de Gaulle airport.

The delay in the Tunis airport licence was in part due to resistance from national carrier Tunisair and its reluctance to compete with the new airline over the same routes.

Operations

Syphax Airlines was established with a fleet of just two Airbus 319s purchased for $55m. The aircraft were named Karama and Hurriya, meaning dignity and freedom, in reference to the country’s 2011 revolution. 

In January 2013, the airline placed a further order with Airbus for three A320NEOs (new engine option) and three A320CEOs (current engine option). This agreement will bring the airline’s fleet up to eight aircraft. The A320NEO family of aircraft will come into service from 2015 and incorporate latest-generation engines and large ‘sharklet’ wing-tip devices, which aim to deliver up to 15 per cent in fuel savings.

Syphax Airlines positions itself as a hybrid between the low-cost airline model and a conventional carrier. It aims to offer reduced ticket prices, but also the services found on regular airlines. The airline provides charter services, but most of its business is focused on regular commercial traffic.

At the end of 2012, non-charter passenger traffic accounted for 57.6 per cent of passenger revenues, with 72,248 passengers transported by the airline that year. Charter activity represented 42.4 per cent of passenger revenues, with 45,323 passengers transported.

In the first half of 2012, the airline recorded a turnover of TD3.2m and a loss of TD9.4m. The company’s capital stood at TD601,000.

The carrier runs three flights a week between Sfax and Paris, as well as a daily service between Tunis and Paris. Its Sfax-Tripoli route is serviced four times a week and there is a twice-weekly flight from Sfax to Sebha. It also operates two flights a week to Istanbul from Sfax.

Ambitions

Syphax Airlines is aiming to carve out a greater market share and challenge the dominance of national carrier, Tunisair. The airline was established in 1948, and in 2011, it transported 3.2 million passengers. By contrast, Syphax Airlines has about 1.2 per cent of the market.

One of Frikha’s aims is to use the airline to boost the Sfax region’s economy by generating new employment opportunities.

This year, Syphax Airlines is looking to increase the number of destinations it services. It has recently announced new flights to Casablanca in Morocco and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It also aims to launch twice-weekly flights to the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, as well as a weekly service to Beijing, and flights to Montreal, New York and Rio de Janeiro.

The airline is also looking to list on the Tunis bourse to raise funds for its expansion. On 18 April, it secured approval from the Financial Market Council to be admitted to the Alternative Investment Market on the Tunis Stock Exchange.