EgyptAir will swing to a profit this year, buoyed by an increase in passengers and cost cutting, Chairman Safwat Musallam said, according to Reuters. “This year the company will transfer from a loss,” Musallam told the newswire, but declined to say how much EgyptAir is projected to make or to mention the loss recorded last year. The national flag carrier will be flying nine mn passengers this fiscal year, up from eight mn a year earlier. Musallam also noted that EgyptAir is dropping unprofitable routes and reducing workforce by up to 500 employees or 10% by not replacing staff who resign. Besides signing agreements to buy new planes, EgyptAir is also planning to “retire 30 aircraft, including its older Airbus A320 and A330s and its Embraer jets.”

We’re going to sit here and quietly cheer the national flag carrier. Yes, the food is mediocre at best — so are the eats on every other airline, at least in business class. But we’ve generally found the staff professional, cheerful and sometimes even fun, the aircraft well-maintained, and their routes into and out of CAI can’t be beaten (and that’s before you factor in their price advantage).