In 1998, Mohamed El Hout, director of real estate and financial assets department at the central bank, was appointed Chairman of Middle East Airlines (MEA). At the time, Lebanon’s national carrier was overstaffed and hemorrhaging money. His appointment was surrounded in controversy. He had no aviation background and an unproven track record. Critics accused him of being the central bank’s man, while his supporters claimed that it would need an outsider to turn the company around. Six years on, MEA has a new fleet of planes, a leaner workforce and is confident it will announce net profits of over $30 million for 2004. In an exclusive interview, El Hout talks to EXECUTIVE about the past, present and future of an airline that was brought back from the brink. How would you describe the trajectory of MEA’s performance curve in the past six years? When the new board took over in
