Saturday, March 26, 2011

EGYPTAIR S11 changes to Bangkok and Paris as of 25MAR11

EGYPTAIR continues its Summer 2011 International service adjustment.
Latest update as of 25MAR11, affected destinations are Bangkok and Paris. Details as follows:

Cairo – Bangkok 01APR11 – 28APR11 (BKK dep 03APR11 – 30APR11) Boeing 777-300ER replace A330-200
MS960 CAI2245 – 1315+1BKK 77W D
MS961 BKK0215 – 0630CAI 77W D
Cairo – Paris CDG Planned Boeing 777-300ER service from 27MAR11 is CANCELED, instead service to be operated by the new Airbus A330-300

Source

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

EGYPTAIR S11 Latest International Operation Changes as of 23MAR11

As per 23MAR11 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR’s latest changes on selected International routes in Summer 2011 season as follows (only those with latest changes are noted):

Cairo – Abuja eff 01JUN11 Increase from 4 to 6 weekly
Cairo – Dar es Salaam 27MAR11 – 28MAY11 Reduce from 4 to 3 weekly
Cairo – Johannesburg 27MAR11 – 01JUL11 Reduce from 5 to 4 weekly
Cairo – Kano 27MAR11 – 30MAY11 Reduce from 5 weekly to 3 weekly. Airbus A320 operating (737-800 replace A320 from 01JUN11)
Cairo – Lagos 27MAR11 – 30MAY11 Reduce from 4 to 3 weekly
Cairo – Mumbai eff 27MAR11 Reduce from 5 to 3 weekly
Cairo – Muscat eff 18MAY11 Service increase from 2 to 3 weekly eff 02JUN11 Increase from 3 to 4 weekly
Cairo – Nairobi eff 06JUN11 Increase from 5 to 6 weekly
Cairo – New York JFK Reduce from Daily to 4 weekly from 27MAR11 to 13MAY11
27MAR11 – 31MAR11 Day x14
01APR11 – 15APR11 Day x136
16APR11 – 28APR11 Day x146
30APR11 – 07MAY11 Day x235
09MAY11 – 13MAY11 Day 135
eff 15MAY11 Daily
Cairo – Riyadh Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to enter service on this route

Source

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Bahrain Air to go ahead with launch of service to Egypt

Posted on 8 February 2011 in Air Transport

Bahrain's value airline - Bahrain Air - said yesterday that it is to press ahead with its proposed launch of flights to Egypt despite the turmoil currently affecting the North African country.


The airline had previously announced plans to launch a new route from Bahrain to Sharm El Sheikh, the famous Egyptian Red Sea resort. The route is not currently served by either Gulf Air or Egypt Air.

Bahrain's Gulf Daily News reported that the airline is still "waiting and watching", but quoted security, corporate affairs and government relations senior manager Abdul Aziz Yosuf Al Shaer as saying he expected the flights to go ahead as scheduled.

"We have prepared for the launch on March 3 and, as things stand now, are all set to go," he told the GDN.

The airline is planning two flights a week, one on Monday and another on Thursday, to and from the resort.

Bahrain Air already has an active route to Alexandria. "There is a tremendous potential and huge opportunity for growth," Al Shaer said. "We are sure the situation will become normal very soon and tourists will start flocking to Cairo and other parts of Egypt as usual."

Gulf Air said yestyerday that all of its flights between Bahrain and Egypt were operating normally - apart from some arrival and departure time changes to comply with the curfews in effect in the country.

Source

Major airlines begin move to Borg Al Arab for Alexandria flights

Qatar Airways is to transfer its Alexandria flights to the city's now showcase Borg El Arab Airport, effective March 27.

The Doha-based carrier is among a number of international airlines moving flights from the El-Nozha International Airport to Borg El Arab Airport forwhat it describes as "operational reasons."

The old city airport is to close for several years and Egyptian Airports are beginning to work with opertators to make the transition to the new airport - which will also be closer to the new city development, known as New Alexandria


The new airport is located approximately 50 kilometres from Alexandria city centre.
The airport consists of a new passenger building and an administration building. The passenger terminal is designed in the shape of a boat and consists of three floors. It was opened late last year.

 

Qatar Airways flies daily non-stop from its Doha hub to Alexandria. Today the airline said that all scheduled timings for the Alexandria flights remain the same. The carrier also flies to Cairo and Luxor. 


Source 

EgyptAir to defer A330 deliveries and postpone launch of new routes

EgyptAir holding company chairman Hussein Massoud has been in talks to defer deliveries of its latest A330 order with Airbus as it fights against the challenges of reduced passenger loads following the uprising in Egypt.

According to Air Transport Intelligence, the North African airline is also postponing the launch of new long-haul services to Toronto and Washington.

The online service said the deferrment could be for three or four months and reported Massoud as saying that the new routes for its recently received B777-300ERs could be delayed until the next winter schedule.

Source

EgyptAir lease deal just one option says chairman.

Posted on 25 February 2011 in Air Transport

EgyptAir says suggestions that it may be leasing up to 25% of its new fleet in order to stave off losses came from unofficial leaks from within the company and was just one of the options that the airline was considering.

Chairman Hussein Massoud said in a statement today: " Last week some news spread in the international media about EGYPTAIR intention to lease out some aircraft. EGYPTAIR would like to confirm that no press release was issued from EgyptAir in that regard. However, an internal communication with EgyptAir staff that was addressing possible measures to alleviate the impact of the drop in passenger traffic during the peak of the crisis, referred to the possibility of offering any excess capacity for short term ACMI lease..

"Apparently, this internal communication leaked out by a way or another to the media and was erroneously treated as an official release .

"Within the peak of the crisis , EgyptAir had diligently performed appropriate adjustments to the schedule that were required to enhance the efficiency of the network through altering frequencies and retiming.

"EgyptAir assures its valued customers and stakeholders of the commitment to provide the highest standards of service and to meet their expectations, " he said.

The airline also conffirmed today that it has launched a revised flight schedule for the remaining weeks of the winter season up to 26th March 2011. During the peak of the political crisis in Egypt and the associated curfew which was imposed , EgyptAir

had reduced offered capacity in order to match with the demand of that period. Presently EGYPTAIR is preparing for the release of a limited modification to the Summer Schedule. The revised schedule will feature a gradual growth in volume of operations over the summer season reaching normal volume towards the end of the season.

Source

Monday, February 21, 2011

EgyptAir in crisis as tourists stay away after uprising

Egypt's national carrier Egypt Air is considering a number of drastic actions to stem losses following the uprising that led to the exit of President Mubarak from office and the introduction of the interim military government

Hundreds of thousands of tourists have stayed away from the country and the national airline which holds exclusive transiting rights through Cairo had to cancel hundreds of flights from it major hubs to the Red Sea resorts and tourism destinations that are the mainstay of the through traffic.

Curfews and flight restrictions also dampened down business traffic.

Now the airline is offering to lease - either wet or dry - as many as 25 of its newest aircraft to other carriers, in a bid to offset staggering losses linked to the unrest
The company said in a statement yesterday that it was also offering to provide crew to staff the planes, which it was making available to fellow members of the Star Alliance network of international carriers.

Since the political uprisingbegan on January 25th, the airline canceled about 75 percent of its flights and has seen little incoming traffic as the tousits continue to stay away.

The chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company -  the parent company for the airline - said 40 percent of the carrier's fleet has been grounded. Hussein Massoud also said the company is losing about 80 percent of its projected revenue.





According to financial broadcaster Bloomberg, tourism accounts for about 5 percent of Egypt's gross domestic product. Figures released by the government's statistics bureau showed that 210,000 tourists fled the country in the last week of January and that cancellations for February were depriving Egypt of about $825 million in revenue.

To further reduce costs, Massoud said the carrier was looking at cutting working hours, no longer offering board members stipends to attend the meetings and "opening the door for employees to take leaves of absence without pay." He said the scheme will also allow employees to work half-time.

The airline is also reviewing its route network and Massoud said EgyptAir will be canceling some flights that had seen little passenger traffic even before the unrest.

Source

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Announcement from EgyptAir following curfews in the country

Egypt Air has today issued a statement regarding flights with the national carrier following the uprising and riots in the country.

It says that as a result of the current situation and the curfew imposed on Thursday evening, EgyptAir is applying some modifications to the operation schedule.

"EgyptAir calls upon its customers abroad to contact its worldwide offices or visit its website www.egyptair.com to check the status of their flights. (egyptair.com is not always available!)
Customers in Egypt should contact the national call center on 090070000 from any land line.

 
All EgyptAir employees are doing their best to contain the situation and facilitate the process for our customer." the statement said.

EgyptAir has operated 36 flights from Cairo Airport since yesterday 17:00 till midnight. Also, the carrier has operated 24 flights since midnight till today’s 09:00 Cairo local Time..
EgyptAir is carrying on slight changes to its flights’ schedule because of the current situation in Cairo. 

Source 

Friday, January 21, 2011

Reoperation of the Madinah flights

Starting 22 January , EGYPTAIR will re-operate its flights from Egypt to Madinah in Saudi Arabia as follows:

- From Cairo to Medina daily flight  depart Cairo at 15:40 pm and arrive at Madinah at 18:30 pm , depart Madinah at 19:30 pm and arrive Cairo at 20:35 pm .



- From Alexandria to Madinah 3weekly flights on Wednesday , Thursday and Sunday
Alexandria – Madinah flights depart at 09:30 am arrive Madinah at 12:35 pm , depart from Madinah at 13:35 pm and arrive Alexandria at 16:15 pm . 
Source: Egyptair.com


Egyptair reaches out for third-party MRO business


By Michael Gubisch


Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering is looking to boost third-party customers' share of volume from 20% to 50% by 2018 - despite its parent airline's dramatic growth, which has seen its fleet double in four years.

This year, the MRO will begin offering third-party engine services from a shop it opened as a joint venture with Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa Technik in Cairo in 2009. The facility has full overhaul capability for International Aero Engines V2500-A1/A5 (A320 family) and CFM International CFM56-5C (A340-200/300) powerplants.

Disassembly and assembly to module level and testing capability are available for the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 (A330), CFM56-3C (737-300/400/500), Pratt & Whitney PW4090 (777) and PW4158 (A300-600). The CFM56-7B series for 737-600/700/800/900 aircraft will be added in 2014. Annual capacity is 75 engines; 12 can be worked on simultaneously.


EgytpAir Maintenance, © EgytpAir Maintenance & Engineering
 © EgytpAir Maintenance & Engineering
Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa Technik are partners in Egyptair's engine shop
The first phase since the opening was to establish the centre and stabilise work processes among its 160 staff. At the end of 2010, the turnaround time for engine overhauls was 90 days, but the plan is to reduce this to 60-70 days when third-party work begins, says Abdel Aziz Fadel, Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering's chairman and chief executive.

Local labour rates are 50-60% below the corresponding remuneration levels in western Europe, says Fadel, but staff pay contributes only about 20% to the total engine overhaul cost, with the rest based on material costs.

For the airframe maintenance business, the company plans to build four new hangars by 2025. Currently, three hangars are available to work on up to nine aircraft. Construction of the first new, three-bay hangar will begin in 2014. Two more facilities with four bays each will follow in 2016-17 and 2020-21 and the fourth hangar is due to go up in 2025.

MORE WORK SHIFTS

But capacity will not grow just in terms of facility space. Egyptair M&E wants to introduce a second work shift this year, and plans a third one in the future. These extra shifts should increase total capacity by 20-30%, says Fadel. The company employs about 5,000 staff.

A delegation from Nordam visited Egyptair M&E late last year to discuss a possible engine nacelle overhaul joint venture. Fadel declines to reveal details about the talks, but says a decision may be reached in the first quarter of 2011. He says the MRO provider has been approached by some other companies, among them Goodrich and Spirit, and that Egyptair M&E is "open to any kind of co-operation".

The company wants to move away from being just a maintenance provider to selling comprehensive support packages. These could cover, for example, continuous airworthiness management planning and engineering services, as well as access to Egyptair's component inventory. So far, 16 of the company's 100 or so customers have opted for its total support packages.

Source

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

EGYPTAIR S11 International Operation Changes

As per 05JAN11 GDS timetable display, latest changes to overall EGYPTAIR planned Summer 2011 International operation, effective 27MAR11 unless otherwise stated, as follows:

Cairo – Abu Dhabi MS914/915 29MAR11 – 31JUL11 777-200 replace A330-200 (was to be in effect from 01AUG11)
Cairo – Beijing eff 11APR11 Service increase from 3 to 4 weekly, with Airbus A340-200 replacing A330-200 from the same date
MS955 CAI2350 – 1420+1PEK 340 x356
MS956 PEK0130 – 0730CAI 340 x157
till 28APR11, CAI dep and arr time is 1hr earlier
New flight operates on Mondays from Cairo and Wednesdays from Beijing
First Class on A340-200 currently not open for reservation
Cairo – Copenhagen Introduction of 4th weekly, new flight operates on Saturdays, instead of Mondays
MS759 CAI1100 – 1445CPH 738 x124
MS760 CPH1545 – 2120CAI 738 x124
till 26MAR11 service operates Day 357
Cairo – Johannesburg Reduce from Daily to 5 weekly (Day x23; previously planned reduction to 6 weekly)
Cairo – London Heathrow eff 27MAR11 All 10 weekly service operates with Boeing 777-300ER (MS779/780 previously to be operated by A330-200 then -300 from 01AUG11)
Cairo – Milan Malpensa eff 01JUL11 Increase from 9 to 11 weekly. Flight increase on MS705/706
MS703 CAI1030 – 1330MXP 321 D
MS705 CAI1440 – 1740MXP 738 x234
MS704 MXP1430 – 1915CAI 321 D
MS706 MXP1840 – 2320CAI 738 x234
MS705/706 till 30JUN11 operates Day 17
Cairo – Tokyo Narita Planned Daily service canceled, and reduce from 6 to 5 weekly. Service continues with 777-300ER
MS964 CAI1800 – 1140+1NRT 77W x13
MS965 NRT1310 – 2040CAI 77W x24
Other previously mentioned changes remains the same as of 05JAN11.
Cairo – Accra / Abidjan
Existing 4 weekly Accra service extends to Abidjan. The Star Alliance member previously served Abidjan but suspended
2 of 4 weekly flights to Accra re-scheduled to night-hours
MS881 CAI0015 – 0330ACC0430 – 0610ABJ 738 23
MS881 CAI0915 – 1230ACC1330 – 1510ABJ 738 46
MS882 ABJ1100 – 1240ACC1340 – 2210CAI 738 23
MS882 ABJ2005 – 2145ACC2245 – 0715+1CAI 738 46
Cairo – Amman MS739/740 increase from 5 weekly to Daily. Overall service increase from 19 to 21 weekly
Cairo – Amsterdam eff 04JUL11 Increase from 6 weekly to Daily
Cairo – Asmara Service remains at 3 weekly, reduction since the launch of 2010 Winter schedule, compared to 5 weekly in S10
Cairo – Athens Reduce from 12 to 10 weekly. Service overall still an increase compared to Daily in S10
Cairo – Bahrain eff 21JUN11 Increase from 5 to 6 weekly
Cairo – Bangkok Daily terminator service with 777-200ER introduced since 15DEC10 is maintained
Cairo – Barcelona Increase from 5 weekly to Daily
Cairo – Beirut Increase from 16 to 21 weekly
MS713 CAI0015 – 0140BEY 738 D
MS709 CAI1000 – 1125BEY 320 D
MS711 CAI1750 – 1915BEY 320 D
MS714 BEY0600 – 0730CAI 738 D
MS710 BEY1225 – 1355CAI 320 D
MS712 BEY2015 – 2145CAI 320 D
MS713/714 currently operates 4 weekly (3 weekly in S10), MS709/710 currently operates 5 weekly (4 weekly in S10)
Cairo – Benghazi Service increase to Daily introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Brussels Increase from 6 weekly to Daily
Cairo – Budapest Service increase to Daily introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Casablanca Increase from 6 weekly to Daily (5 weekly in S10)
Cairo – Catania Flight number changes MS555/556 and MS557/558 replaces MS445/446 and MS447/448 respectively

Cairo – Damascus MS727/728 Increase from 4 weekly to Daily. Overall service increase from 11 to 14 weekly
Cairo – Doha 5 of 7 weekly Airbus A340-300 replace A320 for entire Summer season (Day x12; S10 saw A340 operating on selected periods)
Cairo – Dubai Operation in W10 maintained in S11
MS912/913 Daily A330-300
MS910/911 6 weekly A330-300 and 1 weekly 737-800
Cairo – Dusseldorf 4th weekly service introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Frankfurt eff 01AUG11 Airbus A330-300 enters service, replacing -200 (S10 Daily 737)
Cairo – Guangzhou Nonstop service introduced from 15DEC10 maintained in S11, 4 times a week with 777-200ER
Cairo – Kuwait eff 14JUN11 Introduction of 3rd Daily service, operated by various aircraft type in its fleet
MS614 CAI0015 – 0305KWI EQV D
MS615 KWI0405 – 0650CAI EQV D
Cairo – Larnaca Introduction of 5th weekly service, operates on Sundays
Cairo – Lisbon eff 02JUL11 Seasonal increase from 2 to 4 weekly (Day x235), compared to from 2 to 3 in S10
Cairo – Malta Flight number change, MS553/554 replaces MS443/444
Cairo – Mumbai 5th weekly service introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Munich 2 of 7 weekly operated by A330-200 (Day 27), replacing 737-800
Cairo – Paris CDG
MS803/804 eff 07JUN11 Increase from 3 to 4 weekly, new flight operates on Tuesdays (overall service to Paris increase from 10 to 11 weekly, compared to 9 in S10)
MS799/800 eff 01AUG11 Airbus A330-300 replace -200
Cairo – Rome Gradual service increase from 9 to 12 weekly, increase on MS793/794 flight:
27MAR11 – 31MAY11 Day 17
01JUN11 – 30JUN11 Day 137
01JUL11 - Day x56
Cairo – Toronto eff 01JUN11 New 3 weekly service on board Boeing 777-300ER (updated on 21DEC10). 4th weekly service, scheduled to operate on Tuesdays, remains unavailable for reservation
Cairo – Tripoli Increase to 14 weekly in W10 maintained in S11
Hurghada – Geneva Seasonal 1 weekly service CANCELED
Luxor – Kuwait Service Reduced to 2 weekly in W10 maintained in S11
Luxor – Paris CDG Seasonal 1 weekly service CANCELED
Sharm el Sheikh – Catania Seasonal 1 weekly service resumes with flight number change, MS559/560 replaces MS441/442
Sharm el Sheikh – Jeddah Seasonal 4 weekly service operates 15JUN11 – 31JUL11 only with flight number change, MS573/574 replaces MS449/450
Sharm el Sheikh – Rome Seasonal 1 weekly service CANCELED
Sohag – Kuwait Increase from 2 to 4 weekly (same aircraft operation on Cairo – Sohag domestic sector also increases to 4 weekly), operating on Day x237

Source