Egyptian Aviation Blog

EGYPTAIR S11 changes to Bangkok and Paris as of 25MAR11

2011-03-26T20:26:00.000+01:00

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

EGYPTAIR S11 Latest International Operation Changes as of 23MAR11

2011-03-23T18:29:00.000+01:00

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

Bahrain Air to go ahead with launch of service to Egypt

2011-03-22T23:19:00.001+01:00

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

2011-03-22T23:15:00.000+01:00

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

2011-03-22T23:13:00.000+01:00

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.

2011-03-22T23:04:00.000+01:00

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

EgyptAir in crisis as tourists stay away after uprising

2011-02-21T16:36:00.000+01:00

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

Announcement from EgyptAir following curfews in the country

2011-01-29T19:16:00.000+01:00

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

Reoperation of the Madinah flights

2011-01-21T21:08:00.004+01:00

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

2011-01-21T21:03:00.001+01:00

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 & Engineering Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa Technik are partners in Egyptair's engine shop

© 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

EGYPTAIR S11 International Operation Changes

2011-01-19T23:14:00.001+01:00

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

Al Kharafi selects EgyptAir for maintenance centre at Egypt's first private airport

2010-12-30T20:48:00.000+01:00

A new maintenance centre is to open at Egypt's first privately owned and operated airport at Marsa Salam.
Owned by the Kuwaiti Al Kharafi Group the Marsa Alam Airport is 60km north away from Marsa Alam City and is planning on 10,000 aircraft movements by the end of 2011.

The new maintenance centre will be operated under contract by EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering Company with the contract signed this week between Eng Abdel Aziz Fadel, EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering Chairman, and Eng Ibrahim Saleh, the Al Kharafi President in Egypt.

EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering is now one of the biggest MRO providers in the Middle East and Africa for Airbus, Boeing and Embraer types. With more than 78 years history, EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering serves more than 100 airlines in Europe, Middle East and Africa with a high potential workforce to satisfy its increasing customers with total care maintenance solutions.

The Marsa Alam international airport was opened to support the increasing tourism in the Red Sea area. It currently receives Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft.

Source

2010-12-25T02:01:00.001+01:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year everybody! May all your wishes come true... Cheers!

New Egyptian carrier Nile Air to launch Iraq service from Jan 2011

2010-12-22T22:28:00.004+01:00

Egyptian carrier Nile Air starting 11JAN11 launches operation with Airbus A320 aircraft. From 11JAN11, it is offering 2 weekly Cairo – Baghdad service, and followed by 1 weekly Cairo – Erbil – Sulaymaniyah – Cairo triangle service the following day.
Upon launch, Nile Air becomes the first Egyptian carrier to offer service between Egypt and Iraq since nearly 2 decades of service suspension.
Schedule:
Cairo – Baghdad
NP201 CAI0830 – 1150BGW 320 26
NP202 BGW1250 – 1350CAI 320 26
Cairo – Erbil – Sulaymaniyah – Cairo
NP203 CAI1000 – 1320EBL1405 – 1430ISU1530 – 1700CAI 320 3
The Airbus A320 aircraft seats 142, in J16Y126 configuration.

Source

Dufry plans renovations, store openings across three airports in Egypt

2010-12-22T01:32:00.000+01:00

In addition to renovations at Sharm el Sheikh, Dufry will be opening new departures
and arrivals stores at Borg el Arab and Assiut airports

In a recent interview with Gulf-Africa Duty Free, Miguel Angel Martinez, Dufry Africa’s COO, confirmed that a number of projects—including renovations and store openings in Egypt—are in the works for the second half of 2010.

Dufry currently operates five stores in Sharm el Sheikh International Airport, four in the departure area of Terminal 2 and one in the arrivals area of the same terminal. One of the departure stores is currently undergoing renovations to accommodate a new shop-in-shop.

“We will soon be opening a new fashion concept shop called ‘Blanc du Nil,’” says Martinez. “We are now in the process of renovating a part of our departure store in Sharm el Sheikh International Airport to provide the new design for the Blanc du Nil section, which will measure a total of 40-square-meters.”

As the name suggests, Blanc du Nil’s fashions are predominantly white in color. The clothes are reasonably priced and also made from Egyptian cotton. In addition to the renovations at Sharm el Sheikh, Dufry will be opening four new stores in Egypt before the end of the year.

The company will open two stores at Borg el Arab International Airport, one in the departures area and one in arrivals. Furthermore, Dufry will open two stores (again, one in departures and one in arrivals) in the international hall at Assiut Airport.

All four projects are expected to be completed before the end of the year. Martinez asserts that the retail space of the four new stores combined will measure 958-square-meters.

Source

Great Trip-Report including EgyptAir's brand new A330-300!

2010-12-22T01:14:00.000+01:00

Special for the people who like to read trip reports.

An Airliner.net member made a very good trip report including Egyptair's A320-200 and A330-300 also information about Cairo Airport and their Star Alliance lounges.

The Trip Report...

Enjoy!

Cairo Airport shuttle damaged in storm to be replaced by French manufacturer

2010-12-22T00:59:00.001+01:00

Cairo Airport Company Chairman Hassan Rashed has decided to send the electric shuttle train intended to link Cairo International Airport’s three main terminals back to France--where it was manufactured--to be replaced with a new one.

The decision came after the original shuttle was severely damaged by recent storms near Alexandria as it was being transported to Egypt by sea.

Rashed told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he had informed the French manufacturers of the shuttle of his decision, saying that, even if sea water had not leaked into the shuttle’s working parts, the vibrations that occurred as a result of the storm may have damaged it.

He went on to note that the relevant insurance company would be responsible for the transportation costs incurred by the shuttle's return to France. He stressed that, despite the setback, the shuttle service would commence operations in July as originally planned.

According to Rashed, the technical committee responsible for assessing damage to the shuttle was unable to assess the extent of the damage since the ship transporting it was still at sea.

Cairo Airport Automated People Mover

Source

Egyptair's Maintenance & Engineering Video

2010-12-22T00:54:00.001+01:00

A quite enjoyable video about Egyptair's Maintenance & Engineering department.

Enjoy!

Air Arabia to launch Sohag flight late-Dec 2010

2010-12-22T00:50:00.002+01:00

Air Arabia starting 26DEC10 begins 2 weekly Sharjah – Sohag service in Egypt with Airbus A320 aircraft.
Schedule below:

G9677 SHJ0730 – 0930HMB 320 13
G9678 HMB1010 – 1515SHJ 320 13

Source

EGYPTAIR plans 4th weekly Cairo – Toronto service upon route launch in Jun 2011

2010-12-22T00:44:00.000+01:00

As per 21DEC10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR plans to add 4th weekly service on new Cairo – Toronto service upon launch from 01JUN11. However, the 4th weekly service is currently not available for reservation.
Further, the airline has modified planned operational schedule on this route, which the schedule is changed to 60-90 minutes later :

MS995 CAI0101 – 0640YYZ 77W x357
MS996 YYZ1300 – 0730+1CAI 77W x357
Day 2 service currently not available for reservation

Source

EgyptAir Maintenance extends aircraft types after successful EASA audit

2010-12-22T00:42:00.000+01:00

EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering has added aircraft types B757-200/300, B767-200/300, Airbus A330-200/30 powered by GE CF6 and Embraer E190/195 to its capability to serve EgyptAir fleet.
The new approvals will also work towards its goals of attracting more customers operating different aircraft types from around the Middle East and African region.
The move came after the successful EASA audit on EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering to renew the validity of its approval certificate. The audit was conducted in two phase:
The first phase: was conducted on the activities in outstations in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The result of this audit reveals the perfect compliance with the regulatory requirements.
In the second phase: A complete audit was performed on all the company's activities and the related facilities in which the activities are exercised in line maintenance, base maintenance, all overhaul workshops and engine workshops. All activities and applicable procedures were checked even interviews were conducted with the staff to evaluate their competency with respect to understanding the rules of regulations together with the company's procedures and the technical tasks they are assigned to perform.

Source

EgyptAir begins codeshare with SAS

2010-12-22T00:40:00.003+01:00

Arabian Aerospace

EgyptAir and Scandinavia's SAS airline have agreed a codeshare partnership on flights from the northern Europe countries and Africa.
EgyptAir customers are now able to fly between Copenhagen - Stockholm, Copenhagen - Oslo, Copenhagen - Gothenburg , Copenhagen - Brussels and from Athens to Copenhagen onboard SAS when booking with EgyptAir. In return, SAS customers now can fly between Cairo - Copenhagen, from Cairo to Athens and from Brussels to Cairo.
“Our customers now can fly within Northern Europe without exerting more effort.” EgyptAir airlines chairman Capt Alaa Ashour said. “EgyptAir is always looking for providing its customers with the best travel options in coordination with our co-member carriers in Star Alliance.”
As being Star Alliance members, both carriers Frequent Flyer customers will be able to accrue and redeem miles on the code-share flights.

____________________________________________________

Airline Route

SAS and EGYPTAIR starting 15DEC10 begins codeshare cooperation, covering service between Egypt and Scandinavia, including EGYPTAIR’s Cairo – Copenhagen route. Codeshare service also covers Athens and Brussels.
Codeshare routes and flight numbers below:

Route	MS Codeshare	SK Operating
Athens – Copenhagen	MS9490	SK778
Copenhagen – Brussels	MS9491	SK1591
Copenhagen – Gothenburg	MS9493	SK1444
Gothenburg – Copenhagen	MS9492 MS9494	SK437 SK1439
Copenhagen – Oslo	MS9487	SK1460
Oslo – Copenhagen	MS9486	SK1467
Copenhagen – Stockholm	MS9483	SK1424
Stockholm – Copenhagen	MS9484	SK1421
	SK Codeshare	MS Operating
Copenhagen – Cairo	SK6127	MS760
Cairo – Copenhagen	SK6126	MS759
Cairo – Athens	SK6128	MS747
Brussels – Cairo	SK6129	MS726

Source

Source

RAK AIrways adds Cairo to its growing route network

2010-12-05T22:28:00.000+01:00

Ras Al Khaimah's carrier RAK Airways, has added a fifth destination to its growing route network with flights to Cairo, Egypt from December 15th

RAK Airways will offer three flights a week to the Egyptian capital..

RAK Airways Chairman Sheikh Omar Bin Saqr Al Qassimi said, “With the announcement of our fifth destination to Cairo, Egypt, RAK Airways has highlighted its commitment to expanding its’ route network. We are pleased to have delivered on our mandate of adding three additional routes for our passengers within two months of launching our operation.”

“With new destinations to Cairo, Dhaka and Chittagong set for take-off on December 15^th , RAK Airways will be able to further enhance our high-value offering. With our competitive fares, load factors on our inaguaural routes have been extremely positive and we are optimistic that we will be able to replicate this success with our Egypt and Bangladesh routes,” Sheikh Omar added.

RAK Airways new routes will be served by two Boeing 737- 800’s.

Source

EGYPTAIR launch Toronto service from June 2011

2010-12-05T22:25:00.000+01:00

As per 01DEC10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR starting 01JUN11 is to launch 3 weekly Cairo – Toronto NONSTOP service on board Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Schedules of the new flight as follows:

MS995 CAI2355 – 0540+1YYZ 77W 357
MS996 YYZ1130 – 0600+1CAI 77W 146

Source

EGYPTAIR/South African Airways to expand codeshare service from Dec 2010

2010-12-05T22:22:00.002+01:00

Star Alliance members EGYPTAIR and South African Airways from 05DEC10 begins expanding their codeshare operation, which becomes bilateral codeshare instead of unilateral. EGYPTAIR’s “MS” code is appearing on SAA selected domestic service, as well as to Harare, Lusaka and Mauritius.
In return, SAA is displaying “SA” code on selected EGYPTAIR’s domestic service, as well as to Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Codeshare routes and flight numbers below:

Route	MS Codeshare	SA Operating
Johannesburg – Cape Town	MS9442	SA327
Cape Town – Johannesburg	MS9443	SA352
Johannesburg – Durban	MS9444	SA543
Durban – Johannesburg	MS9445	SA570
Johannesburg – Harare	MS9446	SA022
Harare – Johannesburg	MS9447	SA023
Johannesburg – Lusaka	MS9448	SA062
Lusaka – Johannesburg	MS9449	SA063
Johannesburg – Mauritius	MS9450	SA190
Mauritius – Johannesburg	MS9451	SA191
	SA Codeshare	MS Operating
Cairo – Luxor	SA7181	MS351
Luxor – Cairo	SA7180	MS356
Cairo – Sharm el Sheikh	SA7183	MS301
Sharm el Sheikh – Cairo	SA7182	MS306
Cairo – Abu Dhabi	SA7185	MS914
Abu Dhabi – Cairo	SA7184	MS915
Cairo – Doha	SA7187	MS935
Doha – Cairo	SA7186	MS936

EGYPTAIR operated by SAA

SAA operated by EGYPTAIR

Source

EGYPTAIR Initial Summer 2011 International operation changes

2010-12-05T22:13:00.000+01:00

As per 02DEC10 GDS timetable display, initial EGYPTAIR planned Summer 2011 International service changes as follows.
Please note further changes are likely.

Cairo – Abu Dhabi MS914/915 29MAR11 – 31AUG11 777-200 replace A330-200
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 – Copenhagen Introduction of 4th weekly, service operates on Mondays
MS759 CAI1100 – 1445CPH 738 x246
MS760 CPH1545 – 2120CAI 738 x246
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 (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, compared to from 2 to 3 in S10
Cairo – London Heathrow
MS777/778 Continuation of Daily 777-300ER operation
MS779/780 eff 01SEP11 Airbus A330-300 replace -200
Cairo – Malta Flight number change, MS553/554 replaces MS443/444
Cairo – Milan Malpensa 9th weekly service introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Mumbai 5th weekly service introduced in W10 maintained in S11
Cairo – Munich 2 of 7 weekly operated by A330-200, 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 – Tokyo Narita Continuation of Daily 777-300ER, introduced from 01MAR11
Cairo – Toronto eff 01JUN11 New 3 weekly service on board Boeing 777-300ER (posted on the blog on 01DEC10)
Cairo – Tripoli Increase to 14 weekly in W10 maintained in S11
Hurghada – Geneva Seasonal 1 weekly service appears to be not operating in S11
Luxor – Kuwait Service Reduced to 2 weekly in W10 maintained in S11
Luxor – Paris CDG Seasonal 1 weekly service appears to be not operating in S11
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 appears to be not operating in S11
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

ANA plans EGYPTAIR codeshare service

2010-11-30T20:45:00.000+01:00

Subject to Government Approval, ANA plans to codeshare on EGYPTAIR’s service between Japan and Cairo, which is already listed on ANA’s January 2011 timetable, but is not available for reservation at present time.
Codeshare flight numbers below:

Route	NH Codeshare	MS Operating
Osaka – Cairo	NH6381	MS963
Cairo – Osaka	NH6380	MS962
Osaka – Luxor – Cairo	NH6381	MS963
Tokyo Narita – Cairo	NH6383	MS965
Cairo – Tokyo Narita	NH6382	MS964

Source

Nesma looks to EgyptAir for MRO for its start up carrier

2010-11-30T20:43:00.002+01:00

Nesma Airlines - the brand new Egyptian airline owned by the Nesma conglomerate of Heddah is lining up operations for its a fleet of modern Airbus 320 aircraft to run from its commercial hub in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El Sheikh.

The Saudi airline has announced that it has selected EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering to deliver the vital MRO services for the company’s fleet
At present, Nesma Airlines operates flights from cities in several European countries, such as Italy, Spain, France and Poland, to the many popular destinations in Egypt, which, in addition to Sharm El Sheikh, include Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Luxor and Alexandria. The airline plans to offer flights from Jeddah to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada in the near future, possibly as early as summer 2011.
The MRO contract was signed by Eng. Abdel Aziz Fadel, Chairman& CEO of EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering and Mr. Ashraf Lamloum, NESMA Air General Manager.

The airline currently has two A320s but will be adding as operations continue to grow.

Source

EgyptAir's latest 737-800 is delivered to Cairo

2010-11-30T20:42:00.000+01:00

EgyptAir's 15th B737-800 landed on Cairo for the first time yesterday after a 14 hours flight from Boeing factory in Seattle.

“With this new aircraft, EgyptAir fleet currently comprises 70 aircraft with the latest technology and services” announced eng Hussein Massoud, EgyptAir holding chairman and ceo. he added “we aim at providing our customers with the best products and services that can meet their demand.”
Receiving the newest B737-800 at Cairo Airport, Capt Alaa Ashour, EgyptAir airlines chairman said “the new plane, as a medium range aircraft, will operate on EgyptAir’s African and European destinations. this plane accommodates 24 business class seats in order to meet the demand on business travel.”
The seat pitch on the EgyptAir 737 has been increased to hit 48’ which exceeds the international norm on medium range aircraft. further, It is also equipped with video-on-demand (vod) entertainment features and laptop power outlets.
EgyptAir has five more of the type on order with deliveries planned before the end of 2012.

Source

EgyptAir online check-in now also for International Flights!

2010-11-19T19:53:00.001+01:00

EgyptAir has recently introduced online check-in for domestic flights and now you can check-in online for International flights!

Click here to visit EgyptAir Online Check-In Website..

Aerosvit to launch Cairo service from Mar 2011

2010-11-19T19:47:00.000+01:00

Aerosvit starting 01MAR10 introduces 3 weekly Kiev – Cairo service on board Boeing 737-300/-500 aircraft. Cairo is the Ukrainian carrier’s first destination in Egypt with regular scheduled service.
Schedule as per 19NOV10 GDS timetable display below:

VV271 KBP2030 – 0005+1CAI 737 257
VV272 CAI0055 – 0440KBP 737 146

Source

EGYPTAIR aircraft changes to Dubai and London from Jan 2011

2010-11-15T11:20:00.000+01:00

As per 15NOV10 GDS timetable display, new changes to EGYPTAIR’s service to Dubai and London Heathrow effective 01JAN11 as follows:

Cairo – Dubai 2 Daily service all operated by Airbus A330-300 (MS910/911 Day 1 from CAI, Day 2 from DXB -200), replacing previous plan of mixed A330-300 and 777-300ER
Cairo – London Heathrow MS777/778 Boeing 777-300ER operates Daily, replace A330-300

Source

EGYPTAIR Operates 18 weekly flights to London Heathrow

2010-11-14T23:45:00.000+01:00

Within its strategy to enhance the network, EGYPTAIR increased its flights to London Heathrow to reach 18 weekly direct flights.
EGYPTAIR currently operates 11 weekly flights after the addition of the two afternoon services starting December 4th. In addition to 7 weekly code-share flights onboard the Star Alliance Member, BMI. Now EGYPTAIR has 4 afternoon services on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Noteworthy that EGYPTAIR operates daily morning flight operated with the newest A330-300 which is equipped with the WI-FI internet and Mobile connectivity onboard. Also, this aircraft has Lay Flat Bed seats in Business and personal screens in all classes which enable the customers selecting from hundreds of entertainment options.
In this regard, Capt. Alaa Ashour, EGYPTAIR AIRLINES CHAIRMAN and CEO said "Our current strategy focuses on increasing the frequencies on the main routes. Our statistics show that the demand is increasing on this route which links the customers with other British cities such as, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburg, Aberdeen and Belfast, thus, the company decided to add more frequencies on this route."

Source

EgyptAir adds Zambia to its African expansion plans

2010-11-14T23:42:00.000+01:00

EgyptAir has announced a new four-times-a-week service to Lusaka in Zambia.
Africa has become a pioneer developing market because of the current investments, economic development and the great commercial uprising in Africa, said the airline’s Chairman and CEO, Capt Alaa Ashour
EgyptAir will start operation to Lusaka from January 16^th , 2011 on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“Our ambitious plan focuses on network development and expansion, and we will add new routes in Africa and increase the number of our daily service especially after operating from Terminal 3 in Cairo Airport, which is the main hub of North Africa” Ashour, said.
“With the new service to Lusaka, EgyptAir’s African network now reaches 18 destinations with a total of 102 weekly flights.”
Ashour said the airline aims to cover 46 African destinations through its code share agreements and its Star Alliance links with Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airlines.

Source

Egypt Air Inflight Services signs a whale of a deal

2010-11-11T11:28:00.000+01:00

The in-flight services division of Egypt Air Holdings has signed a catering contract with Moby Dick Solutions.
Speaking at AVEX - the Egyptian Air Show - this morning, chairman of the subsidiary Mostafa El Gammal said the contract was worth US$5 million annually.
Moby Dick is the largest of the private airline contractors operating in Egypt and under the new agreement will now supply catering services to Egypt Air In Flight Services customers at Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh airports. The contract covers services to charter airlines as well as VIP aircraft using these key Egyptian tourist hot spots.

Source

A380 Pyramid selling to woo Egyptians

2010-11-11T11:26:00.000+01:00

The Airbus A380 flight test aircraft flew over the Pyramids for the first time ever today

This special flight concluded the first A380 visit to Egypt during which the A380 attended the AVEX International Airshow at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport this week.
Following airport compatibility tests carried out at Cairo International Airport the flight demonstrated that the Egyptian capital airport is capable of handling A380 operations.

Source

Rolls-Royce wins $350 million order from Egyptair

2010-11-11T11:24:00.000+01:00

Rolls-Royce announced today that it has won an order worth $350m from Egyptair for extended TotalCare® long-term services for 12 Airbus A330 aircraft.
Egyptair currently operates eight A330s and four are due to be delivered in 2010 and 2011.
The announcement - which comes amid remaining investors' concerns raised since one of Rolls-Royce's engines broke apart on a Qantas flight last Thursday - helped stem some of the 3.4% losses seen in today's early trading of Rolls-Royce shares.
Metin Oktay, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace Vice President – Africa, said: “We are delighted that Egyptair has once again demonstrated their confidence in Rolls-Royce. The combination of the Trent 700 and the TotalCare® support package delivers significant reliability and performance benefits to enhance their operation.”
Abdel Aziz Fadel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Egyptair Maintenance and Engineering, said: “The Trent 700 has proven itself in service as an effective solution for our A330 fleet in terms of both economics and the environment, proving itself particularly resilient when operating in hot or high altitude locations.”
Alaa Ashour, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EgyptAir Airlines, said: “Our extension of TotalCare® is a reflection of the value we place on the service, which allows us to predict and fully manage costs.”
The Trent 700 is the only engine specifically designed for the Airbus A330 and over 1,000 are now in service or on firm order. The engine has captured more than 75% of orders in the last three years. More than 90% of Trent engines in service have TotalCare® support.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Rolls-Royce jet engine going into service in Egypt, an Avon.

Source

Kuwait Airways adds Sohag service and replace Luxor

2010-11-02T17:48:00.000+01:00

Kuwait Airways has launched new service to Sohag in Egypt. This replaces service to Luxor, which is located South east of Sohag.
It is operating 1 weekly Kuwait – Sohag round trip and 2 weekly Kuwait – Sohag – Sharm el Sheikh – Kuwait.
Schedule below:

KU549 KWI0920 – 1055HMB 320 1
KU550 HMB1200 – 1535KWI 320 1
KU549 KWI0955 – 1135HMB1245 – 1340SSH1440 – 1755KWI 320 6
KU550 HMB1245 – 1340SSH1440 – 1755KWI 320 6
KU549 KWI1540 – 1720SSH1810 – 1905HMB2000 – 2330KWI 320 3
KU550 SSH1810 – 1905HMB2000 – 2330KWI 320 3

Source

EGYPTAIR adds Sohag, Egypt service

2010-11-01T15:21:00.002+01:00

EGYPTAIR has launched new service to Sohag in Egypt. The Star Alliance carrier is operating 2 weekly Cairo – Sohag and Sohag – Kuwait service, operated Airbus A320 aircraft.
Sohag is situated Northwest of Luxor.
Schedule below:

Cairo – Sohag
MS158 CAI0700 – 0810HMB 320 15
MS159 HMB1625 – 1735CAI 320 15
Sohag – Kuwait City
MS623 HMB0855 – 1325KWI 320 15
MS624 KWI1335 – 1540HMB 320 15

Source

Egypt buys three C295 aircraft from Airbus

2010-10-29T16:35:00.000+02:00

The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) signed a contract with Airbus Military for the acquisition of three C295 aircraft.

The aircraft are to be delivered from 2011 and will be used to increase the Egyptian Air Force’s capacity in tactical and logistic transport.
The Egyptian Air Force now becomes a new Airbus Military customer for the first time.

The Egyptian Air Force said it selected the C295 because of its ease of maintenance and proven operational capabilities, especially in desert areas. Furthermore, its versatility and adaptability to the most varied type of conditions and operations were another key element in the selection of the Airbus Military C295.
Today, 85 C295 have been ordered by 13 customers, 64 of which are being operated in 11 countries.
About the C295

Source

Aegean Airlines Cairo service Adjustments

2010-10-25T12:02:00.000+02:00

Athens – Cairo 5 weekly service switches from Avro RJ85 to Airbus A320 with operational schedule changes.

A3930 ATH1140 – 1340CAI AR1 x15 -30OCT10
A3930 ATH0845 – 1050CAI 320 x23 31OCT10-
A3931 CAI1430 – 1640ATH AR1 x15 -30OCT10
A3931 CAI1135 – 1335ATH 320 x23 31OCT10-

Source

Hainan Airlines launch 2 weekly Beijing – Cairo service from Nov 2010

2010-10-25T11:53:00.000+02:00

Hainan Airlines from 17NOV10 is launching 2 weekly Beijing – Cairo service on board Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The airline eventually plans to extend service to Algiers in the near future.
Schedule, which is loaded into the system on 30SEP10, as follows:

HU7941 PEK0030 – 0610CAI 330 35
HU7942 CAI0810 – 0050+1PEK 330 35

Source

KLM S11 Long-haul Operation Changes: Update 2

2010-10-25T11:50:00.000+02:00

Amsterdam – Cairo Return of Boeing 747 service with -400COMBI: 74M Day 36 772 Day x36

Source

Egypt invites bids for air transport consultancy

2010-10-25T03:17:00.002+02:00

The contract involves determining the risks and opportunities for Egypt Air

The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (Ehcaan) is inviting consultants to submit bids by 15 November for a contract to provide services for an air transport policy of Egypt and strategic options.

The scope involves creating policy options for Egypt, an inventory of current bilateral air service agreements for Egypt, legal implications for further liberalisation of air services, expected market developments, risks and opportunities for Egypt’s national carrier and policy recommendation for the next 10 years.

The consultancy contract is due to be implemented in the first quarter of 2011 and will take seven months to carry out.

Ehcaan is also due to award a consultancy contract, which involves carrying out a detailed inventory of all airport-related fees and taxes and a traffic forecast. In a separate deal, Ehcaan also invited consultants to submit expressions of interest in developing new air traffic control infrastructure and management strategies for terminal two at Cairo International airport by 31 March. This contract was due to be implemented in the second quarter of 2010 (MEED 22:3:10).

Egypt is currently planning a $400m renovation of terminal two at Cairo International airport. Cairo Airport Company, a division of Ehcaan, prequalified six companies for the deal in August. Companies are invited to submit bids for the construction contract by 20 December.

Source: Meed

Egyptian Aviation Blog goes social!

2010-10-24T23:35:00.001+02:00

Hi everybody!

Maybe you have already seen it. Egyptian Aviation Blog had a small make-over!
I've added new features like a Translation Gadget and several Social networking Gadgets.

So do you have a friend who is interested in (Egyptian) Aviation... Please share this blog with Facebook, Twitter etc.

I will add more features soon! I hope you like the changes.

Do you have questions, problems or you just want to say something? Contact at: egyptianaviation@gmail.com

Best Regards,

Karim Noaman.

Egypt Air to enhance Mumbai-Cairo service from Nov

2010-10-24T16:19:00.000+02:00

MUMBAI: Cairo-based Egypt Air plans to enhance frequency of its services from the city from next month, a senior airline official said.

The airline currently operates four flights a week from Mumbai to Cairo. “We will be enhancing our flight frequency from Mumbai.

We will launch the fifth service on the Mumbai-Cairo sector from November 2,” Egypt Air’s General Manager (India), Mr Ahmed Wasfy, told reporters here on Thursday.

By end-2011, Egypt Air aims to operate a daily service from the city, he said. The airline operates a Boeing 737-800 aircraft in two configurations - economy and business class - on the India route.

Egypt Air, which operates in India only from Mumbai is also mulling connectivity from other cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata, Wasfy said. “We are quite keen to operate from other Indian cities as well. However, we are waiting for airc raft deliveries. But whenever we expand in India, Delhi will be the first city,” he said.

Egypt Air presently has 65 aircraft in its fleet, a mix of both Airbus and Boeing. “Twelve more aircraft are on order and these are to be delivered to the airline by 2012,” he said. - PTI

Source

Egypt-Iran flights to resume after 30 year break

2010-10-24T16:18:00.000+02:00

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt and Iran have agreed to resume direct flights between their capitals for the first time since 1979, Egypt's ministry of civil aviation said on Monday, but an official played down any chance of a political thaw.

The two countries severed ties in 1980 following Iran's Islamic revolution and Egypt's recognition of Israel.

Sameh Hefni, head of Egypt's civil aviation authority, and Hamid Ghavabesh, deputy chief of the Iranian national aviation company, signed an agreement providing for up to 28 flights between Cairo and Tehran per week, the ministry said in a statement. No start date for the flights was given.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hosam Zaki said the deal strengthened existing economic ties between the two countries, but added that political ties were a different matter.

"It is a development in the relations between Egypt and Iran," Zaki told Reuters. "Both countries have economic interests that have not stopped regardless of the political situation.

"But political developments require certain conditions Egypt has voiced in the past," he added.

The two countries are at odds on a number of issues including the Middle East peace process and ties with Israel and the United States. The deal was struck as Iran faces pressure from international economic sanctions.

Egypt is upset with Iran for continuing to praise Khaled Islamboli, who assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 following the peace deal with Israel.

The two regional powers, predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran and mainly Sunni Egypt, have competed for influence in the Middle East.

(Writing and reporting by Marwa Awad; editing by David Stamp)

Source

Heading north

2010-10-24T15:42:00.001+02:00

The national carrier has re-launched its service to Copenhagen after six years of suspension. Amirah Ibrahim joined the opening flight to the Danish capital; the only direct service between Africa and Scandinavia

Click to view caption

The flight took off from Cairo International without the usual fanfare when an airline launches a new service, neither at the airport nor onboard. A delegation headed by Marketing Manager Magda Metwali and Planning Manager Hussein El-Sherif joined the flight which left at 10 am. It took almost four and half hours to reach Copenhagen. Egyptian Ambassador to Denmark Nabil Habashi and his wife welcomed the passengers at the tube gate. However, due to bad luck, we were only able to leave the airport at 5pm due to tough security procedures. The delegation had to drop off all printed publications they brought to use at a cocktail reception.

A short briefing took place at the airport while watching the Egyptian plane being showered with water by fire fighting vehicles as it was getting ready for the return flight to Cairo.

Speaking to Al-AhramWeekly, Ambassador Habashi indicated that there are an estimated 2500 Egyptians who live in Denmark, and that the route represented a boon to the work of the Egyptian mission. "It would certainly facilitate the transfer of Arabs and Africans who live in Copenhagen in large numbers," explained Habashi. "As for Muslims, the new route will serve Muslim Europeans who want to perform Hajj and Omra, not only from Denmark but from all Scandinavian countries," he added. According to Habashi, about 70-80,000 Arabs and 30-40,000 Africans live in Denmark.

Six years ago, the Copenhagen route had to be suspended along with 14 other international destinations to stop loss bleeding. A comprehensive study found out that those routes only captured 5% of market traffic. "We are definite not going to repeat the mistakes of the past," replied EgyptAir Airline Chairman and CEO Captain Alaa Ashour. "The route had been previously served with two flights weekly, one was operated via Stockholm. This is not what European passengers want, as they prefer to fly direct flights," Ashour told the Weekly in Cairo.

Ashour also indicated that the route relied mainly on tourists which could not help it to survive. "Tourists prefer to use charter flights to Red Sea resorts and we do not have intentions to compete with charter business. Now with Cairo International a hub and with EgyptAir expanding the fleet, we target different categories of passengers," he explained. EgyptAir, is planning to increase hub traffic passing through its new T3 terminal at Cairo airport from 4-6 per cent last year to 30 per cent by the end of 2011.

"We are negotiating a code share agreement with SAS which will boost the business of the airline in European and African markets,' Ashour added.

The new route is currently served with three weekly flights, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday departing from Copenhagen at 3:45pm and from Cairo at 10:00am. The airline uses the B737 with the 24 business seats and 120 economy seats.

"With Egypt Air's extensive route network, this route opens up not only all of Egypt, but destinations such as South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the Middle East," explained Magda Metwali, the airline marketing manager. "The route has high potential considering the fact that Copenhagen acts as a hub for Scandinavian countries. We plan to add a fourth flight in April but by the end of 2011 the route will be served with five flights weekly," Metwali added.

Traffic flow between Copenhagen and Cairo is estimated to be 80,000 in total and EgyptAir will undoubtedly be looking to capture traffic from Scandinavia to Africa.

On the other hand, SAS stopped flying to Cairo in 2006, as did Cimber Sterling airline, so the sky seems clear of competitors.

A closer look at the airline schedules shows a clear lack of competition in the Africa-Scandinavia sector. Three airlines operate one weekly flight each on a charter base to Hurghada, Marrakesh and Tunis. All three are leisure-based operators serving leisure markets, which will not be a threat for EgyptAir.

Ashour indicated that all new routes were to operate through a General Sales Agent (GSA) to avoid extra costs. "It is really good news. International accessibility through direct routes to and from overseas destinations is vital for Danish industry," commented Ibrahim Ramadan, EgyptAir GSA Denmark. "Accessibility to these destinations and Cairo in particular is thus strengthened significantly, which is of great benefit to securing Danish business interests in Egypt, and also for the Danish business community in general," Ramadan explained.

Copenhagen airport calls itself 'Scandinavia's Hub'and serves as a Star Alliance hub for the main operating carrier SAS. That status is currently being strengthened as two other Star members, Air Canada and EgyptAir, are operating.

According to Carsten Norland, Vice President Sales Copenhagen airport, the new direct route closes an important gap in the route network from Copenhagen Airport. "This is the only direct flight that connects our airport to Africa, we are so pleased to have Egyptian flights back," he commented.

"We see big potential for this route as Africa is an ill-served market for us," added Norland. "A direct route to Cairo will not only boost the Copenhagen to Cairo market but also African-bound traffic due to Cairo's connectivity to the African continent."

The airline currently flies to 16 destinations in Africa, and has plans to add two new African destinations by early November 2010.

Source

Oman Air A330 to Cairo from Dec 2010 to Feb 2011

2010-10-24T15:39:00.000+02:00

Oman Air from 18DEC10 to 15FEB11 is introducing Airbus A330-300 service on Muscat – Cairo, operating twice a week. The 3-class A330-300 on this route will only be available for reservation in Business and Economy class, as per 18OCT10 GDS timetable display.

Schedule below:

WY403 MCT0920 – 1200CAI 333 26
WY403 MCT0920 – 1140CAI 738 4
WY401 MCT1200 – 1440CAI 738 x246

WY404 CAI1230 – 1820MCT 738 4
WY404 CAI1315 – 1900MCT 332 26
WY402 CAI1600 – 2145MCT 738 x246

Source

EGYPTAIR to start LOT Polish Codeshare service on Warsaw – Cairo

2010-10-24T15:35:00.001+02:00

EGYPTAIR from 28OCT10 is placing its “MS” code on LOT Polish Airlines’ Warsaw – Cairo route.

Codeshare flight numbers below:

Route	MS Codeshare	LO Operating
Cairo – Warsaw	MS9514	LO115
Warsaw – Cairo	MS9515	LO116

Source

Cairo Airport and their new 4000 meter toy

2010-10-24T15:26:00.005+02:00

Cairo Airport has opened their new 4000 meter runway. This runways is capable for next generation heavy airplane's like the Airbus A380. This new runway has all modern equipment like ILS systems.

Cairo Airport had to change the runway codes because of the new 3rd parallel runway. The new runway is called: 05R/25L

The first part of this video is about the new runway:

May this new runway have many safe take-offs and landings... Congratulations Cairo Airport!

Alexandria Borg el Arab New Airport Terminal Ready To Open!

2010-10-24T15:12:00.003+02:00

After months of delays Borg El Arab new Airport Terminal is finally done! It wil soon receive flights. The future plan is to relocate Alexandria El Nouzha Airport flights to Borg El Arab Airport for an extensive renovation of El Nouzha Airport. The plan is to make El Nouzha Airport an airport for Domestic flights and Borg el Arab for International flights.

Some info from Wikipedia about Borg el Arab's New airport terminal:

Borg El Arab is planned to become the principal airport of Alexandria from December 2010 when all traffic is transferred from Alexandria International Airport (currently Alexandria's busiest airport) which will close for two years while undergoing a major re-development program.

Borg El Arab Airport is undergoing a major expansion in terms of the airport's passenger and cargo handling capacity in response to growing demand and the new facilities are expected to become operational from the fourth quarter of 2010.

The airport will consist 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:

Ground floor: allocated for checking in and luggage handling.
Second floor: allocated for arrivals, both domestic and international, in addition to administrative offices and airlines offices.
Third floor: allocated for departures, both domestic and international, immigration procedures and a VIP hall. Commercial activities are spread among the three floors.
Four airbridges will connect the terminal building to aircraft.

The terminal will contain a duty free shop, a franchise food court, an area dedicated for travel offices and other travel-related services, a fuel supply unit, a control tower, and a fire station available to cover emergencies on site. Also a parking area on the building's front will provide space for 350 vehicles.

The estimated cost of the modernization plan is $120 million and is expected to be complete by summer 2010.

The airport has the capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers per year becoming an adequate replacement to Alexandria International Airport, which will shut down in summer 2010 for a two year period while the airport's facilities are overhauled. During this time all airlines operating to Alexandria will transfer to Borg El Arab Airport.

Youtube video's of the new terminal:

Congratulations Borg El Arab Airport!

EgyptAir takes delivery of 3th B777-300 for New York service

2010-10-24T15:10:00.002+02:00

Posted on 18 October 2010 in Air Transport

EgyptAir received its Thirth new Boeing 777-300ER - and the 69th aircraft in its fleet - earlier today.

Captain Alaa Ashour, EgyptAir Chairman and CEO, accompanied by Abdel Aziz Fadel, the chairman of EgyptAir engineering and other top officials welcomed the new aircraft when it landed at Cairo International airport.

Captain Alaa Ashour expressed his happiness with the arrival of the new aircraft saying, “With the arrival of this aircraft we our customers will be able to enjoy the luxury, comfort and exclusivity on our daily non-stop service to New York JFK.”

Hussein Massoud, the Chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company stated that “Today is another milestone in the process of continuous modernization of our fleet which goes in harmony with the overall modernization strategy of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The target of this strategy is to provide optimum travel services to and from Egypt".

Source

(This article is edited by me because the original article says it's EgyptAir's 4th 777-300ER and it's their 3rd actually)

EGYPTAIR launch 777-300ER service to New York from 18OCT10

2010-10-16T16:37:00.001+02:00

Per 15OCT10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR starting Monday 18OCT10 is introducing Boeing 777-300ER aircraft service on Cairo – New York JFK, replacing -200ER. (13 days earlier than planned)

With the introduction of -300ER model, First Class service will be terminated, with newly revamped Business Class and other inflight products.

Source

EGYPTAIR Latest changes to Bangkok and Guangzhou as of 15OCT10

2010-10-15T19:40:00.000+02:00

From 15DEC10, EGYPTAIR is to operate NONSTOP Cairo – Guangzhou service, replacing 1-stop service via Bangkok. As a result, Cairo – Bangkok will operate as Daily terminator flight.

Both route operates with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

Latest schedule as per 15OCT10 GDS timetable display as follows:

Cairo – Bangkok
MS960 CAI2240 – 1200+1BKK 777 D
MS961 BKK0050 – 0555CAI 777 D

Cairo – Guangzhou
MS958 CAI2315 – 1500+1CAN 777 x247
MS959 CAN2330 – 0555+1CAI 777 x135

Source

More wings

2010-10-12T20:34:00.000+02:00

Airbus and Boeing land in Cairo, reports Amirah Ibrahim

The national carrier is expanding its fleet with more new Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The carrier received its first Airbus A330-300 aircraft from the manufacturer's facility in Toulouse, France, two weeks ago. Being one of five aircraft ordered by EgyptAir at a total cost of $800 million, the other four A330 are under delivery by the end of 2011. "By then, the fleet is set to reach 72 aircraft," explained Alaa Ashour, EgyptAir Airline chairman. Powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, the aircraft seats 301 passengers; with 265 in Economy Class and 36 in Business Class.

The national carrier at present operates an Airbus fleet of 17 A320 family aircraft, seven A330-200s and three A340-200s. The new A330- 300 will be the first EgyptAir aircraft to feature onboard communications technology, enabling passengers to benefit from inflight mobile phone services and WI-FI internet access.

"This delivery is an important milestone in the history of EgyptAir .We will continue to bring the latest to our customers who deserve this premium and highly competitive product" stated Hussein Massoud, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company. "We are determined on the ambitious plan for fleet expansion and modernisation," he added.

According to Ashour, who flew the new aircraft himself to Cairo, the delivery of the first Airbus 330- 300 will add value to airline customers. "Passengers can now use these innovative services including the unparalleled comfort of the A330 cabin whilst the airline will benefit from the excellent reliability and economics offered," he explained. "The ongoing expansion of the fleet helps our plans to expand the network and boost services offered. The new aircraft will serve on African and European routes which we have great focus on," he added.

On the other hand, Airbus Customer Service rep John Leahy indicated that the Airbus aircraft shared a unique cockpit and operational system allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, for greater operational flexibility and significant cost savings.

The A330 is one of the most widely used widebody aircraft in service today. Over 700 A330s have already been delivered and the aircraft is currently flying with over 80 operators worldwide.

By early October, the national carrier is set to resume receiving two new Boeing aircraft, B737-800 and B777, as part of eight aircraft ordered and scheduled to be completely delivered by mid 2011

Source

Afriqiyah Airways W10 Network Changes

2010-10-12T20:29:00.001+02:00

Tripoli – Cairo eff 31OCT10 Airbus A320 replace A330, 5 weekly

Source

Lufthansa plans year-round Munich – Cairo service

2010-10-12T20:26:00.000+02:00

Once again Lufthansa is offering Munich – Cairo service with Privatair Boeing 737-800 aircraft, effective 31OCT10. Service operates 4 times a week.

In addition, as per 07OCT10 GDS timetable display, service is to operate year-round.

Schedule below:

LH586 MUC0930 – 1425CAI 73H x135
LH587 CAI1530 – 1845MUC 73H x135

Source

Never too old

2010-10-12T20:22:00.002+02:00

Cairo International airport is adding a new facility and upgrading capacity, Amirah Ibrahim reports

Click to view caption

Cairo Airport TB1 gets a makeover; Shafiq and top aides inspect the new facility

By 2013, Cairo International will get an absolutely different new look as a comprehensive process to upgrade, modernise and improve its performance is undergoing. A new facility is almost completed and due to host 3000 vehicles acting as the new Car Park of the old airport.

"Almost 75 per cent of construction works have been completed. And despite a three month delay, the airport will get a state of the art car park by early 2011. We are satisfied with the work done," commented Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq as he inspected construction works of the new facility.

The LE 220 million construction has been situated near the airport's new terminal building TB3, taking its typical design and colour. It consists of four floors each occupying a space of 18,000 square metres.

According to Shafiq, the new facility is completely controlled by a computerised network which provides advanced techniques to guide vehicles from the entrance to free places. Professional operators will be invited to an open tender to operate the park. The new park will be served by shuttle bus and automated people- mover services transferring passengers through the airport's three terminal buildings.

"The airport will be served through a number of free services that don't aim to be profitable. Such services help passengers transfer smoothly to and from the airport, particularly transit passengers who we will target in the coming phase of the developing project," stated Ibrahim Manaa, head of the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation. According to Manaa, the LE 650 APM is scheduled to operate by the middle of 2011.

A new seasonal terminal building is set to be constructed in 2011 to serve seasonal peak traffic in the airport, in particular, during Omrah and Hajj seasons which usually interrupt airport operations. According to Mannaa, the new terminal building is estimated to cost LE135 million and will hopefully be ready to serve by mid-2011.

"We are studying the possibility to build a modernised firefighting unit within the airport and operate it by our professional and well trained technicians who are qualified to fight airport fires where time and safety are highly valued," revealed Shafiq. Fire fighting in Egypt is one of the responsibilities of the Interior Ministry.

On the other hand, Cairo International at present is due for an upgrade which includes establishing a new transit hotel at a cost of LE500 million and a 350 room capacity. A new goods village is under construction costing some LE348 million. Both projects are set to be completed by mid-2012.

Cairo International will add more three million passengers per annum by the end of 2013 as it conducts an upgrade of its TB2 to expand its capacity from 4.5 million passengers to 7.5 million passengers. The new upgrade is estimated to cost LE2.3 billion.

Source

Egypt to manufacture first fighter, drone plane: MENA

2010-10-05T10:19:00.000+02:00

CAIRO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is set to produce its first fighter and drone "in cooperation with a foreign side", official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

"Talks and negotiations are underway about a project to produce Egypt's first fighter and drone plane," MENA quoted Lt. General Hamdy Waheba, Chairman of Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), Egypt's state-owned company specialized in producing civilian goods as well as military products.

The official did not name the foreign party which will take a hand at the process.

"Local production of the aircraft will meet the demand of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as it will be sold at a very competitive price," Waheba added.

The AOI was established in 1975 with the aim of building an advanced technology industrial base.

Egypt is one the major Arab countries dependent on importing military fighters from the United States and Russia.

Source

EGYPTAIR drops plan of A330 service to Bangkok/Guangzhou in W10

2010-10-01T14:46:00.001+02:00

As per 30SEP10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR has canceled its plan to operate Airbus A330-200 aircraft on 4 weekly Cairo – Bangkok – Guangzhou service during selected periods in Winter 2010 season.

Boeing 777-200ER to continue operate this route.

The Star carrier in the past 4 weeks has been shifting operating aircraft back-and-forth between A330 and 777 on this route.

EGYPTAIR W10 Aircraft swap to Bangkok/Guangzhou/Khartoum

2010-09-24T20:52:00.000+02:00

As per 24SEP10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR further adjusted planned aircraft changes in Winter 2010 season on Bangkok, Guangzhou (Airbus A330-200/Boeing 777 adjustments) and Khartoum (New Airbus A330-300 service) route.

Details:

Cairo – Bangkok 3 weekly
Planned Airbus A330-200 replacing 777 on certain periods in Winter 2010, shelved

Cairo – Bangkok – Guangzhou 4 weekly
Planned Airbus A330-200 replacing 777 on certain periods in Winter 2010 is to go ahead:
15DEC10 – 25DEC10
05FEB11 – 23FEB11

Cairo – Khartoum NEW Airbus A330-300 aircraft enter service eff 01JAN11, on:
MS853/854 Day x2

What's your opinion!? : About OnAir in-flight communication?

2010-09-23T20:21:00.004+02:00

People who visit this blog regularly probably know that EgyptAir has introduced OnAir systems in their new Airbus A330-300's. OnAir is a in-flight communication system in an airplane and when it's installed passengers can connect to Wi-fi Internet and they can make and receive phone calls on their mobile phone. More and More airlines are introducing this "OnAir" system.

Many people have diffrent opinions about this. Is it a good thing that people on their way in an airplane can talk loud on their mobile phones? or Is it very annoying for the other passengers?

So!.... What is your opinion!? Leave a comment behind with your thoughts about this OnAir system.

Vodafone launches in-flight roaming service

2010-09-23T20:19:00.000+02:00

Vodafone Egypt launched an in-flight roaming service aboard around 100 aircraft, available aboard EgyptAir where it is provided in partnership with OnAir, the telecom operator said in a statement.

Vodafone customers can make and receive calls, send and receive SMS, and access the internet on the aircraft during flight as they would on the ground. The service is safe and does not affect the navigation instruments, the statement read.

Vodafone Egypt has partnered with in-flight mobile phone services providers: the first is AeroMobile, operating on Emirates and Malaysia Airlines. Their services are currently available on 79 aircraft traveling to over 200 destinations around the world, including the popular Cairo to Dubai route.

The AeroMobile service is also launching later in the year with Air New Zealand and V Australia. In 2011 the service will also be available onboard Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific Airways

The second company OnAir is the world's only provider of both GSM services and WiFi based internet WiFi offering voice, e-mail, text services and internet access services on Egypt Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Oman Air and Qatar Airways, in addition to Wataniya (Kuwait) Airways, TAP Portugal and British Airways. OnAir is also due to launch its services on Emirates, Air Asia, Libyan Airlines, and TAM.

Source

EGYPTAIR further changes to Dubai operation in Winter 2010

2010-09-23T20:15:00.000+02:00

As per 23SEP10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR plans to further boost capacity on Cairo – Dubai service in Winter 2010 season. By January 2011, all 2 Daily service operates with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Latest operating aircraft change to Dubai in W10 as follows:

MS910/911
31OCT10 – 31DEC10 333 Day x15 738 Day 15
01JAN11 - 77W Daily

MS911 departs DXB following day

MS912/913 Daily
31OCT10 – 14DEC10 A330-200
15DEC10 – 31DEC10 777-200ER
01JAN11 - 777-300ER

Source

LOT Polish Airlines launch Egypt service from Nov 2010

2010-09-15T20:25:00.001+02:00

LOT Polish Airlines from 03NOV10 is starting 3 weekly Warsaw – Cairo service on board Boeing 737-400 aircraft.

Schedule below:

LO115 WAW2230 – 0320+1CAI 734 136
LO116 CAI0410 – 0720WAW 734 247

EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Changes as of 13SEP10

2010-09-13T19:51:00.001+02:00

As per 13SEP10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR’s latest changes to planned 2010/11 Winter season operation, as follows. This includes a new destination to Lusaka in Zambia, from January 2011.

Service to Almaty in Kazakhstan, is canceled.

Details:

Almaty
2 weekly Cairo – Almaty service canceled from 02NOV10. It is continuing service to Almaty through existing codeshare service with Turkish Airlines

Bangkok/Guangzhou
Airbus A330-200 replace Boeing 777-200ER on following periods:
11DEC10 – 25DEC10
05FEB11 – 23FEB11

Lusaka New 4 weekly service eff 16JAN11.
Service operates as Cairo – Dar es Salaam – Lusaka, which affects operational schedule on DAR to CAI sector

till 15JAN11
MS841 CAI2210 – 0500+1DAR 320 x135
MS842 DAR0600 – 1045CAI 320 x246

eff 16JAN11
MS841 CAI2230 – 0520+1DAR0620+1 – 0750+1LUN 320 x135
MS842 LUN2150 – 0120+1DAR0215+1 – 0700+1CAI 320 x246

Departure from DAR to CAI is Day x357

Source

2010-09-08T18:21:00.000+02:00

Air Arabia Maroc from Casablanca – Alexandria Borg el Arab service with Airbus A320 effective 04OCT10. Service operates 3 times a week, increasing to 4 from 31OCT10.

Schedule below:

till 30OCT10
3O503 CMN1620 – 2255HBE 320 246
3O504 HBE2340 – 0255+1CMN 320 246

eff 01NOV10
3O2505 CMN1500 – 2140HBE 320 x357
3O2506 HBE2225 – 0200+1CMN 320 x357

Source

OnAir behind the EgyptAir connectivity

2010-09-05T11:32:00.000+02:00

OnAir has been named as the connectivity provider for EgyptAir's new Airbus A330-300 aircraft which began operations today

It launched full Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir inflight passenger communications services on the first of EgyptAir's fleet of twin-aisle Airbus 330-300 aircraft – with more scheduled to be equipped in coming months. The aircraft operates to London.

EgyptAir's customers will be able to stay connected inflight using their own mobile phones or smartphones. Customers will also be able to access the Internet just as they do on the ground by connecting their laptops wirelessly.

In providing both GSM/GPRS as well as Wi-Fi Internet, OnAir enables EgyptAir's customers to have available to them the broadest range of inflight connectivity options available anywhere in the world today, enabling them for example to surf the Internet, check the weather forecast at destination, buy theatre tickets, or make arrangements for transport from their airport to their place of residence – all of this as well as checking in with colleagues or putting in a goodnight call to a loved one.

EgyptAir Airlines Chairman and CEO, Captain Alaa Ashour, said, “Today, we are providing EgyptAir's customers with the latest services and greater choices. OnAir inflight connectivity helps us further differentiate our offering, and enables our customers not only to stay in touch but to access online services as they travel.”

Ian Dawkins, Chief Executive Officer of OnAirsaid: " We’re delighted to be helping provide EgyptAir's customers from today with a full range of connectivity services as they travel – services that travellers are increasingly expecting to have at their disposal. Within 2 to 3 years, we’re convinced that all airlines will demand this level of onboard mobile communications,”
Mobile OnAir uses the industry’s most advanced and extensive infrastructure for mobile communications, along with Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, high capacity services from Inmarsat 4th generation satellites.

Source

Egypt's Smart Aviation orders two Bombardier turboprops

2010-08-31T04:28:00.000+02:00

Bombardier Inc. said Monday Egypt's Smart Aviation Co. has placed a firm order for two 70-80-seater Q400NG airliners worth $62 million U.S. at list price.

The airline has taken options on three more turboprops, raising the potential value of the deal to $158 million U.S.

The three-year-old Smart Aviation, based in Cairo, which runs a corporate jet charter business, is starting up a commercial airline to benefit from rising business and tourist travel in the Mid-east.

The Q400s will be used for the launch of scheduled and charter services throughout the region,

Bombardier has a firm Q400 order backlog of 91 aircraft. They are built at its Toronto plant with engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada in Longueuil.

Source: The Montreal Gazette

EgyptAir takes delivery of its first new A330-300 and offers full in-flight connectivity

2010-08-31T01:53:00.002+02:00

Posted on 29 August 2010 in Air Transport

EgyptAir has received its first Airbus 330-300. It will begin the morning route between Cairo and London and starts the full onboard connectivity service from the airline.

The new A330 embraces a number of the latest technologies like using the wireless internet and personal mobile on board.

A spokesman for EgyptAir said “Besides using the GSM, SMS and GPRS services. The passengers flying onboard the new A330-300 will be able to make phone calls through their personal mobiles with the same international calls rate of their service providers, in addition to the ability of sending SMS and using the mobile internet service. Moreover, the customers will enjoy using the WI-FI service throughout their flight”.

The A330-300 has 301 seats, of which 36 are in business class and 265 in economy class. All EgyptAir business class customers flying onboard the aircraft will be able to recharge their personal devices and will be able to sleep on their 160ْ Flat Beds. The airline also promises hundreds of entertainment options with personal entertainment system screened on the 15.4” screens.

The economy seats also provide wider seats than on the older models and with personal entertainment system displayed on the back of every seat there also individual power sources for passenger’s laptops and other electronic equipment.

The new aircraft arrived in Cairo at 14:00h local time yesterday following an official handover ceremony in Toulouse between Fouad El- Attar, Airbus Middle East Vice Chairman and Capt Alaa Ashour, the chairman and CEO of the airline.

The aircraft was met at Cairo International Airport by the chairman of the airline’s parent company, Hussein Massoud with a number of Egyptian Civil Aviation and EgyptAir officials

Massoud said “The delivery of this aircraft - the first of five A330-300 orders - comes in line with the continuous strategic development of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Sector under the leadership of HE Ahmed Shafiq, the Egyptian Minister of Civil aviation and also comes within EgyptAir’s ambitious plan to expand and modernize the fleet and the continuous development EgyptAir services.”

Source

Video's:

Interview with EgyptAir CEO About the new A330-300 and EgyptAir:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

NEW EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Changes as of 26AUG10

2010-08-27T00:16:00.000+02:00

As per 26AUG10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR’s new changes to Planned 2010/11 Winter operation, which mainly replaces most information posted on 09AUG10, as follows

Cairo – Dubai Aircraft change, Boeing 777-300ER to operate this route, 8 times a week starting 01JAN11. The 777-300ER operates alongside with 5 weekly NEW A330-300 aircraft and 1 weekly 737

MS912/913
31OCT10 – 31DEC10 330 Daily
01JAN11 – 25MAR11 77W Daily

MS910/911
31OCT10 – 03JAN11 333 Day x15 738 Day 1
04JAN11 – 25MAR11 333 Day x15 77W Day 5 738 Day 1

Cairo – London Heathrow Planned Boeing 777-300ER service from 01JAN11, shelved
MS777/778 333 Daily
MS779/780 330 Day 567

Cairo – Paris CDG Planned Airbus A330-300 effective 01JAN11, shelved
MS799/800 330 Daily
MS803/804 320 Day 47

It's plastic fantastic for EgyptAir

2010-08-25T22:58:00.001+02:00

Posted on 9 August 2010 in Flight Services & Support.

EgyptAir is the only airline to manufacture its own plastics for aircraft interior, as well as manufacturing for other airlines.

Aero Plast, part of EgyptAir’s Supplementary Industries, a subsidiary of EgyptAir Holding Company, has its large factory located a few minutes from Cairo International Airport.

“We manufacture all the injection plastic used for catering on aircraft such as the cutlery, the plates and glasses as well as the plastic covering for sugar, creamers and the towel refreshers,” said Kamel Mansour, chairman consultant.

“We also manufacture the plastic of the spare parts for the aircraft, particularly the seats, which is JAA certified.”

The subsidiary started up in 2004 and rapidly grew in to a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week manufacturing facility.

“We have a production section and a machine section and currently have 320 staff working on a shift basis so the machines are constantly running. Imagine the hundreds of passengers a day that all use the cutlery, which is then thrown away, apart from the catering equipment used in Business Class and First Class sections that keeps for longer,” said Mansour.

The former General in the Egyptian Air Force has been chairman of the plant for four months and has already increased the company’s facility by buying three more production machines.

“When the factory first started out six years ago there were just four industrial machines and today we have 20. We buy them from all over the world, from Germany to Taiwan , but everything else needed, like the raw materials such as the sugars and creamers, we work with local supply companies.”

EgyptAir is the only airline to produce its own plastic materials.

“We also manufacture for Nile Airlines, Yemen Airlines, Libyan Airlines and Nigerian Airlines, as well as VIP jets and we hope to add to that list. We are a very progressive facility here,” said Mansour. “We make the designs here and we produce moulds with the CNC machines. Once an order is in we make the logo and start producing the moulds. From design to delivery it takes around two months. Obviously once that mould is set it is ongoing.”

Mansour is looking to the future. “We’re aiming to get new machines for injection forming as well as increasing the product line in the next year or two,” he said. “We are also looking at new machines for the raw materials for the plastics and aiming to increase the product line for the spare parts for the aircraft as well as making the maintenance and repair for all airlines.”

Africa Calling

2010-08-25T22:53:00.003+02:00

Posted on 10 August 2010 in Air Transport.

Alan Peaford meets the two men driving EgyptAir Holdings and the country's national airline to its new strategic role.

SOCIAL WORKS

Why EgyptAir plays a vital role in the social and economic support of its country

You only have to look at the hundreds of ancient monuments that are found throughout Egypt to understand that for several millennia the country has been at a crossroads between Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

In aviation terms too, the country’s national carrier has its roots back in ancient times as one of the earliest airlines in the world – it was founded in 1932 as Misr Airwork – and has been a steady performer over the past 80 years.

But today it is embarking on a new growth strategy, supported by its membership of the Star Alliance, that will see it straddle the traffic to those old trading routes and take on the might of the wealthy Gulf carriers.

EgyptAir is more than an airline. The legacy carrier is one of nine subsidiaries under the umbrella of EgyptAir Holdings. The group includes three airlines: EgyptAir, EgyptAir Express and the EgyptAir cargo business. These core businesses are supported by Maintenance and Engineering, Ground services and in-flight services. Behind them are ancillary businesses such as a medical centre, a plastics manufacturing business and even a medical services provider.

“We have a social responsibility and in Egypt the organisation is seen as a vital part of the economy, said Hussein Massoud, chairman and CEO of the Holding company. “Aviation is very important for a county like Egypt . It affects the economy of the country. It also reinforces the relationship between the different countries and we have effect on people’s lives.”

Massoud spent more than 20 years in the Egyptian Airforce which included time attached to the Egyptian Embassy in Paris and is one of a small network of aviation professionals that have the ear of Aviation minister Ahmed Shafik.

There has been external criticism of EgyptAir’ess protection of its routes through restricted competitive access to Cairo International and for the domination of the industry by the Holdings Company. Massoud is unfazed by the criticism.

“Our social responsibility comes first. That is why we don’t outsource in the way some other companies might,” Massoud said. “But we have service level agreements between the companies. There are standards they have to achieve. If a subsidiary does not meet the standards then we can go outside. It is not just our standards. Ads part of the Star Alliance we are not working in isolation or in our own space. Each subsidiary can be benchmarked against other Star Alliance services. We have a gap in some places and we have targets to meet. It works.”

Like the chairman of his main carrier, Massoud sees the geographic position of Egypt as the key to its future in the alliance.

“Our position between our traditional markets of the Arab countries and Europe and now as a gateway to Africa is good for us and for the Star Alliance. Our maintenance and engineering business already has 70 third party contracts nad that is growing. Working with some partnerships we are ideally positioned as a maintenance hub for the whole region.”

For the passenger business, new routes to places such as Lagos, Accra and Abijan the Alliance has increasing access to the emerging economies of Africa – both East and West – through EgyptAir’s Cairo hub.

Massoud, who is on the board of governors for IATA and will be hosting the next annual general meeting of the global airline association believes inclusion to one of the three major alliances has been essential for the airline and shrugs at the suggestion that Gulf airlines see no need for the alliances in their business models.

“The future is with the alliances. The challenges we face now, the alliances are the organisations that can survive. For Emirates and Etihad they have over capacity. Money talks, but the main thing is the market itself. That’s why they are always attacking our market. I think the future for these airlines has doubts the model is unsustainable,” he said

EgyptAir Holdings returned a profit for E£357 ($62.8m) last year. “The government gets a return on that and then gives guarantees for new aircraft. The Holding company owns much of the fleet. It is a system that works.”

MAKING A SPLASH

The swimming CEO behind the EgyptAir growth

At the heart of the EgyptAir Group is the legacy carrier itself, and the day-to-day responsibility for that lies with Captain Alaa Ashour, the chairman and CEO of the airline. Ashour is a former member of the Egyptian water polo team and still swims competitively – that is when he is not commanding one of the Airline’s A330/A340 aircraft or working as an instructor or examiner. It’s a bit like having Superman running your airline. But Ashour is modest about his achievements and puts it down to focus.

With less than a year in the job – he took over as chairman/CEO last September after previously heading training, operations and flight planning – he has had the experience of leading the airline through one of the hardest years in aviation financial history.

“It has been very tough,” Ashour said, “Until now we are still suffering the effect of the recession. Our network footprint is Middle East and Europe, with a good presence in Far East and Africa plus a daily flight to the States.

“When the economic downturn came in it hit us hard in the Far East with a 25% drop in passengers and a 50% drop in revenues. We were 25% down in Europe and our New York flights continued but were also down. It was really hard.”

Things are picking up. The airline’s first two 777-300ERs have arrived to work the London and Japan routes.

“We are increasing our Narita routes from three a week to six. It will be seven. We will be stepping up to five flights a week to Osaka too.”

The airline is working with Seabury APG to plan its network and the flow of traffic. “Traditionally we have relied a lot of inbound tourism, that is still important to us, but we a see a lot more opportunity for the premium business markets through our Cairo hub and into Africa.

“Africa is a strategic direction for us. We will be operating from Copenhagen later in the year giving us another European connection and a link with our Star Alliance partner SAS and we will be changing the scheduling to suit connecting traffic beyond Cairo. We are opening new routes into both East and West Africa and will be the most convenient hub.”

The current target for connecting traffic through the Cairo hub is 12% - Ashour sees 30% to 40% as a realistic five year aim.

The airline has dropped its first-class cabin and is now focusing on providing a top level premium offer to business class passengers.

“We air to offer a product that suits business. Good schedules, convenient timings, new aircraft with flatbeds, connectivity and all the attributes that suit business .We are investing in improving the business class to give a competitive product at a competitive price. We have gone for the Panasonic FX2, and are talking to them about add more services for FX2, like internet and packages for SMS and mobiles with Live TV. Those negotiations are still going on. We have OnAir connectivity for our A330-300s. I hope all of this will be in place by the end of the year.”

There has been a huge investment in the fleet with four Boeing B777-300s and four B737-800s and one Airbus A330-300 being delivered through 2010 and four more 737s and four A330s coming next year.

The airline is stepping up staffing to meet the needs of the larger fleet and increased schedules

“ We are recruiting and training. 52 pilots inside the company and we have a recruitment plan for the end of this year when we will recruit more. Egyptian Air Academy has good pilots coming through and we are recruiting Egyptian cabin crew. in the last five months we have taken on 315 cabin crew and plan to recruit a further 500 this year.”

Ashour sees the need to continue growing the fleet, the staff – and the awareness of the EgyptAir brand to meet a potential demographic timebomb of demand that could come from within.

“Egypt has a population of more than 85 million and it is growing. Less than five percent of Egyptians have flown. There is huge potential there and we have strong products. Working closely with EgyptAir Express (the domestic subsidiary) we can boost out business.”

Ashour recognises the challenge from the low cost carriers but also from others like Gulf Air from Bahrain and Royal Jordanian who are positioning themselves as prime regional carriers.

“Everybody is around biting away at our business. We have come up with a formula to deal with this situation and soon will offer something new that is valued by the customer and will have the attributes of the low fare that suits the needs of the passenger.”

EgyptAir to calculate optimal flight routes with IT from Lufthansa Systems

2010-08-25T22:50:00.001+02:00

EgyptAir has selected Lido/Flight from Lufthansa Systems to benefit from more efficient flight planning processes and significant cost savings.

Lido/Flight uses a number of parameters to calculate the optimal route regarding flight time, fuel consumption or costs for each flight. This can lead to fuel savings of up to five percent. EgyptAir will also use the Traffic Flow Restrictions (TFR) add-on of Lido/Flight, which achieves additional fuel savings by taking the highly complex issue of temporarily restricted airways into account.

"Our modernization strategy focuses not only on fleet renewal but also on IT. In order to increase the efficiency of our operational flight planning, we need a powerful and proven dispatch system. Lido/Flight will add value to us because of the high degree of automation and strong route optimization capabilities. We expect substantial fuel and air traffic control charge savings," said Captain Alaa Ashour, Chairman of EgyptAir.

According to the German systems company, Lido/Flight covers all aspects of flight planning.

The automatic calculation of routes takes flight-related information into account such as weather data and all current aeronautical restrictions like NOTAMs. The TFR functionality automatically considers even partly restricted airways, suggesting by-passes where legally permitted, for the most effective combination of airway segments. Benchmark analyses have shown that the tool can generate savings of up to two percent in fuel burn.

"Lido/Flight is one component of our highly integrated IOCC Platform. We are proud that EGYPTAIR decided to expand our trustful cooperation and relies on our know-how also in their flight operations. With our comprehensive portfolio, we are able to support our customers with all of their airline processes and provide the optimal IT solution", said Stefan Auerbach, Senior Vice President Sales EMEA at Lufthansa Systems.

EGYPTAIR has been cooperating with Lufthansa Systems since 2006. The airline already uses the Sirax AirFinance Platform for its revenue accounting and SchedConnect to automatically calculate the optimal codeshare assignments based on the current flight schedules.

Source

Egyptair sees full-year profit up, no IPO for now

2010-08-25T22:48:00.000+02:00

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptair, Egypt's flag carrier and one of Africa's largest airlines, aims to boost full-year profit by nearly a third as it rebounds from the global economic downturn, a senior executive said on Sunday.

"We are making a profit," said Hussein Massoud, chairman and chief executive officer of the Egyptair holding company. "We are planning to see more this year."

The firm aims to make a profit of 750 million Egyptian pounds in the year to June 2011, up from 573 million pounds in 2009/10, he said.

Egyptair, a member of the Star Alliance network, is pressing ahead with plans to expand its fleet, Massoud told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference to announce plans for an international airshow in Egypt.

"We turned the crisis into an opportunity and have advanced our receiving of aircraft," he said, adding the firm has received an Airbus A330 one year ahead of schedule.

The firm was expecting four Boeing 737-800 aircraft by the end of 2010 and two 777-300 aircraft in November and December.

The firm also said an initial public offering (IPO) was not being planned, but was an option for the future.

"Three to four years ago we thought about an IPO, but now our status is healthy and we are in no need of such things. But no one knows the future," Massoud said.

Egyptair recently started flights to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Abuja in Nigeria and plans to add more destinations and more frequent services in Africa.

Asked whether the company planned to set up a new operation to face up to new, low-cost rivals, he said: "There may be some planning but there is no project for now. We are thinking what is the solution for facing low cost carriers".

Source

EGYPTAIR launch Alexandria – Khartoum October 2010 service

2010-08-25T22:46:00.000+02:00

EGYPTAIR from 01OCT10 begins 2 weekly Alexandria – Khartoum on board Airbus A320 aircraft. Currently service operates for the month of October 2010 only.

Schedule below:

MS861 ALY0730 – 1130KRT 320 25
MS862 KRT1230 – 1430ALY 320 25

Source

Great article about EgyptAir

2010-08-19T01:35:00.002+02:00

Interview: Egyptair group chairman Hussein Massoud

By Graham Dunn

With the end of a renewal phase in sight, EgyptAir Group chairman and chief executive Hussein Massoud is turning the focus onto capitalising on its key geographic advantage

For EgyptAir the pieces of the jigsaw are coming together. There is group profitability, Star Alliance membership, a new dedicated terminal at its Cairo base and investment in new aircraft, bringing its fleet and onboard product bang up to date. Indeed, by the time IATA's annual general meeting rolls into Cairo next summer, itself another sign of EgyptAir's growing presence on the global stage, the carrier will have all but renewed its fleet.

Yet this is just the start. Current fleet plans largely focus on renewal, but growth is on the long-term horizon. "EgyptAir has to be bigger," says Hussein Massoud, chief executive and chairman of EgyptAir's holding company. "We have ambitious plans from 2014 to 2020 and from 2020 to 2025. These will be decided by the end of the year, but I think it will be a very ambitious plan. The key opportunity for us is that we will enlarge our network, either by adding new destinations or by increasing frequencies. We have a special chance concerning Africa. I think we have a good product, with more cause for customer satisfaction."


All pics Billypix

Like the country itself, EgyptAir has a long history. The airline dates back nearly 80 years. But it is the transformation begun in the first half of the last decade that has laid the foundations for today's strategy. This created a holding structure in which the airline is the largest of nine subsidiaries, and a change in ethos to focus more on business traffic. The airline was previously built around leisure and ethnic traffic, reflecting the dynamic tourism and population of Egypt. Its network was revamped, fleet modernisation initiated with Airbus A330-200s and a path began that ultimately led to alliance membership. By October 2007 EgyptAir was Star Alliance bound and just nine months later it formally joined. It has since emerged as one of the more enthusiastic alliance members.

Nowhere is this more evident than at Cairo's Terminal 3, which opened just under two years ago and helps drive EgyptAir's hub aspirations. Cairo became the first Star Alliance home carrier airport to feature a dedicated Star Alliance-branded lounge. EgyptAir still owns and operates it, but brands it Star Alliance. "One of the priorities of Star Alliance is its move-under-one-roof concept," says Massoud. "With a dedicated EgyptAir and Star Alliance terminal, we had a very good opportunity from day one.

"With Star Alliance we think we are the gate to Africa," he adds. The carrier works closely with Star member South African Airways to connect Africa to other Star hubs through Cairo - and could develop this further with a connection in central Africa if Ethiopian Airlines' Star Alliance interest comes to fruition. EgyptAir, which has just added flights to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Nigerian city Abuja and most recently to Juba in southern Sudan, now has 17 destinations in Africa. "We are looking to double this over the next five years, or maybe four," says Massoud. "This is where we will grow."

This role builds on Egypt's location, straddling the top of Africa and the Middle East, with Europe above it. It puts much of the three continents firmly on its radar within a five hour flight time and its location is a recurring theme when Massoud talks of the strength of the carrier. "We have a very competitive geographical location," he says.

To build on this position and with its Star role in mind, EgyptAir adjusted its network and fleet strategy accordingly. "We give more attention to short- and medium-haul routes and we increased our single-aisle fleet," he explains. It replaced part of its Boeing 777-300 order to take eight more 737-800s. "Our plan is more destinations in the medium- and short-haul market. We will also increase frequencies to key destinations like London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam and Istanbul."

New 737-800 flights to Copenhagen will begin in October, marking a return to the Danish capital after six years. "This time the game has changed," says Capt Alaa Ashour, chairman and chief executive of the EgyptAir mainline operation. "The route has changed, the partner [now Star Alliance member SAS] has changed, the whole elements have changed."

HOLDING FIRM

EgyptAir's holding group includes operating airlines EgyptAir, EgyptAir Cargo and regional unit EgyptAir Express. Its ground, in-flight and engineering services subsidiaries support these operations, while tourism, duty free and medical services are among its other interests. "Each is a profit centre and we get the benefits from synergies," says Massoud, crediting this as contributing to turning from a loss-making to a profitable operation. It netted profits of 573 million Egyptian pounds ($100 million) to June 2009 and aims to lift profits for the year ahead. "EgyptAir is our black horse, it represents around three-quarters of revenues, but we rely on synergies between the subsidiaries. We have to grow all the subsidiaries to get better results," he says, adding there are no plans for any sell-offs. "If we think any are not of benefit to the others, we will get rid of it. But for the time being, that is not in our thinking."

HOLDING FIRM

EgyptAir's holding group includes operating airlines EgyptAir, EgyptAir Cargo and regional unit EgyptAir Express. Its ground, in-flight and engineering services subsidiaries support these operations, while tourism, duty free and medical services are among its other interests. "Each is a profit centre and we get the benefits from synergies," says Massoud, crediting this as contributing to turning from a loss-making to a profitable operation. It netted profits of 573 million Egyptian pounds ($100 million) to June 2009 and aims to lift profits for the year ahead. "EgyptAir is our black horse, it represents around three-quarters of revenues, but we rely on synergies between the subsidiaries. We have to grow all the subsidiaries to get better results," he says, adding there are no plans for any sell-offs. "If we think any are not of benefit to the others, we will get rid of it. But for the time being, that is not in our thinking."

On long-haul the carrier serves a number of routes and is likely to add to its North American destinations - currently it serves New York JFK - when it adds its last two 777-300ERs next year. North American Star Alliance partner hubs in Chicago, Toronto and Washington are all candidates. "We are concentrating our long-haul operations on the profitable and prestige routes," says Massoud. "And we use the huge network of Star Alliance for routes we couldn't, or wouldn't want to, operate ourselves.

"The main objective of Star Alliance is to offer better services for the passenger so we'd like to use much [of the new 737-800 capacity] to Africa. We want the passenger of Star Alliance not to feel any different when travelling from Cairo to Africa. Our objective is to enhance our in-flight service with a new product to match the requirements of Star Alliance."

While many carriers slowed capacity plans in the crisis, EgyptAir sped up its fleet renewal. August saw the first of five A330-300s arrive - a year earlier than planned. The remainder follow next year. The A330s are part of a swathe of deliveries which has already seen two 777-300s arrive this year. Four more 777-300s and eight 737-800s will follow over the next 18 months. "We have got the benefits of the recession," says Massoud of the new arrivals. "We signed the contract with Boeing [for 737-800s] last July and we receive the first aircraft within 13 months." The timing looks opportune, given the swelling of the manufacturer orders book at the recent Farnborough air show.

There is also an enhanced onboard product. The carrier, which offers a two-class cabin system, is focusing on raising standards in the business cabin. Its new A330-300s feature lie-flat seats in business class, a new Panasonic in-flight entertainment system and OnAir's in-flight wi-fi service and mobile connectivity. Its 737-800s will feature an enlarged business cabin, with 24 seats in a generous 48in (122cm) pitch to create wider cabin feeling, in a bid to increase its premium revenues.

"All our marketing campaigns, everything we invest is in the business class, which then feeds into the economy cabin," explains Ashour. "People know they get a premium class product and that they will get value for money in business class. This is how we are trying to be competitive with the aggressive competition in the market."

Massoud adds: "We have enhanced and upgraded our product; this gives us a chance to increase the yield. We have restructured our pricing system and we have not forgotten about the cost-cutting side. That remains very important. We identify the big areas of cost and then we decide how to apply cost savings." Distribution is one potential area where the carrier hopes for savings by increasing online bookings by upgrading its website.

Ashour and Massoud have been in their current positions since September last year, although both were already established figures at the carrier. Ashour has been a pilot at the airline since 1988 (see box story) while Massoud - after a 20-year career in the Egyptian air force and heading aviation companies Smart Aviation and Mitrage - was vice-chairman of the holding company for a year and a half before taking on the top job.

Massoud says his objective on taking the role has been to "keep, but enhance and upgrade" the company's reputation. But before he could look at the long term, he faced a more immediate issue. EgyptAir in the summer of 2009 was given a warning by the European Commission that it risked being placed on its blacklist of international carriers banned from operating in EU airspace because of safety concerns in several areas of its operation. "It's the first challenge I faced because EgyptAir was confronting a very bad situation," says Massoud. "Concerning safety, we did not have a problem," he says, characterising the problems as smaller issues that reflected a different cultural approach. "This had to change to be with international norms. We had a misunderstanding between our

WALKING THE TALK

Heading the airline since September 2009 is Capt Alaa Ashour, who as a pilot with EgyptAir for more than 20 years has flown just about every type it has operated during that period. As the carrier strives to enhance service levels to ensure it remains competitive and meets business travellers requirements, he stresses the need for the leadership to set an example in attention to detail. Indeed while the carrier is state-owned, he stresses it is run as a private business. "Managers from the top level show how much they care about the detail. Nothing is left unturned, everything has been reviewed," Ashour explains. "The employees started to feel that everything matters, everything was important and that the customer is number one. Employees must trust management. People know that the management is on top of everything and there is a very well defined vision and good communications. This is how we drive the change. We walk the talk." Ashour himself remains a regular on the EgyptAir flight deck and hopes there will be more opportunities to fly now that much of the heavy strategy work on EgyptAir's long-term plan has been finalised. "Maybe I will have more time to fly," he says. "I try to do one flight a week, or at least every two weeks." And besides a love of flying, he believes there are strategic benefits to him continuing to fly. "It is an advantage being chairman and chief executive and at the same time flying. I get to see what is going on day to day. It keeps me in touch with everything, because I do it myself and I know what is going on. I work with everybody - pilots, cabin crew, ground staff."

WALKING THE TALK

Heading the airline since September 2009 is Capt Alaa Ashour, who as a pilot with EgyptAir for more than 20 years has flown just about every type it has operated during that period. As the carrier strives to enhance service levels to ensure it remains competitive and meets business travellers requirements, he stresses the need for the leadership to set an example in attention to detail. Indeed while the carrier is state-owned, he stresses it is run as a private business.

"Managers from the top level show how much they care about the detail. Nothing is left unturned, everything has been reviewed," Ashour explains. "The employees started to feel that everything matters, everything was important and that the customer is number one. Employees must trust management. People know that the management is on top of everything and there is a very well defined vision and good communications. This is how we drive the change. We walk the talk."

Ashour himself remains a regular on the EgyptAir flight deck and hopes there will be more opportunities to fly now that much of the heavy strategy work on EgyptAir's long-term plan has been finalised. "Maybe I will have more time to fly," he says. "I try to do one flight a week, or at least every two weeks." And besides a love of flying, he believes there are strategic benefits to him continuing to fly. "It is an advantage being chairman and chief executive and at the same time flying. I get to see what is going on day to day. It keeps me in touch with everything, because I do it myself and I know what is going on. I work with everybody - pilots, cabin crew, ground staff."

culture and the culture [of the EU]."

Continued dialogue between the EC and the Egyptian authorities has helped allay concerns, evident by the absence of EgyptAir from subsequent EC safety updates. In March this year the EC reported the Egyptian air safety authorities were carrying out its responsibilities correctly and that it would it continue to co-operate closely with the Egyptian authorities to ensure the proposed improvements could be implemented. "Since last October we didn't have a single significant remark," says Massoud of the monitoring of the airline. He also highlights IOSA certificates for 2004, 2006 and 2008 and European Aviation Safety Agency reports in 2006, 2008 and this year.

Neither was the issue damaging to its customer proposition, as passenger numbers jumped 8% to 7.2 million in 2009. This, in part, also reflected Africa and the Middle East being relatively unscathed from the economic crisis. "EgyptAir was not affected as much by the recession because of our geographic location, traffic seasonality, large number of expatriate workers and our increased destinations," says Massoud. "We still saw yields down, but were still profitable."

Massoud identifies the economy as the biggest factor in the year ahead. "The improving economic situation of Egypt undoubtedly affects the situation of Egypt. There is a direct relation between GDP and the air transport industry," he says. But while the economic picture is relatively bright for Africa and the Middle East, the carrier is not untouched by Europe's economic woes. "Around 30% of our revenues are attached to Europe. So we'll be affected. But I think next year Europe will start growing again and will recover much faster than anyone thinks."

He also sees a number of challenges aside from economic factors, with Massoud highlighting fuel price fluctuations and the increased presence of low-cost carriers among them. The fledgling low-cost carrier sector in the Middle East continues to grow, and in Egypt was stepped up in June when Air Arabia Egypt launched flights. The carrier, established by Air Arabia in co-operation with Cairo travel firm Travco Group, is operating flights out of Alexandria. "We have to change our structure a little bit, we have to react," acknowledges Massoud, pointing to the growing share of low-cost carrier traffic in the market. He does not give specific plans, but notes: "We have to get non-traditional solutions."

Ashour also points to the challenge the carrier will ultimately face from Open Skies developments, low-cost carriers for example are still to gain access to Cairo International airport. Ashour says the carrier must prepare and plan to be ready for Open Skies and the new competition and opportunities this brings.

The challenging competitive landscape, together with the opportunities its location, Star membership and new fleet brings, will drive EgyptAir's development. Work on the new long-term strategy is being finalised and should be complete by year-end. The expansion could see a 72-aircraft fleet in 2012 expand by a quarter in the next strategic phase, building an operation capable of both tapping the potential from its location, while defending its market. Just as Egypt's most famous landmark the Pyramids has for centuries brought both

Source

EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Update 6: Latest W10 Changes summary

2010-08-09T23:17:00.002+02:00

As per 10AUG10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR from Janaury 2011 further adjusts planned aircraft operation on Cairo – Dubai, Cairo – London Heathrow and Cairo – Paris CDG service.

Details of aircraft changes, and the latest summary of other routes being adjusted to date, as follows:

Cairo – Dubai
Previously mentioned 27JUL10, EGYPTAIR is introducing Airbus A330-300 aircraft on this route. The Star Alliance carrier is to increase A330-300 operation from January 2011.

MS910/911
31OCT10 – 03JAN11 333 Day x15 738 Day 15
04JAN11 - 333 Day x1 738 Day 1

MS911 departs DXB following day
MS912/913 332 Daily

Cairo – London Heathrow
MS777/778 aircraft change from Airbus A330-300 back to Boeing 777-300ER from 01JAN11
31OCT10 – 31DEC10 333 Daily
01JAN11 - 77W Daily

10 weekly service is being maintained in W10, increase from 8

Cairo – Paris CDG
MS799/800 eff 01JAN11, Airbus A330-300 replace -200. Also, planned 9 weekly service in Winter season remains unchanged (Daily in W09)

Other previously mentioned changes:

Cairo – Abu Dhabi 10 weekly service in Summer maintained in Winter (Daily in W09)
Cairo – Accra Schedule change from night-time to day-time
Cairo – Almaty Contrary to the post mentioned on airliners.net (reply number 5) claiming this route to be canceled, which appears to be falsehood as EGYPTAIR is still taking reservation for this route in Winter 2010 season as of 09AUG10. There will be operational changes, however
Cairo – Benghazi Reduced 5 weekly service in Summer maintained (Daily in W09)
Cairo – Casablanca Boeing 737-800 replace Airbus A320
Cairo – Copenhagen NEW 3 weekly service from 01OCT10
Cairo – Frankfurt A330-200/B737-800 mix operation: 330 Day x13 738 Day 13
Cairo – Khartoum – Juba New 2 weekly service introduced from August 2010 maintained in W10
Cairo – Kuwait City Service operates 2 Daily (10 weekly in W09)
Cairo – Mumbai Increase from 4 to 5 weekly
Cairo – New York JFK Boeing 777-300ER aircraft enters operation eff 31OCT10
Cairo – Osaka Kansai eff 01MAR11 service increase from 4 to 5 weekly. Inbound flight via Luxor in Winter 2010 season maintains 2 weekly
Cairo – Tokyo Narita Increase from 6 weekly to Daily from 01MAR11, 777-300ER operating
Hurghada – Geneva Winter seasonal service canceled

source

EgyptAir sets course for raised profits

2010-08-07T20:59:00.001+02:00

EgyptAir, in spite of a tough environment with declining profits, is pressing ahead with the expansion of its fleet and is adding destinations in a bid to lift market share and entrench Cairo as a gateway to Africa – one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.

The Egyptian flag carrier posted profits of $100m in the financial year ending in June 2009, a 20 per cent drop over the year before. Figures for the year ending June 2010 have yet to be released.

Profits, however, are likely to have have been affected by lingering effects of the global downturn, swine flu hitting the hajj season and the eruption of the Icelandic volcano.

But Hussein Massoud, the chairman of EgyptAir said that with the world emerging from recession, profits should reach $130m this year on revenue of $3bn.

“We are expecting a better performance also because our fleet has increased and our product has improved,” he told the Financial Times. “We have new aircraft and our network has expanded in two ways: we are adding new destinations and we are increasing frequencies to existing destinations.”

He said the company had taken advantage of the recession to bring forward delivery slots for aircraft to enter service earlier.

EgyptAir has undergone an overhaul during the past few years with a corporate re-engineering in 2002, a doubling of its fleet from 32 to 66 aircraft and upgraded standards in maintenance and service. The company is run independently and does not benefit from state subsidies. It raises its own finance to pay for the modernisation of its fleet.

These changes earned EgyptAir an invitation to join Star Alliance, which it has been a member of since 2008. The alliance is the biggest grouping in global aviation, comprised of 28 international airlines including Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, which code share – book space on the flights of other partner airlines – so giving passengers a vast network flying to destinations worldwide.

The Egyptian carrier, which has been adding destinations in Africa, most recently Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Abuja in Nigeria, wants to turn Cairo into a gateway to the continent, benefiting from passenger traffic generated by its alliance partners.

“It is a coup for EgyptAir to become part of Star Alliance, with whom it can code share significantly and offer more to their travellers,” said Fadi Majdalani, partner in Booz & Company, the global management consulting firm. “It will also be a positive pressure in the sense they will need to upgrade all their services.”

He said that joining the alliance can help maintain profits and market share as competition intensifies.

“National carriers like EgyptAir are facing competition from the top and the bottom of the market,” said Mr Majdalani. “From the bottom there are low-cost carriers [such as Air Arabia and Jazeera] and at the top there are the premium companies offering services of a much better quality like Etihad and Emirates.”

Mr Massoud acknowledged that EgyptAir is feeling the competition, which is “fierce and likely to get even more so. This is a tough market with slim profit margins,” he said. “It is a battle for existence.”

To protect its national carrier, Egypt has been hesitant about opening up its skies. Low-cost carriers are allowed to operate from some airports, but not Cairo, where EgyptAir accounts for half the traffic.

“We can debate the pace of liberalisation, but it should happen,” said Mr Majdalani. “If you don’t liberalise, you constrain the whole economy. Egypt is a low-income country with a growing per capita income. Low-cost airlines will not necessarily compete with EgyptAir, but they will create their own market.”

Source: FT.com

Egyptair to fly to Juba, eyes African expansion

2010-08-07T20:57:00.000+02:00

CAIRO July 27 (Reuters) - Egyptair, the country's flagship carrier and one of Africa's largest airlines, will begin flying twice a week to south Sudan next month as Egypt seeks improved ties ahead of a planned 2011 referendum on secession.

The state-owned airline's flights to the southern capital Juba, will start on August 6, the company said on Tuesday, adding to its 26 flights a week to Khartoum.

"Expanding in Africa comes in line with a strategy to offer more services and investments in this continent, one of the fastest growing markets in the world," Hussein Massoud, chairman and chief executive officer of the Egyptair holding company, said in an emailed statement.

Egyptair, a member of the Star Alliance network, has also recently started flights to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Abuja in Nigeria.

"We have ambitious expansion plans and we will continue to seek new destinations in Africa and increase the frequency of flights," said Captain Alaa Ashour, chairman of the airline.

Egypt has been looking to improve ties with south Sudan ahead of a planned 2011 referendum that would determine whether the largely Christian and animist south can secede from the Muslim north.

The referendum was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war -- a decades-long conflict between north and south Sudan in which an estimated 2 million people were killed and 4 million forced to flee their homes.

Egypt said in July it would give the government of south Sudan a non-refundable grant of $300 million for water and electricity projects as it seeks to build goodwill among Nile Basin countries, the source of almost all its water.

Source

EgyptAir eyes more presence in Africa

2010-08-07T20:56:00.000+02:00

Egypt Air is seeking to extend its network in Africa and is looking for partners in the central or western regions of the continent with which it can cooperate, Chairman and CEO Hussein Massoud told ATW.

MS is evaluating several options, including potentially basing aircraft together with Star Alliance partner South African Airways and even starting a new airline. The new airline or joint aircraft base could be ready for operation as early as next year, Massoud said.

He believes it is possible for MS to open one or two new destinations in Africa every year (ATW Daily News, Oct. 16, 2009). It currently serves 16 destinations in Africa (excluding Egypt) and will add Lusaka this fall.

Massoud confirmed that the MS fleet is expected to grow from 66 to 72 aircraft by the end of 2013 or early 2014. The carrier is already planning its future fleet through 2020. “Early next year it will be clear" which type of aircraft it will purchase for its future fleet, he said, declining to give details on how many aircraft will comprise a new order.

Source

Egypt's airlines flying far

2010-08-07T20:49:00.001+02:00

By Oxford Business Group

July 27, 2010, 4:26 pm

CAIRO: The year 2010 is shaping up to be a banner one for Egypt’s air transport sector. Thanks to a worldwide industry rebound, steady passenger growth throughout the Arab world, continuing development of the country’s airport infrastructure and the recent entry of a host of low-cost carriers (LCCs) into the market, the months ahead look bright.

Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its global forecast for the year. Whereas just three months ago it projected a $2.8 billion loss for the worldwide airline industry, it now projects a $2.5 billion profit. It expects Middle Eastern carriers to net $100 million, their first profit since 2005, which is a marked improvement over the $600 million they lost last year.

According to Brian Pearce, the IATA’s chief economist, Egypt is particularly well positioned to benefit from this turnaround. As he pointed out to Arabian Aerospace, the country’s overall economic growth “has been relatively robust. The Egyptian economy slowed down to a 4.7 percent [growth rate] last year, which is lower than we’ve seen before, but there was growth during a global recession.”

That growth has been reflected in the airline sector, where Egypt has proved to be something of an exception. Whereas most of the region’s national carriers fared poorly in 2009 — a year that many insiders have called the worst in the sector’s history — Egypt saw a 4 percent increase in scheduled departures. With the H1N1 pandemic behind them and with Egypt’s airport infrastructure continuing to develop, Pearce projects further growth in the months ahead.

On the basis of its actions, national carrier EgyptAir seems to agree with this assessment. It has recently taken delivery of its second Boeing 777-300 aircraft, and it intends to take delivery of two more 777s, as well as two A330s, later this year. It is also expanding its routes, adding non-stop service to Dubai in June and to Copenhagen in October.

Moreover, it recently announced a new code-sharing agreement with Turkish Airlines, which is itself expanding in the Egyptian market by adding service to Alexandria.

More important than EgyptAir’s growth, particularly in the medium to long term, is the recent entry of LCCs into the Egyptian market. First was Al Misria Universal Airlines, which began service in late 2009. Hassan Aziz, the company’s president and CEO, said that he wanted to take advantage of low prices during the global financial downturn to found a company that could tap growing demand in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country. Al Misria took possession of its first A320 in April 2009 and hopes to expand the fleet to 10 planes in five years.

Other investors agree with Aziz’s assessment. Two other new carriers, Nile Air and Nesma Airlines, plan to begin operations in the near future. Foreign LCCs have also begun to move into the Egyptian market. Flydubai has begun offering service to Alexandria, Luxor and Assiut, and Gulf Air has announced that it will begin serving Alexandria later this month.

But the biggest news is Air Arabia’s decision to add a third hub in Egypt. UAE carrier Air Arabia, the Arab world’s largest listed airline, formed a joint venture with Travco, the Egypt-based travel and hospitality group which is the biggest in the Middle East, in late 2009.

“Linking up with [an] established travel company like Travco rather than another airline made sense given the size of the international tourist market” in Egypt, said Air Arabian’s CEO, Adel Ali.

The plan is for Air Arabia to handle operations while Travco provides access to its network of tour operators, helps with marketing and assists with government relations.

The new carrier, which started operating this month with two A320s based out of Alexandria, plans to serve Europe, the Middle East and Africa and hopes to expand quickly. It expects to have four to six planes by the end of the year, and is already in discussions about adding another hub in Egypt by the Red Sea.

“Low-cost air travel represents 25 percent of the market in Europe, [and] a miniscule 7 percent in the Middle East,” Ali said. Furthermore, incomes are lower in the Middle East, making such travel particularly attractive. Given this market structure, Ali anticipates steady expansion of the LCC sector.

There will obviously be struggle over market share between the LCCs and incumbents, but, Pearce said, “because Egypt has a fast-growing economy I think there’s a scope to stimulate the market overall. It certainly means there’s more pressure for innovation and cost-cutting.”

While additional hurdles remain, including a dispute with Saudi Arabia over sharing airspace and the need to formulate a true “open skies” policy, much progress has been made so far and Egypt is well on its way to realizing its ambition of turning Cairo into a major air hub. –This article was published by Oxford Business Group on July 26, 2010.

Source

EGYPTAIR launch Juba service

2010-08-07T20:46:00.001+02:00

EGYPTAIR from 06AUG10 is starting 2 weekly service to Juba in Sudan, its 2nd destination to the country. Service operates as Cairo – Khartoum – Juba with Boeing 737-500.

Schedule below:

MS859 CAI0900 – 1235KRT1320 – 1520JUB 735 3
MS859 CAI0915 – 1250KRT1335 – 1535JUB 735 5

MS860 JUB1605 – 1805KRT1850 – 2020CAI 735 3
MS860 JUB1620 – 1820KRT1905 – 2035CAI 735 5

Source

TAP Portugal/EGYPTAIR expands codeshare agreement

2010-08-03T11:19:00.001+02:00

Star Alliance members TAP Portugal and EGYPTAIR on 01AUG10 expanded their codeshare agreement. TAP’s “TP” code is appearing on EGYPTAIR’s service between Italy and Egypt, while EGYPTAIR’s “MS” code appears on TAP service between Italy and Portugal.

Codeshare routes and flight numbers below:

Route	TP Codeshare	MS Operating
Milan Malpensa – Cairo	TP7005	MS704
Cairo – Milan Malpensa	TP7004	MS703
Milan Malpensa – Luxor	TP7027	MS706
Milan Malpensa – Sharm el Sheikh	TP7031	MS708
Sharm el Sheikh – Milan Malpensa	TP7030	MS707
Rome – Cairo	TP7001	MS792
Cairo – Rome	TP7000	MS791
Rome – Luxor	TP7019	MS794
Sharm el Sheikh – Rome	TP7034	MS717
	MS Codeshare	TP Operating
Milan Malpensa – Lisbon	MS9418	TP805
Lisbon – Milan Malpensa	MS9417	TP806
Rome – Lisbon	MS9415 MS9416	TP839 TP843
Lisbon – Rome	MS9414	TP834

EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Update 5

2010-07-27T19:17:00.000+02:00

As per 27JUL10 GDS timetable display, latest changes to EGYPTAIR’s planned 2010/11 Winter International operation as follows.

New changes involved in aircraft swaps for Dubai and New York JFK.

Cairo – Dubai New Airbus A330-300 operates MS910/911 flight, departing Cairo Day x15, Dubai Day x26
Cairo – New York JFK Boeing 777-300ER aircraft inauguration date is now scheduled 31OCT10, previous planned date was 01JAN11

Source

Egyptair's First A330-300 picture!

2010-07-27T00:20:00.005+02:00

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Egypt-Air/Airbus-A330-343X/1748863/M/&sid=69bff92e8fb624871fb0284919289382

EgyptAir A330-300 Article:

EgyptAir is going to launch mobile and internet services onboard the newest fleet of the Airbus 330-300. The first aircraft of this fleet will be delivered on August 23.

EgyptAir is working with OnAir to ensure the Egyptian carrier's Airbus 330-300 will feature wireless internet and personal mobile usage on board, besides using the GSM, SMS and GPRS services.

The passengers flying onboard the new A330-300 will be able to make phone calls through their mobile phones with the same international call rates of their service providers, in addition to the ability to send SMS and using the mobile internet services. Customers using their own laptops will also be able to use the WI-FI service throughout their flight.

This new A330-300 accommodates 301 seats, of which 36 in business class and 265 in economy class. Business class customers will enjoy comfort of sleep on their Lay Flat Beds, or they will indulge themselves in hundreds of entertainment options with personal entertainment system screened on the 15.4” LCDs and recharge their personal devices while relaxing on their seats.

EgyptAir ’s newest A330-300 economy class seats provide wider and more relaxing seats with personal entertainment system to enable the customers and their families selecting from the best entertainment programs. They can also recharge their personal devices in their seats.

Captain Alaa Ashour, Chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Airlines said that “we are keen on the continuous development and upgrading of our services. These new services will enable our customers to keep in touch with their businesses, families and friends throughout the flight.”

EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Update 4

2010-07-15T09:59:00.001+02:00

Cairo – Abu Dhabi 9 weekly service in Summer maintained in Winter (Daily in W09)
Cairo – Accra Schedule change from night-time to day-time.
MS881 CAI1845 – 2245ACC 738 x157 -30OCT10
MS882 ACC2345 – 0730+1CAI 738 x157 -30OCT10

MS881 CAI0815 – 1235ACC 738 x157 02NOV10-
MS882 ACC1335 – 2110ACC 738 x157 02NOV10-

Cairo – Benghazi Reduced 5 weekly service in Summer maintained (Daily in W09)
Cairo – Casablanca Boeing 737-800 replace Airbus A320
Cairo – Kuwait City Service operates 2 Daily (10 weekly in W09)
Cairo – Paris CDG 9 weekly service in Summer maintained in Winter (Daily in W09)
Hurghada – Geneva Winter seasonal service canceled

Other Winter 2010 changes noted previously:
30JUN10 Frankfurt Aircraft change Mumbai frequency increases
09JUN10 Osaka Frequency Increase
20MAY10 Abuja Operational Day Change New York JFK 777-300ER enters service from 01JAN11 Tokyo Narita Frequency Increase to Daily 01MAR11
05MAY10 Almaty Operational Schedule changes
04MAY10 Copenhagen NEW 3 weekly service

Source

EGYPTAIR boosts London Heathrow service

2010-07-13T21:03:00.001+02:00

EGYPTAIR this month increases Cairo – London Heathrow service from 8 to 10 weekly. Schedule below:

MS777 CAI1030 – 1335LHR 77W D
MS779 CAI1330 – 1635LHR 330 67
MS779 CAI1800 – 2105LHR 330 5

MS778 LHR1500 – 2145CAI 77W D
MS780 LHR1800 – 0100+1CAI 330 67
MS780 LHR2230 – 0515+1CAI 330 5

MS777/778 from 01SEP10 operates with Airbus A330-300 (C36Y265).
Source

EgyptAir positive on expansion

2010-07-13T00:29:00.000+02:00

EgyptAir said it is making good progress with implementation of its strategy of network expansion and product enhancement and is on course to take delivery of its first new A330-300 next month and a further two 777-300s in November and December as scheduled.

Passenger feedback on its first two 777-300s, which arrived earlier this year and feature a new cabin including the carrier’s first fully flat seats in business class, is “extremely positive,” Chairman and CEO Hussein Massoud told ATW during the recent Star Alliance event in Athens to induct Aegean Airlines into the grouping. MS will deploy the new aircraft on its daily Cairo-New York JFK flights starting in December. It will commence thrice-weekly CAI-Copenhagen service Oct. 1 aboard a 737-800 and next summer it will add Toronto as its second North American destination, Massoud revealed.

MS will launch mobile and Internet services onboard its new A330-300 fleet. Passengers will be able to use the Wi-Fi service throughout their flight to make calls through their mobile phones with the same international call rates of their service providers, according to the carrier. The new A330-300 will be configured with 36 fully flat seats in business class and 265 seats in economy.

Massoud also said that EgyptAir is contemplating launching a hybrid carrier at Alexandria, which in recent months has seen an influx of LCCs. He refrained from releasing further details and stressed the “plan has not yet been adopted” but said that if MS proceeds, the hybrid will launch under a different brand because “EgyptAir is not in the business of LCCs and is a full-service carrier.”

Source

Egyptair: Umrah/Ramadan/Summer peak season update

2010-07-08T20:45:00.000+02:00

EgyptAir will lease 2 B767-300ER aircraft over the peak Umrah/Ramadan/Summer season (10AUG10-19SEP10). The aircraft are configured with 285 seats in an all-economy layout.

Both B763s will almost exclusively fly CAI-JED-CAI, with each aircraft operating 3 daily rotations (for a total of 6 daily flights). EgyptAir's existing scheduled services on the route remain unchanged.

This represents a significant capacity increase on CAI-JED over this period. Here is a breakdown:

the existing 5x daily scheduled MS flights on the route, equate to approx 15,500 seats per week.
the additional B763s flights will add a further 25,000 seats per week.

In total EgyptAir will offer over 40,000 seats per week on the route during AUG-SEP. To put this into perspective this is similar to offering 6 daily return flights with an A380.

In addition to this, Saudi Arabian Airlines are also offering a similar number of seats during this peak period.

Source: Horus!

Continental launch Cairo service from May 2011

2010-07-08T20:43:00.000+02:00

Continental Airlines from 18MAY11 is launching Daily Newark – Cairo service on board Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. Schedule below:

CO134 EWR1730 – 1055+1CAI 777 D
CO135 CAI1255 – 1805EWR 777 D 19MAY10-

Source

Etihad Abu Dhabi - Alexandria Schedule

2010-07-06T19:04:00.000+02:00

ETIHAD from 12JUL10 launches Abu Dhabi – Alexandria service with Airbus A320, 4 times a week.

Schedule below:

EY663 AUH1000 – 1305ALY 320 x247
EY662 ALY1405 – 1900AUH 320 x247

Source

News

2010-07-04T21:20:00.000+02:00

EgyptAir: Effective today, the airline has increased flights on the prime European route, CAI-LHR, from 8 to 10x weekly flights. MS779/MS780 is operated using the A330-200. The airline also operate a weekly LXR-LHR flight.
AlMasria Universal Airlines: the airline is continuing its strong growth in the Saudi market by adding a second daily flight on the CAI-Yanbu route. With this increase the airline will offer a total of 28x weekly (or 4 daily flights) to KSA, placing the company in a good position to achieve their target of capturing 15% of the Egypt-KSA market during their first year of operation.
Sun Air: the Sudanese carrier has increased flights on the KRT-CAI route to 14x weekly (2x daily) flights with the addition of a second daily service. Other airlines operating the route are EgyptAir (21x weekly flights), Sudan Airways (10x) and Kenya Airways (7x).
Olympic Air: it seems OA will cancel their Athens-Alexandria route from 19 July.
Etihad Airways: the airline will launch their new AUH-ALY route on the 12JUL10 ... the very same day Air Arabia Egypt start HBE-AUH.

Source: Horus!

Etihad to start flights to Alexandria in July

2010-07-01T22:08:00.000+02:00

The service will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

Dubai: UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways will start a four flights-a-week service to Alexandria in Egypt from July, subject to government approval.

The service will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from Etihad’s home base in Abu Dhabi to El Nouzha Airport in Alexandria.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways Chief Executive, said: “Etihad is pleased to announce this new service to Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city.

“Alexandria is an important strategic destination which will serve the Egyptian expatriate population living in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE, as well as growing numbers of business and leisure travellers looking to fly to the city.”

The new service will offer air travellers convenient onward connections via Abu Dhabi to a number of key destinations across the airline’s global network, including the GCC, Australia, China, Japan and the Indian Sub Continent.

Etihad will operate an Airbus A320 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi to Alexandria route which is configured to carry 136 passengers. The airline started flights Cairo in November 2004 and flies double daily to the Egyptian capital.

Hogan added: “Etihad Airways is grateful to the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority for their support, which has enabled us to move forward with these important new services.”

Source

KLM Nov 2010 changes to Cairo

2010-07-01T22:06:00.000+02:00

As per 01JUL10 GDS timetable display, KLM on 11NOV10 and 14NOV10 is to operate MD11 aircraft on Amsterdam – Cairo service, instead of Boeing 777-200ER. With the aircraft change, planned schedule will be revised.

Details:

KL553 AMS1140 – 1700CAI M11 11NOV10
KL553 AMS1115 – 1635CAI M11 14NOV10

KL554 CAI0410 – 0800AMS M11 12NOV10
KL554 CAI1830 – 2220AMS M11 14NOV10

Source

EGYPTAIR W10 Operation Update 3: Mumbai Increases

2010-07-01T01:56:00.001+02:00

As per 30JUN10 GDS timetable display, latest changes to EGYPTAIR’s planned 2010/11 Winter International operation as follows:

Cairo – Frankfurt A330/B737-800 mix operation
330 Day x13 738 Day 13

Cairo – Mumbai Increase from 4 to 5 weekly
MS968 CAI2255 – 0755+1BOM 738 x45
MS969 BOM0855 – 1215CAI 738 x56

Source

Belair/airberlin launch new Basel – Egypt routes in W10

2010-06-29T17:01:00.000+02:00

Belair, a member under airberlin group, is operating NEW Basel – Luxor and Basel – Marsa Alam service for Winter 2010 season.

These service begins in November 2010. Schedules:

Basel – Luxor
4T3316 BSL0750 – 1320LXR 320 4
4T3317 LXR1405 – 1445HRG1545 – 1945BSL 320 4

Basel – Marsa Alam
4T2176 BSL0750 – 1330RMF 320 2
4T2177 RMF1415 – 1955BSL 320 2

Source

More news...

2010-06-28T23:38:00.001+02:00

EgyptAir have now published details of their new flights to Lusaka (Zambia) which launches 02NOV10. The flight will operate twice a week via Dar es Salam. The schedule for both DAR and LUN will be

CAI DAR MS841 22:10 05:00 -2-4-57 5:50 A320 0
DAR LUN MS841 06:00 07:30 --3---7 2:30 A320 0
LUN DAR MS842 08:30 11:55 --3---7 2:25 A320 0
DAR CAI MS842 12:55 17:40 --3---7 5:45 A320 0
DAR CAI MS842 12:55 17:40 1---5-- 5:45 A320 0

Air Arabia Egypt have now confirmed Abu Dhabi will be their next destination from HBE. Flights will start on 12JUL10.

Turkish airline, Onur Air, plans to start a new airline in Egypt. The airline is operate charter flights from the Red Sea to various European cities. The yet to be named airline is expected to start operations in December 2010 with 2 aircraft if they are receive the necessary approval from the Egyptian authorities.

Other news

2010-06-28T23:36:00.000+02:00

Air Arabia Egypt Route Update:
- Kuwait: HBE-KWI increases from 4 to 7x weekly flights (daily) from 01JUL10.
- Amman: HBE-AMM operated with 4x weekly flights.
- Khartoum: HBE-KRT operated with 3x weekly flights.
- Beirut: HBE-BEY launches 01JUL10 with 4x weekly flights.
- Next Destinations: Due to bilateral restrictions (which is limiting the airlines ability to launch new routes), E5 currently have an aircraft sitting idle in HBE. This has resulted in the airline reshuffling their route plan, with Abu Dhabi now expected to be the next new destination from 10JUL10 with 4x weekly flights. This is an interesting choice given the proximity between AUH and parent company's hub in SHJ. Having said that Abu Dhabi is the only major Arab city not to have an air link to Alexandria, so this is a natural void to fill.

AlMasria Universal Airlines Route Update:
- New Destination: Today UJ launches it's third Saudi destination with a new 7x weekly (daily) service connecting Cairo with Qassim (ELQ).
- Development: AlMasria growth in the scheduled market has been impressive, in particular their growth in KSA. They now operate no less that 3 daily flights to the country; 1x daily CAI-YNB, 1x daily ALY-JED, 1x daily CAI-ELQ and intend to start flights to Abha soon. Unlike other Egyptian private airlines, AlMasria has shunned the traditional charter market to focus on building scheduled services, which is long overdue. This along with Air Arabia Egypt (launching scheduled services this month) and Nile Air (planning to do so next month), is a positive sign of the development of private Egyptian airlines.

Imminent Launch of Nile Air:
- Dates: According to an update on the airline's website, commercial operations will start in July 2010. The fleet currently consists of 2 leased A320 aircraft.
- Details:There are no details regarding which routes they will operate, however they seem like a professional outfit. Note: they have an order for 9 brand new A321s with Airbus, which is the largest order by an Egyptian private carrier.

Imminent Launch of Nesma Airlines:
- Aircraft Deliveries: The first aircraft for the new Saudi-backed Egyptian airline arrived in CAI last week. The ex-BD A320 named 'Bertha' (SU-NMA) will be joined by a second aircraft (SU-NMB) next week. Both aircraft are leased from ILFC.
- Details: Details of the airline's planned operations are limited, however the following was quoted in the press: "Scheduled and charter services will link cities in Egypt and Western Europe with destinations in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia in particular. Transporting pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj and Umrah is expected to be a major part of the new airline's business plan."

Smart Aviation Company Turboprop Order
- Reports indicate the airline will soon announce an order for Bombardier's 78-seater Q400. The first aircraft is likely to arrive in time for the Avex Airshow in Sharm El Sheikh in November.

Kuwait Airways New Egypt Routes:
- Sohag: KU will become the first airline to inaugurate flights to Egypt's newest airport, Mubarak International Airport from August 2010.
- Marsa Alam: the airline has announced plans to launch flights to the resort airport this summer. Jazeera Airways operated KWI-RMF last summer but no longer operates the route. Given the heavy investment made by Kuwait companies in Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib, this route is not a surprise. Of all Gulf airlines, Kuwaiti airlines have the strongest presence in the Red Sea with flights from KWI to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and now Marsa Alam.

LOT Polish Airlines New Egypt Route:
- Warsaw to Cairo: the airline has announced plans to launch WAW-CAI from October 2010, connecting two Star Alliance hubs. Details have yet to be published.

Aeroflot:
- Red Sea: the airline will dramatically increase flights (and capacity) to the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada this winter. Currently each destination is served with a daily A320 flight from Moscow (SVO), however from November each airport will receive 2x daily flights with the 260-seater IL-96.
- New Routing: Aeroflot will also re-route their current bi-weekly SVO-Luanda (Angola) non-stop B767 flight via HRG from 07DEC10. The flight (SU345/346) will operate SVO-HRG-LAD-HRG-SVO with the A320. This will certainly be the strangest scheduled service operating to Egypt.
- Cairo Airport: The Russian airline will maintain its 2x weekly SVO-CAI flights. The route was served with 4x weekly flights until earlier this year.

Source: Horus!

Egyptian Aviation Blog

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© EgytpAir Maintenance & Engineering

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Heading north

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More wings

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Never too old

Egypt to manufacture first fighter, drone plane: MENA

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It's plastic fantastic for EgyptAir

Africa Calling

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Great article about EgyptAir

All pics Billypix