Egyptair's first 777-300ER photos and videos

Here are some photos and videos of Egyptair's first 777-300ER.













Egyptair's First Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is to enter service on 15 March 2010 on the Cairo – London Heathrow route MS777/778 service.

This plane will have brand new interiors and will have Economy and Business Class only. Personal TV screens will be available in all classes and in Business Class passengers can enjoy their lie-flat seats.

Air Arabia Egypt will launch in mid-April 2010

UAE-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia aims to launch operations at its third hub in Egypt by mid-April and hopes to maintain its seat factor in the 80 percent range, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

The airline is facing growing competition from local rivals including Kuwait's Jazeera Airways and Dubai-owned flydubai, as well as from fully fledged carriers such as Emirates, struggling to cope with a sharp drop in international passenger travel.

Air Arabia already operates in Morocco, flying from its Casablanca hub earlier this year, and said in August it planned to set up a new hub between its base at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and North Africa to diversify its revenues and boost its catchment area.

"We are hoping to start the operation by the middle of April 2010," Group chief executive Adel Ali told an analyst call.

The operation, based near Alexandria, will start with two planes and intends to fly to Europe, Africa and the Middle East and could increase the number of planes to six by year-end.

Fourth-quarter net profit for the airline fell 15.2 percent, but beat most analysts' forecast.

Air Arabia carried 4.1 million passengers in 2009, up 14.2 percent from 3.6 million passengers last year, while the airline's seat load factor stood at 80 percent. Turnover in 2009 fell 4.5 percent to 2 billion dirhams, the firm said.

The airline is projecting a first quarter seat load factor of 80 percent, Ali said.

"I see no reason why we shoudn't," Ali said. "We had that in January."

Seat factor shows how successfully an airline fills its planes.

Ali said in October he did not see yields improving until the beginning of the first quarter of 2010.

The carrier hedged 35 percent of its fuel at about $60 and is in talks with banks and export credit agencies to finance aircraft orders. It has an order of 44 A320s from Airbus.

Air Arabia shares, up 3.26 percent this year, closed 1 percent lower on Wednesday.

Egyptair's 777-300ER route update

As per 17FEB10 GDS timetable display, EGYPTAIR’s First Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is to enter service on 15MAR10, Cairo – London Heathrow MS777/778 service.

Egyptian Airports Company to upgrade terminals

State-owned firm to invest $546m over five years


State-owned Egyptian Airports Company plans to invest a further $546m in upgrading the country’s airports over the next five years, according to a source close to the firm.

The airport operator currently manages 19 airports in Egypt and plans to increase the country’s international passenger numbers to 18 million passengers in 2010, compared with 12.7 million in 2005.

The company expects most of the growth to be generated by an increase in capacity at the five main tourist hubs of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel.

Egypt already has about $1bn worth of airport projects under way, including the $400m renovation of terminal two at Cairo International airport, projects at Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh airports on the Red Sea coast, and the $100m expansion of Borg el-Arab airport in Alexandria.

Egyptian Airports Company has asked contractors to submit prequalification documents for work on a second runway at Hurghada International airport by 11 March. The company expects to invite contractors to bid for the construction contract in June (source: MEED 20:1:10).

Cairo Airport Terminal 2 Renovation Design.

Cairo International Airport Terminal 2 renovation program

Terminal 2 was inaugurated in 1986,It serves primarily European and Far Eastern airlines, airlines from the Persian Gulf region,and sub-Saharan Africa.

Cairo International Airport terminal building 2 is undergoing a major renovation effort to double its capacity to 7.5 million passengers per year. As lead consultant, ECG's involvement in the renovation program encompasses master planning, design, and construction management and supervision. Financed by the World Bank, the terminal building is the first green airport to be developed in the MENA region and complies with all international engineering standards and regulations.

Construction starts from 2010 and should be in service in 2013.

Airlines at Cairo Airport serving at Terminal 2 will be replaced to Terminal 1

The current terminal 2 photos:








Terminal 2 Renovation Renders:

Borg el-Arab airport to open in May

Alexandria's new airport in Borg el Arab is planned to open in May 2010.

Here are some renders and construction photos:
(The construction photos can be out of date)

Egyptair & Air China codeshare

Air China to start EGYPTAIR codeshare

Air China from 07FEB10 begins codesharing with EGYPTAIR on the latter’s service between China and Egypt. Codeshare flight numbers as follows:

ROUTE CA Codeshare MS Operating
Beijing – Cairo CA3061 MS956
Cairo – Beijing CA3062 MS955
Guangzhou – Bangkok – Cairo CA3063 MS959
Cairo – Bangkok – Guangzhou CA3064 MS958

EgyptAir faces new challenges in Cairo, Alexandria

Monday February 1, 2010

EgyptAir is considering the reorganization of its Cairo International flight schedule into multiple banks from the present two starting with the 2010-11 winter schedule, EgyptAir Airlines Chairman and CEO Alaa Ashour told ATWOnline in Cairo, as it attempts to increase transfer traffic.

The move would be an important part of its strategy to leverage its Star Alliance membership and build Cairo as an international hub (ATWOnline, Oct. 16, 2009). It hopes to increase transfer traffic to 30%-40% of its CAI throughput from the current 15%-20%.

"We'll start assessing the final and third phase of our network optimization in March," Ashour said. "Two banks are just not enough to develop a real hub network." The second phase of MS's restructuring was finalized last summer when it transferred all domestic and international flights to CAI's new Terminal 3. "This allowed us to reduce connecting times from 90 minutes to 60 minutes," he said.

Ashour also revealed that MS is considering changes to its operation at Alexandria, from which it operates to CAI and six Middle East destinations with a pair of A320s. EgyptAir Express operates to an additional seven domestic destinations. "We'll strengthen the base in a 'smart' way," he said, conceding that "maybe" a switch to a low-cost model is on the agenda. "We'll decide upon routes, aircraft, configuration and approach for our Alexandria-based operations," he said, noting that all Middle East LCCs fly into Egypt's second most populous city through either ALY or Borg El Arab, which is undergoing a major expansion and is scheduled to replace outdated ALY as the city's principal airport in the coming months.

Sama and Nas Air serve HBE from Jeddah and Riyadh, Flydubai from Dubai, Jazeera Airways from Kuwait City and Air Arabia from Sharjah. The latter poses an additional threat as it intends to establish Air Arabia Egypt this year through a joint venture with Egyptian travel and hospitality conglomerate Travco Group (ATWOnline, Sept. 10, 2009). Although the new carrier's base is unconfirmed, EgyptAir anticipates it will be at Alexandria, as the law makes CAI somewhat inaccessible to LCCs. Air Arabia Egypt also is expected to serve Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.

First look of the Egyptair's new 777-300ER at Boeing Paine field Seattle.

This great bird will be delivered to Egyptair in March. The new 777-300ER planes will have an all new Economy class and Business class with lie-flat beds. Personal entertainment systems will be available in all classes too.

People will experience a new Egyptair Long-haul service.