EGYPTAIR S11 Latest International Operation Changes as of 23MAR11

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

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

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EgyptAir to defer A330 deliveries and postpone launch of new routes

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

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

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

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EGYPTAIR S11 International Operation Changes

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

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

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

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

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

Heading north

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

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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.

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EgyptAir to calculate optimal flight routes with IT from Lufthansa Systems

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