ALITALIA airlines is taking delivery of its Boeing 777, not from the Seattle headquarters, but from EgyptAir's overhaul centre in Cairo. For the first time ever, a European flag carrier sends part of its fleet for maintenance and technical work to an Egyptian overhaul workshop. This morning, Alitalia officials joined a delegation to see EgyptAir's overhaul workshop at Cairo International where they witnessed the final inspection of the Alitalia B777-200, after its C-check overhaul operation. "This is the first time we have carried out an overhaul for a wide-body aircraft operated by a national carrier in Europe," explained Abdel-Aziz Fadel, chairman of EgyptAir Maintenance and Engineering (ME) Company. "All overhauling operations, the exchange of spare parts, and assembling work were completed in six days. Our team of technicians are able to fulfill the contract," Fadel commented. For the Egyptian technicians and the overhaul business, overhauling the Italian wide body aircraft is full of challenges. "We have previously carried out overhauls for many wide-body aircraft, some of our sister airlines and a number of private airlines in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This contract is an image contract where we introduce our abilities for more prominent European customers." Egyptair ME at present serves 106 customers, most of which are airlines registered in Europe. "European and American airlines usually outsource their fleets for overhauls, mostly in Asia where cheap labour is available. To overhaul an A320 aircraft requires 3,000 working hours, while a B777 requires 30,000 working hours. One manhour in Europe is estimated by 70 euros, but we provide it for $45, which saves a lot of money for airlines." Fadel is optimistic about the potential for the future. "It is not only about saving money. The strong connectivity, with more than 25 flights daily connecting Egypt with European cities as well as the excellent location, being only three or four hours away, comparing to 12 hours to the Far East, facilitates shipping spare parts and tools." Alitalia possesses a fleet which is comprised of 149 aircraft. The important modernisation process of the fleet began in March 2009 with the introduction of the new Airbus A320, which allowed the company to have one of the youngest fleets in Europe. On the long-haul routes, service is provided by the Boeing 777-200, Boeing 767-300 Extended-Range version and Airbus 330. On medium-haul routes, service is provided by the Airbus 321, 320 and 319, MD80-82 and Boeing 737-400. Service on the regional routes is provided by the Embraer 170 and Bombardier CRJ900. The network includes 79 destinations between Italy and the rest of the world with 2248 weekly flights on 137 routes. Furthermore Alitalia has codeshare agreements with 29 other airlines on 200 destinations. A second Alitalia B777-200 has arrived in Cairo International and is scheduled to have a similar C-check overhaul by EgyptAir ME. "We are committed to finish all the work and deliver the aircraft within six days. For airlines, an aircraft which does not fly is waste money," Fadel concluded.
