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.
