CAIRO - Cairo International Airport has received the first long-range Boeing 300/777 of the six aircraft, which the national carrier EgyptAir contracted to lease. Chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company Hussein Massoud along with his Vice Chairman Hussam Kamal Abul Kheir and Abdel Aziz Fadel, the Chairman of EgyptAir Maintenance, Abdel Hamid Eid, the Chairman of EgyptAir Ground Services and a number of senior officials of Egypt's national carrier's companies received the aircraft. Chairman of EgyptAir airlines Alaa Ashour led a delegation for receiving the jet from its headquarters in Seattle, the US. "The new jet will join EgyptAir fleet starting from Monday (today), as it has been decided to operate on the Cairo- London route," said Hussein Massoud at a press conference attended by Alaa Ashour. He added that the delivery of the second and third planes would take place next month, while the fourth would be delivered in December. The fifth and sixth aircraft will be delivered by 2011. According to him, there are other two deals, which EgyptAir has contracted to buy through leasing. The first deal will include five A330s; the first will arrive in Cairo by August. The second deal will include eight Boeing 800/737s, the first of which will be delivered next September. "We already have a plan for replacing the old planes owned by the company, which include Boeing 200/777s and 500/737s as well as Airbus 340s and 320s with the new ones," Massoud said. According to him, the company will continue using and operating these old fleet until they are phased out by selling them. Three Boeing 200/777s are already put on sale. EgyptAir personnel received the new aircraft at the Cairo International Airport with bunches of flowers where Hussein Massoud, the chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company and other senior officials boarded the plane soon as it landed for inspection. Meanwhile, Alaa Ashour, the Chairman of EgyptAir airlines said that the new long-range Boeing 800/777 was capable of flying for about 16 hours full board with passenger and cargo as well. He added that the aircraft included 49 seats for the first and business classes and about 297 seats for the economy class. He made clear that EgyptAir considers operating a new non-stop service between Cairo and the Zambian capital of Lusaka by the beginning of winter in October with two flights a week to be later increased to four. There will be also a new direct route between Cairo and Copenhagen with three flights a week starting from next October. A new airline between Cairo and Chicago or Washington or Toronto is expected to be operated by the year 2011. [email protected]
