Photograph — egyptair

The third of Boeing’s contracted six aircrafts have been delivered to EgyptAir. The 787-9 Dreamliner arrived at Cairo International Airport Saturday, with official confirmation coming yesterday. This is the latest brick tacked in EgyptAir’s “modernization plan,” heralded by an ambitious target of increasing its fleet to 100 by 2020. EgyptAir had received two Dreamliners apiece in March and April, using May to launch those planes to new destinations, including Washington. The Dreamliner is fitted with elite technology, super luxurious, and ranks highly for comfort.

EgyptAir Holdings chairman, Ahmed Adel said the new aircraft will ply Paris route from this week, noting that this addition bulks up the airline’s competitive advantage. The airline is reportedly applying the finish to longer routes like Shanghai and Tokyo, amongst other new destinations. Those two are especially relevant because trade between Japan and Egypt is breaking new ceilings, necessitating the back and forth transportation of businesses across both countries.

It is interesting that EgyptAir intends to use this new aircraft on its Paris route, as there’s an unresolved investigation from a 2016 crash on that route which killed all 66 people aboard. Egyptian authorities had blamed a probable bomb while dragging investigations. In early April this year, French investigators under contract by France’s Justice Ministry reported that the crash was a result of poor maintenance and ignored faults.

Adel told Forbes that the French conclusion was “not true” earlier this month. He was quick, though, to confirm an ambitious turnaround plan to reposition EgyptAir in eighteen months. “My strategy when I first was appointed by the minister was to start organizing the house, looking at areas where we can cut costs and we can be more efficient,” he said. The airline is clearly devoting its money and focus to transformation under Adel’s leadership, with results to show.

After signing a deal with Aeromobile to refit some of its planes, EgyptAir has also selected L3 Commercial Aviation to provide a new A320 RealitySeven Full Flight Simulator (FFS) at its training academy in Heliopolis, Cairo. According to Robin Glover-Faure, president of commercial training solutions, with L3, this facility would provide EgyptAir pilots with “one of the finest training devices in the world.”

“Our partnership with L3 supports EgyptAir’s fleet modernization strategy, which requires an upgrade of our Training Academy’s simulation devices. This modern simulator is an important investment to serve EgyptAir’s new fleet,” Abdel said about the L3 agreement.

The Dreamliner arrives highly rated, with an estimated travel capacity of 14,800-15,700 km non-stop and a reported twenty percent saving on fuel consumption. If that doesn’t add enough symbolic excitement, the plane is supposedly powered by Rolls Royce engines. And if that still doesn’t do it, the Dreamliner jet has 30 “Super Diamond” seats which “can turn into full-flat beds,” and 279 economy seats.

In February this year, EgyptAir reported a massive improvement in profit, bettering ten years’ business history, after recording EGP951 million in the first six months of 2018/2019.

By Caleb Ajinomoh

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