EgyptAir plans to launch service to new North American destinations next year after it takes delivery of its last pair of Boeing 777-300ERs.
The Star Alliance carrier in March took delivery of the first of six new 777-300ERs, which it is temporarily using on its daily Cairo-London Heathrow service. EgyptAir has since added a second 777-300ER and placed the aircraft on its thrice weekly Cairo-Tokyo service.
EgyptAir group chairman and CEO Hussein Massoud says the carrier's next two 777-300ERs are scheduled to be delivered in November and December of this year and will be used on its Cairo-New York JFK service.
He adds the last two 777-300ERs from its six-aircraft acquisition will be delivered in 2011 and used on new North American routes.
"We are thinking either Washington, Chicago or Toronto," Massoud told ATI during a Star Alliance event in Sao Paulo.
Washington Dulles and Chicago O'Hare are hubs for Star Alliance member United Airlines while Toronto is a hub for Star member Air Canada. No carrier currently operates non-stop services between Cairo and Washington, Chicago or Toronto, according to schedules in Innovata.
New York JFK is currently EgyptAir's only destination in the Americas. The carrier operates one daily flight on the Cairo-New York JFK route with 777-200s.
While EgyptAir plans to use its last two 777-300ERs to expand its North American network, Massoud says the new 777-300ERs are mainly being acquired to replace the carrier's older 777-200s. EgyptAir owns five 777-200s, and last year hired German bank DVB's aviation asset management division to re-market three of these aircraft.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... h-new.html
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