Egyptair to schedule the new Boeing 787-9 on the LHR route

[crewmeal]

Good to see Egyptair using the new 787 on the LHR route commencing May 1st - 25th Sept.

Cairo – London Heathrow 01MAY19 – 25SEP19 MS777/778 Day 23 operated by 787-9, replacing 777-300ER

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Courtesy of routes online.

[HEPZIBAH]

What does that mean in real terms to a prospective passenger who doesn't know one plane from another?

[crewmeal]

Hepzibah - hopefully better quality seating, a lot quieter, possibly more legroom, definately fresher air conditioning and better inflight entertainment.

[HEPZIBAH]

Thank you. Shame they are not really affordable for passenger use.

[Major Thom]

Quieter and more fuel efficient so prices should drop! (ha ha) Wondered why they spent so much on Cairo Airport expansion, I thought it was for the Airbus Double Decker. Obviously not! I think the Boeing 787 is better known as the Dreamliner. Built from recycled materials for cheapness and lightness.

[crewmeal]

I'm sure Emirates will schedule a double decker 380 for the new airport once the infrastructure has been sorted out.

[Hafiz]

As usual in Egypt - I'm bigger than you - the 787 9 isn't new its been in service for 4 years so EgyptAir is well down the que. Air New Zealand , that doesn't kill its passengers - was the first. Qantas has had them for ages and flys Perth-London non-stop and I think Sydney-NYC non-stop. They are best for huge distances - the longest in the world - and I can't see how they make sense for EgyptAir and its small number of medium distance flights - I think it trashed the Atlantic route but not sure. At this stage they are in their 10th year of consecutive losses the aggregate of which is somewhere between $2-3 billion although their annual report is a subterfuge and not signed off by a proper world accounting/audit firm. All other airlines in the region are making huge profits and have done so for 8 or more years.

The Airbus A380 is dead and will diminish in usage in the next few years. Airbus will produce no more and Emirates will cancel its huge order. Airbus never made a profit out of building them and their problems included that they ate a lot of fuel. The Dreamliner type - the 787. Boeing, is a lot more fuel efficient. Some of the rest of their fleet looks rusty with some models going back to the 70's and quite a few more than 30 years old. They are lucky the international agency of airlines doesn't do a 'roadworthy' certificate. Ethiopian Air and all the Gulfies have a much more modern fleets and don't kill their customers. The US customers on Ethiopian say the food is very good - and the alcohol.

All those airports spent serious money to accommodate the A380 which might be history in 6-7 years time. I doubt that the snorkeling, raised walking areas and huge lounges are easily recyclable.

[crewmeal]

You raise some good points Hafiz. Aviation is a very fickle industry to be in these days. I should know I was flying for nearly 30 years and seen many good carriers go to the wall or merge.

In order for Egyptair to reduce costs it should concentrate on either Boeing or Airbus aircraft, not both. Cairo is also virtually in the centre of the world for its operations, therefore it doesn't necessarily need ultra long range aircraft such as the Airbus 350. It does however need to keep up to date with modern aircraft and in my view the 787 is ideal for its route structure. Again if it needs to develop new routes or revise old routes such as Sydney then the 787 serves the purpose.

[Hafiz]

Crewmeal - I like the idea of sticking to one/the best. That's usually the behaviour of sane people who have done their homework and forward planning. Usually such people aim to keep costs to a reasonable level.

Let me remind you on the matter of planes - military planes. At the moment the Egyptians have French, Russian and US planes none of which can talk to each other, all require separate pilot training, all have different spares and will require that maintenance/repair staff be separately trained. Each has different arms. Assume that costs - particularly operating costs - would be 30% higher than having an integrated fleet.

No country in the world has such a mess - not even the biggest lunatic asylums in the world. If you did that in even a 3rd rate place you would be fired because - to put it bluntly - its a less effective fighting force and threatens the nation.

In the last few months their purchase of the dreadful Dessault/Raffaele - that hardly a country in the world has bought - his a rock with the US saying that their missile/part of the Dessault missile could not be supplied to Egypt. Marcon raised it with Trump and Trump told him to go....http://defence.az/en/news/124695. The claim is that the US has a worry about theft of technology - I think its a pretty clear statement that the US doesn't trust Egypt and this is further confirmed by Egypt's exclusion from the game changing high technology F 35 - which Turkey will have and Saudi and the UAE are demanding/begging to have. On the French fiasco what's the betting Egypt will take the plane and try to marry it with some Russian garbage - a bit like tying down that jeep on the deck of their new carrier and using its 2 dollar missiles to protect a 500 million dollar ship.

Their multiple types of ships that can't talk to each other (and no one else buys because there no good) and the very ordinary 6 (maybe German submarines (no one else buys them because they are no good) just continues the Alice in Wonderland Red Queen madness and waste on a pharonic scale.

Even the Mig they buy from Russia is not the best and designed for different conditions. Apparently the US F 15 and 16's they buy by the score are not the state of the art versions/high technology and some commentators have suggested that their pilots aren't up to much - something the Saudi's and UAE would agree with over the past 2-3 years in Yemen.

Consistent, logical, evidence-based decision making isn't something you expect from someone with manic depression, amphetamines or an attention span, as Thatcher said, of a gnat on Benzedrine. Given they buy lots of toss offs/no one wants them maybe its more Steptoe and Sons.

[crewmeal]

Hafiz - that phrase 'back handers' comes to mind!

[crewmeal]

Guess what??? It's not happening!! Thanks Egyptair I was looking forward to my first flight on this frame.

Planned 787-9 service for Cairo – London Heathrow from 01MAY19 to 30SEP19 (2 weekly) has been removed. Planned 787-9 operational routes and dates remain subject to change.

(courtesy of routesonline)