Egyptair has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 as part of the national flag carrier rapid fleet expansion and upgrade programme.

Joining Egyptair’s existing Airbus fleet of 17 A320 family aircraft, seven A330-200s and three A340-200s, the new A330-300 will also be the first Egyptair aircraft to feature onboard communications technology, enabling passengers to benefit from in flight mobile phone services and wi-fi internet access

Powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, the aircraft features 265 economy seats and 36 in business.

“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” said Eng. Hussein Massoud, Chairman and CEO of Egyptair Holding Company.

He added: “We are determined on the ambitious plan for fleet expansion and modernization”

Captain Alaa Ashour, the Chairman and CEO of Egyptair Airlines, who flew the new aircraft himself to Cairo said that “the delivery of the first Airbus 330-300 will add value to our customer and launches new services for the first time in Egyptair.”

“We are proud to be partnering with Egyptair as they launch their new onboard communications offering on the A330.”

“Passengers can now use these innovative services from the unparalleled comfort of the A330 cabin whilst the airline will benefit from the excellent reliability and economics offered by the aircraft.”

Airbus aircraft share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and resulting in significant cost savings.

“In the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), Airbus has sold around 1,000 aircraft and has a backlog of over 500. More than 500 Airbus aircraft are flying with 48 MENA operators, representing around 40 percent of the fleet in service in the region,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

The A330 is one of the most widely used widebody aircraft in service today. To date, Airbus has won more than 1,000 firm orders for the various versions of the aircraft. Over 700 A330s have already been delivered and the aircraft is currently flying with over 80 operators worldwide.

EgyptAir is Africa’s largest airline and is headquartered is Cairo International Airport. It operates scheduled passenger and freight services to more than 70 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, as well as an extensive domestic network.