EgyptAir has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900, the next step in its ongoing fleet transformation. The aircraft (SU-GGE), which flew for the first time last month, completed its four-hour delivery flight from Toulouse earlier today, touching down in the Egyptian capital shortly before 04:00 PM local time. The aircraft will be inspected by EgyptAir's technical operations team before starting life with the airline on trunk routes to London and Paris for crew familiarization flights.

EgyptAir ultimately plans to use the A350 for further intercontinental growth, specifically new routes to North America that will launch later this year. As a state-owned airline, EgyptAir's fleet transformation is considered vital to driving the country's tourism industry, which has seen a pronounced upswing in recent years. The new aircraft and the carrier's continued expansion will go hand-in-hand with a massive $4.5 billion expansion of its base at Cairo International Airport.

The Delivery Of a New Widebody Type

EgyptAir placed an initial order for ten A350-900s at the Dubai Airshow 2023, stating that it was choosing the type to underpin its planned expansion to North America. Airbus later announced that the carrier had added another six aircraft to its order, taking the total to 16. Deliveries are expected to occur in two batches: up to six are scheduled to arrive with the carrier this year, and all ten of the initial order by the end of next year. The remaining six are expected from 2030 onward.

Initially, the plan is for the A350 to replace the Boeing 777-300ERs that the carrier currently uses predominantly on its North American routes.

Captain Ahmed Adel, EgyptAir's CEO, confirmed to Simple Flying on the sidelines of the 2025 Paris Air Show that this year will be focused on taking delivery of the A350 and phasing out the 777s from November. Following that, the focus will shift to adding new routes, with Los Angeles International Airport a top contender.

He said, "The first batch of seven A350s is going to complement the network and work in tandem with the 787s because the A350 is higher capacity. Basically, they're going to work on the same network. Once we get north of eight aircraft, we're going to start opening new routes. One of the main routes on the menu will be LAX, because the numbers look good, but we need to have at least six or seven A350s to operate that."

Los Angeles to Cairo is not insignificant in terms of demand. Although a nonstop service has never operated between the two cities, it was the Egyptian capital's third-busiest origin-and-destination pair in the United States and the largest unserved in North America. According to information from OAG Traffic Analyzer, 73,000 people traveled round-trip between the two points in 2025.

Egyptair's Fleet Transformation

The new A350s are the cornerstone of EgyptAir's ongoing fleet transformation, with the airline already operating four other types from both Airbus and Boeing. Following the addition of eight leased Boeing 787-9s to the fleet in recent years, the A350 represents the carrier's ongoing efforts not only to expand its widebody fleet but also to transform it with newer, more efficient types.

With 350 seats in a two-class layout, the A350 is a natural replacement for the five 777-300ERs that are currently in operation, as well as the obvious choice for a new 6,600 nautical mile long-haul route to LAX. What remains to be seen is what EgyptAir does with the remainder of its widebody fleet, notably its A330s.

Currently, only two of its five A330-200s are in operation, with two undergoing conversion to freighters. The A330-300s are used primarily on regional routes to Lagos, Mumbai, Dubai, and as far afield as Johannesburg.

Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation has said it aims for a fleet of 125 aircraft by 2030, and given that the current confirmed order book (16 A350s and 18 737 MAX 8s) will bring the fleet close to 100 aircraft, the figure suggests more widebody orders in the near future. The debate is whether the airline will opt for additional 787s or seek to add the Airbus A330-900 as a direct replacement.

Source: Simple Flying