Egyptian low-cost carrier Air Cairo has placed a firm order for 15 Airbus A320neo aircraft. The airline signed the agreement at the El Alamein International Airshow on September 8.
The new additions are intended to support growth across its domestic, regional and international networks as the airline seeks to capitalise on increasing demand for travel to and from Egypt.
Until now, the EgyptAir-majority-owned airline has sourced its Airbus aircraft through leasing companies, and says combining owned and leased jets will provide greater operational flexibility and financial efficiency.
Hussein Sherif, the airline’s chairman and CEO, said that the deal represented “a natural next step in Air Cairo’s growth”. He added that the combination of leased and owned aircraft within the fleet would give the carrier “greater operational flexibility and financial efficiency as we scale up” He continued: “The A320neo will provide the capacity needed to expand our network, serve the growing demand for travel to and from Egypt, and support the country’s aviation and tourism sectors in close partnership with Airbus.”
Airbus said Air Cairo has expanded from just seven aircraft five years ago to more than 45 today and intends to operate over 130 aircraft by 2034. Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP sales of the commercial aircraft business said that the first direct order from Air Cairo reaffirmed its confidence in the A320neo to “power its next phase of growth”.
The A320neo is already well established within Air Cairo’s fleet. According to ch-aviation, the airline has 20 leased examples alongside 12 A320ceos, six ATR 72-600s and three Embraer E190s. Air Cairo received its first A320neo in April 2021.
CFM International has confirmed that LEAP-1A engines will power the 15 new aircraft. The agreement also covers spare engines and powerplant options for 15 additional aircraft. No delivery timetable or financial terms for the order have been disclosed.
