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DALLAS — Egyptair (MS) took delivery of its first A321neo aircraft today in Hamburg. The airline also announced the rescheduling of its flight to New York (JFK).
Even though the Egyptian carrier already operates the smaller A320neo, MS becomes the first airline in Africa to operate the new engine option version of the A321. The new aircraft seats up to 16 passengers in Business class, and 166 in Economy, and will operate flights from the airline's hub in Cairo (CAI) to medium-haul destinations in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East.
The A321 has been upgraded to be more efficient, with 20% fewer carbon emissions per seat compared to its predecessor. According to Airbus, the aircraft is capable of utilizing a 50% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in combination with regular fuel, enabling operators to reduce their emissions by up to 80% over the aircraft's lifetime.
The delivery flight from Airbus' facilities in Hamburg (XFW) in Germany landed in Egypt four hours later. This delivery flight was powered using a 34% SAF blend, demonstrating the capabilities of this new aircraft.
Rescheduling of New York flights
The airline also announced it would change the schedules of its daily flights from its hub in CAI to New York Kennedy (JFK) airport. Starting on March 26, the outbound flight MS 985 will take off at 3:20 a.m. local time, landing in JFK at nine in the morning. The return flight will depart three hours later, at 12:00 pm, arriving in Egypt at 04:40 am.
According to airlinedata.com, the flights will be operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners starting on the same day instead of the current Boeing 777-300ER.
The airline serves four North American destinations with its Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. The Egyptian carrier flies directly to Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) in Canada, and JFK and Washington (IAD) in the US.
Featured image: MS' first A321neo SU-GFR. Photo: Airbus SE
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