EgyptAir extends 777 leases and refurbishes fleet to sustain growth

The airline is also undertaking the cabin refurbishment of 19 737-800s and two Airbus A330-200s to ensure it can serve its network needs and keep its product standards high, Captain Ahmed Adel, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding told Arabian Aerospace.

The desire to extend the 777-lease contract, by 18 months until November 2026, is because EgyptAir will only begin receiving the first of 10 A350-900s from Airbus in December this year. “I really appreciate the relationship with AerCap, they have been very supportive,” said Captain Adel.

In a major renewal of its widebody fleet the plan is for EgyptAir to take delivery of a further six A350-900s in 2026, he said. The carrier has yet to make a decision on whether to exercise a further six options on the type.

EgyptAir will take the first of 18 737-8 Maxs, all leased from Air Lease Corporation, in January 2026 with a further seven being delivered during next year, said Captain Adel.

With the new aircraft deliveries and the return of the leased 777s, EgyptAir’s current fleet plan takes it to a total fleet of 97 aircraft by 2030, he explained.

A smooth induction of the new A350s and 737s is the airline’s priority with further orders not on the cards. “We are not going to exercise any more RFPs to extend the fleet or get new aircraft because we are waiting to get our [on order] aircraft,” said Captain Adel. “We do not want to be overwhelmed either financially or on the workload front.

“If we want to go to 105 or 110 [total fleet size] this would be a tactical decision, but we will not think about it before the first quarter of 2026,” he added.

EgyptAir’s MRO arm is undertaking the cabin refurbishment of its 19 737-800s with the first one going into its shop in June and the entire batch completed by the end of 2026. Fitted with new Collins Aerospace seats and Panasonic IFE, the 737s will feature 160 seats compared to the 144 in the current layout and each one will be 140kg lighter in weight.

EgyptAir has just gained board approval for a similar refresh of two of its remaining four A330-200s, said Adel. This will give them the same cabin as its new A350s. EgyptAir Engineering will also conduct this work, slated for the second half of 2025.

Its final two A330-200s will be sent to Dresden-based EFW for conversion to freighters in September and November. When completed the carrier will expand its widebody freighter fleet of A330-200s to five aircraft.