Paris Airshow: EgyptAir exercises its six A350-900 options

The carrier will begin receiving the first of 10 A350-900s, ordered in 2023, in December this year but decided to upgrade the options into firm orders to ensure it has a strong delivery stream of widebodies into the early 2030s.

“With everything that's happening with the supply chain and the demand that's very high on all types of aircraft, widebodies and narrowbodies, we decided to exercise the options to be on track with our fleet renovation,” Captain Ahmed Adel, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding told Aviation Week at the show.

EgyptAir will take a further six A350-900s in 2026 with the final three from its original firm order arriving by 2030, said Adel.

The six further aircraft will be delivered between 2030 and 2033, he added.

The order for the A350-900 was synchronised with a deal that saw EgyptAir’s fleet of 12 A220s sold to lessor Azzora.

“It was a strategic decision from the company to bundle the deal with the A350,” explained Adel. “It was also our aim to have more units and higher capacity. It was a deal that suited all parties and requirements.”