EgyptAir Extends 777 Leases And Refurbishes Fleet To Sustain Growth

EgyptAir has signed a deal with lessor AerCap to extend the leases on its fleet of five Boeing 777-300ERs and is undertaking the cabin refurbishment of 19 Boeing 737-800s and two Airbus A330-200s to ensure it can serve its network needs and keep its product standards high, Capt. Ahmed Adel, chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding, told Aviation Week.

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

In a major renewal of its widebody fleet, EgyptAir plans 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 another six options on the type.

EgyptAir is scheduled to take the first of 18 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, all leased from Air Lease Corp., in January 2026. Seven more are planned to be delivered during next year, Adel said.

With the new aircraft deliveries and the return of the leased 777s, EgyptAir expects to have a fleet of 97 aircraft by 2030, he noted.

A smooth induction of the new A350s and 737s is the airline’s priority, and further orders are not in the cards now. “We are not going to exercise any more [requests for proposals] to extend the fleet or get new aircraft because we are waiting to get our aircraft [on order],” Adel said.  “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.

The airline’s maintenance, repair and overhaul arm, EgyptAir Engineering, is refurbishing cabins of the carrier’s 19 737-800s. The first is going into the shop in June, and the entire batch is slated to be completed by the end of 2026. Fitted with new Collins Aerospace seats and Panasonic Avionics inflight entertainment systems, the 737s will feature 160 seats, compared with the 144 in the current layout, and each seat will be 140 kg (310 lb.) lighter.

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

The carrier’s final two A330-200s will be sent to Dresden, Germany-based EFW for conversion to freighters in September and November. When completed, EgyptAir will have a fleet of five of the freighters.