Egyptair, a member of Star Alliance, has taken delivery of its first A321neo
from Airbus’ Delivery Centre in Hamburg, making the airline the
first African operator of the aircraft.
The aircraft, on lease from AerCap, has a two-class
configuration with 16 Business Class seats and 166 Economy Class
seats.
The delivery flight from Hamburg to Cairo was
powered by 34 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend. SAF
is a sustainably-produced aviation fuel made from feedstocks
ranging from used fat, oil and grease to municipal and forestry
waste. Compared to fossil jet fuel, SAF has been demonstrated to
result in an up to 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions across
the entire SAF lifecycle.
The A321neo, powered by CFM engines, joins Egyptair’s
Airbus fleet of 12 A220s, 8 A320neos, 2 A320ceos, 4 A330-200s and
4 A330-300. The carrier also operates Boeing 737-800, 777-300 and
787-9 aircraft.
Currently, all Airbus commercial aircraft are
capable of flying with an up to 50 percent SAF blend mixed with
kerosene and are targeted to be capable for 100 percent SAF use in
flight by the end of this decade.
Since March 2021, the French aircraft manufacturer has
successfully accomplished 100 percent SAF test flights on A319neo,
A350 and A380 aircraft.
