Tried & Tested

Egyptair B777-200 business

24 Sep 2008 by Sara Turner

CHECK-IN I arrived at Heathrow Terminal 3 at 1305 for my 1500 departure on flight MS778. Having recently joined Star Alliance (see online news July 10), Egyptair should eventually move to T1 to join the other member airlines, but no timetable is in place for this yet. For now, check-in is at Zone 3, where there was one desk open for first class passengers, one for business and five for economy. As both the premium desks were occupied, I was directed to one of the free economy counters, swiftly checked in and given a pass for the lounge. Business and first class passengers get fast-track security access (which for once was remarkably speedy) and I was airside by 1320.

THE LOUNGE Egyptair shares American Airlines’ Admirals Club (business class) and Flagship (first class) lounges, known collectively as “Lounge H”. Both have good facilities including wifi internet access, a large selection of newspapers and magazines, business centres, self-service snacks and drinks, and plenty of seating. I was advised that the flight would be called, and at 1445 an announcement was made that the inbound flight had been delayed, so boarding would start at around 1515.

BOARDING The flight was leaving from Gate 34, and when I arrived there was a large queue snaking out of the seated area. Boarding had already begun, so I joined the line until business and first class passengers were invited to step forward. I was sitting in seat 1D and, once settled, was offered a choice of guava, cherry or apple juice (Egyptair is a dry airline), a selection of newspapers (mainly Egyptian), and an amenity kit, which in business and first class is Monteil-branded and includes moisturiser, a toothbrush, socks, an eye mask, a comb and a bottle of “refresher mist”. We were advised that there would be a further delay due to bad weather, and we eventually took off just before 1700.

THE SEAT The B777-200 has 12 seats in first class in a 2-2-2 layout, 21 in business (2-3-2) and 286 in economy (3-4-2). Seats in premium classes have a width of 54.5cm (21.5in) and 23.5cm (9.2in) individual TV screens. The differences are in the seat pitch (157.5cm/62in in first and 101.5cm/40in in business) and recline (37cm/14.5in in first and 19cm/7.5in in business). Economy seats have a pitch of 84cm/33in, width of 50.5cm/19.8in, and recline of 12.5cm/5in. Other features in first include a fold-out table, a small storage compartment under the armrest and a drinks tray. The seat is fairly old-fashioned, but for a four-hour flight is perfectly comfortable. An oddity in the seat numbering means that business class occupies rows eight to ten, although they are in fact the third, fourth and fifth rows behind first class.

THE FLIGHT Drinks were offered as soon as the seatbelt signs were turned off, with the dinner service starting shortly after. While there were no menus in business or first, the starter consisted of smoked salmon and asparagus with a salad of feta cheese, cucumber and tomato, and warm, fresh rolls. For the main course several dishes were brought out on a trolley to be served at the seat. (There was china crockery but plastic cutlery.) I opted for chicken breast with vegetables and sautéed potatoes – other choices included beef kebabs, and fish and vegetarian dishes. A cheese and fruit selection was also offered, followed by a choice of desserts and tea or coffee. I watched a film from a choice of four fairly recent releases – they are not on-demand so if you want to catch the whole feature be sure to turn your set on early in the flight.

ARRIVAL We landed around one hour behind schedule, having made up about half the time we lost waiting to take off. We were handed a booklet during the flight containing landing cards and general information on Egypt, so having filled these in it was a fairly straightforward process at immigration. (UK citizens pay US$15 for a visa on arrival.) Depending on traffic, the city centre is 30-60 minutes from the airport.

VERDICT Attentive, friendly service and an adequate seat for this length of flight. Readers should note that Egyptair codeshares with Bmi (another Star carrier) on this route, with two daily flights served by Egyptair planes, and two on Bmi A320 aircraft.