ITTN’s Shane Cullen got to experience the economy and business classes as part of Egyptair’s recently launched direct service from Dublin to Cairo. The route operates 4 times per week (Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun) on an A320neo all year round. There are 16 business and 126 economy seats.

Egyptair offers connectivity to Egypt’s top tourist destinations including Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan. In addition, it offers connectivity to Egyptair’s network, which operates services to 70+ destinations across c. 60 countries worldwide including 40+ destinations in the Middle East and Africa. Egyptair is also a Star Alliance member.

Dublin to Cario Onboard an Egyptair A320 neo

As scheduled, the 5 1/2-hour flight to Cairo took off at 2.20 pm. Lifting off, it was clear the load factor on the flight to Cairo was 90-95%. An Egyptair flight from Cairo to Sharm El Sheikh was just an hour and luggage was checked through from Dublin meaning getting the connecting flight was easy.

While it is recommended to get your visa before arrival, you can get it at Cairo Airport (cost is USD$25) – for more on visas and travel advice to Egypt – click here.

Egyptair Dining & Entertainment Onboard

Egyptair provides meals and drinks in both Economy and Business Class. It is worth noting Egyptair services are “dry flights” meaning no alcoholic beverages are served onboard.

In Economy Class, dinner of chicken or beef curry with rice and vegetables was served to travellers, accompanied by a side salad and bread roll. It was tasty and made a welcome change to stodgy, soggy-filled rolls, crisps and chocolate that feature on many flights these days. Dessert was a dainty sponge cake with fruit juice followed by a coffee. In Business Class, on the early morning return to Dublin, travellers were served a selection of cold meats, cheese and salad with fruit and pastries.

Once hunger is satisfied, there is time to browse the entertainment offering.

Inflight Entertainment Onboard Egyptair

Inflight entertainment offers an extensive choice regardless of whether economy or business class. Since Egyptair operate a newer generation Airbus A320neo aircraft, all economy and business class seats have high-definition screens to keep flyers entertained. New releases included Top Gun Maverick, Come Away and Fantastic Beasts – Secrets of Dumbledore. For the kids, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Onward were the top choices. A large selection of world movies was also available to appeal to the numerous nationalities that fly Egyptair. Even the Economy Class seat features a USB port to keep all gadgets topped up if you decide to use your phone or tablet. Business Class also offers a plug socket. Egyptair also offers wifi onboard for a small fee. 

Three and a half hours into the flight, travellers were greeted with the lovely message, “We hope you are enjoying your flight, cake will be served shortly” appearing on each screen. Random good news popping up needs to happen more frequently! The screen messaging service was also used to advise of any patches of turbulence!