EgyptAir is to lease two more Boeing 787s from AerCap, the source of the six 787-9s the North African airline already has in service.

EgyptAir is to lease two more Boeing 787s from AerCap, the source of the six 787-9s the North African airline already has in service.

The follow-on deal was disclosed at the Dubai air show. It was during the last edition of the event, in 2017, that the airline disclosed its selection of the Dreamliner for fleet modernisation.

EgyptAir began 787-9 operations this year, deploying the aircraft on new direct Washington DC flights it launched from Cairo in June.

The airline group’s chief executive Ahmed Adel states that the 787 has “has outperformed our expectations”. He adds: “We look forward to growing our network with additional 787-9 airplanes and flying more passengers to their destinations at an affordable cost.”

For maintenance of its 787s, EgyptAir has struck agreements with Boeing to secure global access to critical aircraft components. The deals span landing-gear exchange and quick-engine-change kits.

Boeing says more than half of all 787 customers have placed repeat orders, and that the type’s biggest customer is AerCap, with 117, including those still on order.

Cirium fleets data lists 84 AerCap-managed 787s already in service: 17 of the -8 variant and 67 of the -9.

AerCap 787s