On Friday, Canadian national flag carrier Air Canada flew its first non-stop flight to Cairo, Egypt using a 255-seat Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The inaugural flight is the first year-round service that will see three flights a week between Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Cairo International Airport (CAI).The flights will operate on a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, returning to Canada a day later on a Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Besides giving the Star Alliance member a new gateway on the African continent, the new non-stop service will provide an essential link for the sizeable Egyptian community that settled in and around Montreal.
Cairo could prove to be good for Air Canada
When speaking about the new non-stop service between Montreal and Cairo Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management of Air Canada, Mark Galardo said the following in a company statement:
"Air Canada is pleased to offer its first scheduled flights to Egypt. We are strategically rebuilding our international network by adding new routes that support leisure and visiting friends and family travel. With few non-stop options to Egypt from North America, we see opportunities to launch new non-stop flights to Cairo from Montreal, where there is an established Egyptian community.
"We have also built convenient connections to and from our Cairo flights from across Canada and the US at our Montreal hub. This new route shows our commitment to rebuilding our international network and our Montreal hub, which have been dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic."
The Montreal to Cairo flights will operate on the following schedule:
- Flight number AC74 will depart Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) at 17:50 and arrive at Cairo International Airport (CAI) at 10:15 plus one day on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
- Flight number AC75 will depart Cairo International Airport (CAI) at 12:00 and arrive at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) at 17:00 on a Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Passengers can connect with Egyptair
The flights have been deliberately timed to optimize connectivity across Air Canada's North American network and to allow Air Canada passengers arriving in Cairo to connect on Egyptair flights to the following airports:
- Aswan International Airport (ASW)
- Hurghada International Airport (HRG)
- Luxor International Airport (LXR)
- Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (SSH)
- Bahrain International Airport (BAH)
- Queen Alia International Airport (AMM)
Egyptair is also a member of the Star Alliance network and codeshares with Air Canada on the Montreal to Cairo flight.
On the ten-and-a-half-hour Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight, Air Canada will offer three classes of service, Air Canada signature class, premium economy, and economy class. All Air Canada flights arriving and departing Cairo International Airport (CAI) will operate out of Terminal 3, designated for Star Alliance flights.
When speaking about the new non-stop flights between Canada and Egypt with the Daily News Commercial Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada to Egypt, Jasmine Wahhab said:
“This new direct route to Egypt, a growing economic and industrial hub steeped in history and culture, confirms Montreal’s standing as a vibrant world-class city and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport status as a prime gateway to North America.
“The non-stop year-round Montreal to Cairo link will also facilitate the expansion of Canadian companies in the robust Egyptian market, enabling them to secure major commercial opportunities in key industry sectors, such as ICT, agri-food, clean-tech, mining, and transportation. Air Canada became the only airline based in the Americas to fly directly to Egypt.â€
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Egypt is open to tourists
Interestingly the Air Canada non-stop flight to Cairo is the only one operated by a North American airline. Egyptair, however, does offer a non-stop flight between Cairo and New York.
Perhaps due to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural flight only had 150 passengers aboard. This might change as we move into the summer months as Egypt is open for tourism, with the only requirement being a visa and proof of a negative PCR test taken no longer than 72 hours before arriving in the country.
What do you think about Air Canada's non-stop Montreal to Cairo flight? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.