Trip Reports - EgyptAir First Class CAI-LHR Trip Report with Pics

A step back in time, CAI-LHR in EgyptAir First Class

Aircraft: B777
Flight Number: MS777

This is my first trip report chaps and chapettes, so be gentle. Using BMI miles to book a weekend away in Cairo I had the opportunity to fly MS back home as they are now part of Star. I took BMI out to CAI, but the timings worked better for me to use MS on the way home. Also, for an airline that just does not have much known about it, I thought it could be interesting for this short hop. I was booked into 2A in F for the morning flight.

I checked into for the flight in very good time and I was departing from the newly built terminal 3 in Cairo, which all in all was a very modern and quite pretty terminal. Check in was fast and taken care of for me by my helper, however check in was post security which was a little odd. MS seem to have three lounges in the terminal, one just after immigration with a big sign saying ‘First Class Lounge’. Thinking that this would be a good bet I got in the lift to it and showed my boarding pass. I was turned away, I pointed out that I was flying EgyptAir and I also was in F, met with a grunt which I assumed meant ‘no’ I went back down to the main terminal to find the other lounges. The others are on either sides of the terminal, and are branded and Star Alliance lounges. Typically, I went to the one on the wrong side of the terminal, and was sort of turned away from this one too. I made my way to the other one and third time lucky, was let in and chilled out for about an hour before boarding. The lounge was similar in styling to the new Star lounge in London, and offered hot and cold drinks (no booze) and cold pastries and cereals. As you can see from the pictures below, it was quite busy. The windows looked over the gates.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/lounge1.JPG

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/lounge2.JPG

Annoyingly, they made boarding announcements in the lounge for every single flight departing from the terminal, which meant on average there were at least 2 announcements per minute – seriously. There were also a few computers dotted around the lounge with free fast internet. In between the plethora of boarding calls, I heard my flight was boarding so made my way to the gate, where there was another security check, however no priority boarding. The 777 was parked outside.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/ac.JPG

The cabin was a 2-2-2 layout in 2 rows, with 3 of the 12 seats occupied. The seats were a brownish leather with a fabric central section. Looked like my Grannie’s old sofa from when I was very young and visited her in Tel Aviv. Very Middle-Eastern and even more dated. The layout and style of the cabin did remind me of US domestic first, just with loads of leg room. MS is a dry airline, so pre-flight drinks were not all that exciting, so the choice was water or OJ, and a hot towel.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat1.JPG

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat2.JPG

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat3.JPG

There was an odd safety video, which was cartoon based and showed only the Y cabin with no reference to other cabins. I guess if you are in the front you should be able to work out what to do in an emergency without any instruction. Thankfully, it did make a point of letting everyone know that you are permitted to use electric shavers on board at any time after take off, that was a weight off my mind. After the video there was a prayer for the travelling played in the cabin and on screen, followed by a view from the nose wheel camera which I thought was quite cool. You can see the top of the tug with the yellow beacon in its roof in the pic below.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/cam.JPG


Shortly after takeoff we were given brekkie, which was some tea or coffee and pastries. I was quite hungry at this point so was pleased to get some food. We were also handed a basic amenity kit containing all the usual stuff.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/snack.JPG

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/kit.JPG


The IFE in first was in individual screens folded out of the armrest, mine was damaged and kind of hung off its holder. We had the choice of about 5 or 6 second rate straight-to-video ‘blockbusters’ to choose from. I thought I would give The Pink Panther a try. After searching for it on the channel it should have been on, I found that all movies were playing on the wrong channels, and none corresponded to the in-flight mag. Twenty minutes into the film, all movies were stopped for 10 minutes or so and then started from the beginning on the correct channels. Needless to say, the 20 minutes I did get to see of the movie was so excruciating that I did not really need to see the rest. A blessing in disguise!

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat6.JPG

I put the seat in the most reclined position it offered and tried to get some sleep. This picture shows the seat in recline, thanks to Miss 2F who so gorgeously demonstrates this.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat5.JPG


And my seat:

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/seat4.JPG

I was woken up about an hour and a half before landing and offered lunch.

MENU

Appetiser:
Smoked Salmon, crab sticks and assorted vegetables

Salad:
Seasonal Salad with your choice of dressing

Main:
Grilled beef medallions with mushroom cream sauce
Or
Chicken breast stuffed with mushroom, rice and cream
Or
Grilled Salmon covered with Onion Mustard Sauce

All served with:
Roast potatoes, carrot, broccoli and baby corn. White rice with almonds and raisins.

Dessert:
White chocolate mousse cake
Black Forest
Lemon Raspberry Cheese Cake
A selection of Cheeses


The fishy starter:

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/starter.JPG

And I opted for the Beef:

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/main.JPG


The food was served from a trolley in the aisle with all dishes cooked and in serving plates for you to see what you were being given. It was plated up in front of you, and I quite liked this, it felt more like a home cooked meal, and was a little more informal than normal, it had a very Middle Eastern feel to the service style. Overall, it was quite tasty too!

As we came over the north of Italy we had some amazing mountain views which was by far more entertaining than the movie selections could ever be.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/view.JPG

We landed on time in LHR even though we departed a little late and overall this was a fine flight. The seats are dated, and by no means an international standard first class, I would not have been happy in this seat for longer than about 5 hours or so, and less so had I paid for it! The service was average, but competent, might I say that the age of the crew matched that of the cabin. So all in all an interesting flying experience, but nothing special that sets it apart, excluding the novelty kitsch factor of the cabin of course! Here are some more cabin views.

Over and out.

http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/cabin1.JPG


http://www.electricshopping.com/img/ft/cabin2.JPG

Interesting report, thanks !

Crab sticks in First! :o

Nice report. It is not going to make me rush out and book a First flight on Egypt Air though. ;)

...And, of course, crab sticks contain no crab, but are highly processed fish sticks.

I wouldn't want to see these in Y, let alone F.

But thanks for the interesting report.

Nice report thanks. ^

Very interesting! Thanks...

It's really a shame, because their JFK-CAI-JFK flights save so much time... There's just no way I'd redeem an int'l F award for a seat comparable to UA's old C. :td:

That was not very impressive - they should cope up to international standards with a wide-body aircraft.

Thanks for the report! It's always interesting to read about the service on exotic airlines like Egypt Air. Unfortunately, Egypt Air provides ample evidence that a modern fleet does not guarantee modern service. I found it interesting that at the bottom of the posts on your thread was a BA advertisement saying Upgrade To BA. On the CAI-LHR route at least, I should say so.

Great trip report.

It brings back memories of a YUL-CAI flight I did also in first on Egyptair. It was beyond pathetic. I would rate it as a premium economy experience.

Nice to see UA and US are not the worst members of Star--at least when it comes to seating.

Thanks for an interesting trip report.

Fishsticks and unlimited shaving opportunities! What more could an F passenger want?

I know it's really too late now... but... there was a rather interesting trip report which stated that the F seats in one of the rows have a special catch which, when released, allowes a full 180 recline. This is used by the pilots for their rest break.

I'll try and dig it out some time. Not sure if it was Sam Chui's report (which is here: http://www.samchuiphotos.com/EgyptAir/)

If its not there I'll try and search elsewhere.

Regards

lme ff

Thanks for the great report on one of those obscure airlines.

Those seats look dreadful! What I really don't understand is why the food offerings are so poor. Lufthansa has old seats in F (not that these compare to LH's), but at least they make up for it with a great lounge and good meals.

It looks like economy food on nicer plates. And plasticware still in the bag a la fast food restaurant?

Why could they not offer some fruit and yoghurt with your pastries? Anything else for breakfast in F? Juice? That is really sad.

Thanks very interesting TR, the F product doesn't look stunning I'm afraid, but kinda looks fun to try once. (If you're not personally paying that is.)

Cheers Larry.

I know it's really too late now... but... there was a rather interesting trip report which stated that the F seats in one of the rows have a special catch which, when released, allowes a full 180 recline. This is used by the pilots for their rest break.

I'll try and dig it out some time. Not sure if it was Sam Chui's report (which is here: http://www.samchuiphotos.com/EgyptAir/)

If its not there I'll try and search elsewhere.

Regards

lme ff

Yep - seat 1B seemed to offer a MUCH larger recline then mine after the FA did something to it for the pax ahead of me. That explains it - not 180 degree however, by a long way!

Good report, I will be flying on MS for the first time early next year, I am now scared... very scared.

Yep - seat 1B seemed to offer a MUCH larger recline then mine after the FA did something to it for the pax ahead of me. That explains it - not 180 degree however, by a long way!

Ah - yes - sorry for the exaggeration :)

But good to know 1AB in future then - I still really want to try an old 777 in F like this (oh wait, does an ancient Air China count??)

Regards
lme ff

thanks for sharing OP. what a difference as i compare this to EK First or even Business. i agree that i would be less than content had i spent my own $$$ to fly in this first class cabin.

...And, of course, crab sticks contain no crab, but are highly processed fish sticks.

Mmmm mmmmmmm goooooooood!

Didn't we used to call it "krab". :confused:
My mom used to say "Kids! Come get some crab with a 'k'!!!". :(:td:

Interesting that they are a "dry" airline! No white wine with the krab? :eek:


Kind of off topic, but how many "dry" major airlines are there out there? I didn't know that existed!
They really don't serve any alcohol?
No. Egypt. Air. For. Me. :(

i agree that i would be less than content had i spent my own $$$ to fly in this first class cabin.

but the fares are very very low (BKK-CAI return in F for March next year is USD1800... and it was quite a bit lower last year - like in the 1400 range IIRC). (Qatar airways is about the same price, but EK is double.)

But... credit miles to someone like Lufthansa and get 300% mileage bonus.

So has its upsides.