There will initially be just one flight each week on this charter service. There is a chance that future weekly services will increase.
EgyptAir will begin operating direct flights on September 4, 2023, between So Paulo Guarulhos International Airport and Cairo International Airport (CAI), the country of Egypt’s main hub (GRU). When it is introduced, this will be Guarulhos’ third direct route from Africa.
Egypt’s new service
With the signing of a contract on March 16, 2023, in Cairo, with representatives of EgyptAir and Alfonso Martinez, CEO of MasterFlights, the flights will be chartered and entirely run by Spain’s largest air consolidator, MasterFlights. Mercado & Eventos, a publication in Brazil, broke the story first.
Throughout the course of the following 12 months, the new service will be offered weekly on Mondays. There will be 309 seats total, 279 in economy class and 30 in business class, on EgyptAir’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Administration has authorized the flights (ANAC).
Additionally, the charter flights will provide connections within Egypt as well as to Tel Aviv, Amman, Dubai, and Istanbul. The service will make its formal debut at the World Travel Market Latin America (WTM-LA), which will be held in So Paulo from April 3 to 5, 2023.
In a message shared on LinkedIn, Joao Pita, the company’s commercial director, said:
“At Aeroporto International de So Paulo (GRU Airport), we do have significant news! With a significant chance of growing the number of weekly operations, Egyptair and MasterFlights will launch a weekly charter to So Paulo in September.
We’ve always wanted to travel the road between Cairo and So Paulo. The best airlines, products, marketing and sales team, and diligent effort are ways to encourage and advertise new destinations. On such a long voyage, cargo is advantageous.
Alfonso Martinez, CEO of MasterFlights, stated that operators and travel agencies in the Brazilian market will have the chance to participate in this eagerly anticipated project of EgyptAir. If successful, plans provide for adding other frequencies. Buenos Aires, Argentina, may be reached through a second weekly route beginning in May 2024, while Guarulhos, Brazil, would be the only destination served by a third weekly flight beginning in September 2024.
Brazil’s government and EgyptAir have been in talks for almost a year. In conversations with members of the So Paulo Tourist Administration and Visite So Paulo during ITB 2023, the company expressed interest in the Brazilian industry.
The airline also disclosed its intention to run charter flights because regular flights are subject to double taxation while entering and exiting Brazil because the two nations do not have trade agreements. The new nonstop flights between Brazil and Egypt are anticipated to enhance connectivity, strengthen business and economic ties between the two nations, and provide more travel options for visitors from both regions.
According to information from ch-aviation, EgyptAir currently has a fleet of 74 aircraft. It uses six Boeing 787 Dreamliners 9, six Boeing 777-300(ER), four Airbus A330-200, and four Airbus A330-300 aircraft for long-distance flights. Together with 28 Boeing 737-800s, the airline also operates 12 Airbus A220-300s, three A320ceos, eight A320neos, one A321neo, and a few cargo planes.
