At the Airport

EgyptAir’s check-in counters are located on the first row to the right of the terminal building. The airline uses four check-in counters, one for Business Class passengers and three for Economy Class passengers. The check-in process was efficiently done despite the long queue, we only waited for 5 mins to get our luggage checked in. We had to clear security twice, once before the check-in counters and another before the boarding area. The boarding process was a little chaotic, as the two boarding gates were facing each other, with flights departing around the same time, creating a scene where passengers did not know which queue was for which gate. There is a lack of ground staff directing passengers to the correct queue, resulting in passengers from both gates crowding around the area.

The Aircraft

EgyptAir deployed its newest aircraft, an A321neo delivered in August 2023, for this flight from Luxor to Cairo. The airlines usually deploy this aircraft for medium-haul flights; I guess we were lucky to have flown it.

The Cabin

There are 182 seats onboard EgyptAir A321neo, with 16 recliner seats in Business Class and 166 in Economy Class. The cabin felt fresh and bright due to the white-coloured walls and the white lighting illuminating the entire cabin. Unlike the usual EgyptAir aircraft, the Economy Class cabin onboard the A321neo seats are decked in black leather, giving the cabin a refined and luxurious look. Perhaps the aircraft is still new at the time of my flight, the Economy Class cabin looks clean and bright. EgyptAir still uses its iconic blue carpeting commonly found in the other aircraft the airlines own, paying homage to the blue colour theme used on the Horus logo on its fuselage. I did not have the opportunity to visit the lavatory as the lady sitting beside me was napping throughout the flight from Luxor to Cairo and only woke up to receive drinks from the cabin crew.

The Seat

Each of EgyptAir’s 166 Economy Class seats is very comfortable to sit on, despite being thinner padded compared to their B737-800 that I flew from Aswan to Abu Simbel. Economy Class seats onboard EgyptAir A321neo have a seat pitch of 30″ and are 18″ wide. They are capable of reclining 3″, which made snoozing on the seats very comfortable, partly also contributed by the padded headrest. The legroom in the Economy Class seats is pretty generous. The tray table on the seats is very standard but still large enough for one to work on a laptop. There is a power outlet between the seats in front of ours which we can use to charge our mobile devices. The seat has a large pocket, which is standard for aircraft worldwide. The oversized seat recline button on the armrest is very responsive. I like how EgyptAir fitted an individual air nozzle overhead, next to the reading light that ensures the comfort of its passengers.

Inflight Entertainment

Each Economy Class seat onboard EgyptAir A321neo is fitted with a 9″ personal TV turned on the entire flight. There are no IFE controllers on the seats; rather, passengers rely on the touchscreen function on the IFE monitor to access entertainment options on the screen. I found the touchscreen function on the personal TV to be very responsive. EgyptAir has a good selection of entertainment options for inflight entertainment, organised in an intuitively designed menu. They even have the latest Hollywood blockbuster in their IFE. The headphone jack and USB power outlet are located beneath the IFE screen. However, as this was a short flight, earphones were not distributed. I used the earplugs I got from Singapore Airlines and could still enjoy the IFE.

Meal Service

This was a short 1-hour domestic flight, so no meals were served onboard. The EgyptAir cabin crew went around the cabin distributing bottled water to all passengers in Economy Class.

Service

Despite being on a short flight and with limited chances of interaction, the crew’s warmth was still felt. They were at the door welcoming passengers the moment we stepped onboard. Their smile never waned even though it was an early morning flight and was apparent during drinks distribution. The diligent crew was seen patrolling the cabin to collect trash before landing and during safety checks. Even after the plane had landed, the crew were at the door smiling at passengers and thanking us for flying with EgyptAir.

Afterthought

We were pleasantly surprised to be flying with EgyptAir’s newest A321neo. The Economy Class cabin was bright, and the seats were very comfortable. The IFE fitted was a bonus that entertained me during the short 1-hour run between Luxor and Cairo. The cabin crew were welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed this flight with EgyptAir.