New Egyptian airline Nile Air has agreed to buy nine Airbus A321 aircraft. The privately owned regional carrier signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus to base its future fleet on the A321 aircraft.
The Cairo-based start-up private airline will be Egypt’s second regular carrier after Egyptair and plans to serve Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina, Dammam, Kuwait, Dubai, Doha, and Bahrain with passenger, freight, and airmail services.
Dr. Nasser A. Al-Tayyar, Founder of Nile Air, said “operational economics and fleet capacity, volume and range are all critical to successful operations, and the A321 is the perfect solution to provide our required balance between volume, cost-efficiency and return on investment.”
“For any company wanting to start airline operations, the choice of aircraft is a critical decision. Nile Air has ambitious plans and we are delighted they have chosen the Airbus A321. The aircraft matches their needs for operational efficiency as well as passenger comfort”, said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers.
The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Each aircraft features fly by wire controls and all share a unique cockpit commonality across the range. Over 5,450 Airbus A320 Family have been sold and over 3200 delivered to some 200 operators worldwide, making it the worlds best selling commercial jetliner ever.
With proven reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. In addition, the latest new cabin design saves on weight and offers the passenger a quieter and roomier experience as well as significantly larger overhead stowage lockers.
Uniquely, the A320 Family offers a containerised cargo system, which is compatible with the world wide standard wide-body system.
Photo: Airbus S.A.S. 2005 ©
