EGYPTAIR IN TALKS TO DEFER A330-300 DELIVERIES

EgyptAir has held discussions with Airbus with a view to deferring some of its A330-300 deliveries as it seeks to stabilise its operations. EgyptAir does not believe the crisis will affect delivery of four outstanding 737-800s towards the end of 2012.The airline is also postponing the launch of services to Toronto and Washington. This is a far cry from last August when the airline brought forward the introduction of five A330-300s. The airline is battling with a huge crash in demand following the uprising in Egypt Last month. EgyptAir holding company chairman Hussein Massoud, speaking during a briefing today, admitted that the carrier had held discussions with Airbus over the A330 deliveries. He says the talks have centred on pushing back their arrival by “about three or four months”. EgyptAir received the fifth of six 777-300ERs about a week ago, and the airline had intended to open routes to Toronto and Washington using the type in May. But Massoud says the routes will be postponed, adding: “We don’t think we can do it during summer. We’re hoping for recovery before the winter schedule, and we’ll do our best to start in the winter schedule.”