One of many issues that shocked us throughout our Egypt journey was how a lot we loved EgyptAir enterprise class. The vast majority of my images are from our first flight from Athens to Cairo, however we additionally flew EgyptAir enterprise class from Cairo to Istanbul and domestically between Cairo and Luxor.
Examine-In
We checked in at Athens Worldwide Airport (ATH) with no strains on the EgyptAir enterprise class counter or at customs. Our flight left from gate A19. The A gates would not have a Quick Monitor entry for customs or safety however the one issues that wanted to be faraway from our luggage have been iPads and laptops.
The check-in agent introduced us with a lounge entry card that had a handwritten “Swissport” lounge title on it in lieu of one other lounge that was printed on the cardboard.
Swissport: The EgyptAir Enterprise Class Lounge
The Swissport Lounge is situated in a nook of Terminal A with just a few different lounges together with a lounge for oneworld and a handful of different airways, and an Aegean lounge with Star Alliance airways together with EgyptAir listed on the signage.
I’m not completely certain why we weren’t directed to the Aegean lounge (which is nicer – we’ve been in it when flying enterprise class on Aegean).
The upside is that Swissport was empty and supplied wine, beer, spirits, smooth drinks, juices, Greek pies, sandwiches, breads, salad and a handful of different snacks. It’s just about a one-room lounge and served its goal.
Our flight attendants have been in right here fueling up earlier than departure.
Onboard EgyptAir Enterprise Class
Boarding on the gate was hectic per regular in our expertise at ATH. We have been shuttled from the gate to the airplane which was ready on the tarmac a long way away which is why your ticket could inform you to board an hour prematurely.
Spacious Seats
EgyptAir Boeing 737-800 enterprise class seats are in a 2-2 (one aisle seat and one window seat on all sides of the aisle) formation and supply loads of legroom. The spacing jogs my memory of what American Airways home first-class is like (which is extra spacious than say British Airways Membership Europe).
Most seats would not have area to place your luggage underneath the seat in entrance of you however somewhat steel containers with “no stowage” written on them. I smashed my purse into the area anyway and the flight attendants appeared nice with it, although I noticed them shifting different passenger luggage into the overhead bins.
A bottle of water, headphones, duty-free buying catalog, and in-flight journal have been tucked into the seat pocket in entrance of us. A pillow and blanket have been additionally positioned on the seat. I did attempt to lengthen my footrest but it surely was a bit brief for my longer American legs with the tray desk open.
Inflight Leisure
Televisions pop up from storage between the armrests of the 2 seats however we have been knowledgeable that there can be no inflight leisure, maybe as flying time was just one hour and 45 minutes. (Our return flight from Cairo to Istanbul supplied inflight leisure, however there was none on our brief hop to Luxor).
Meals and Drink
A scorching towel and guava juice or pomegranate juice predeparture drinks have been introduced after boarding they usually have been each scrumptious.
Promptly after takeout flight attendants served everybody the identical somewhat fulsome meal of chilly salmon, tabbouleh, mezze platter, saffron pasta, pita, and an orange dessert with filo pastry. I used to be impressed by how recent and truthfully scrumptious all the things was.
We have been supplied the selection of tea or espresso (that are the one drinks served and supplied after the meal), although some passengers requested extra guava juice or water.
EgyptAir, as you most likely know, is a dry airline. I learn you can convey your personal alcohol onboard and that flight attendants will serve it to you on some flights. Whereas we love a glass of wine within the air, we didn’t really feel proper about this on such a brief flight however it’s one thing I might think about on an extended haul flight.
(You should buy single-serve bottles of wine on the cafe close to home departures within the Luxor airport however you must most likely drink it within the airport or verify with the agent to see what the coverage is for bringing it onboard.)
Arrival in Cairo
The flight handed with out a lot fuss. I used to be requested to place my laptop and tray desk away about half-hour previous to touchdown, which is unusually early, in my expertise.
One of many essential advantages of flying EgyptAir enterprise class is Quick Monitor entry to Passport Management when arriving at Cairo airport (and we subsequently skilled this as properly at Istanbul Airport because of Turkish Airways’ Star Alliance membership), which has a shorter line than common passport management.
You may learn extra about what to know earlier than touring to Cairo.
EgyptAir Enterprise Class from Cairo to Istanbul
When departing Cairo Airport, you’ll even have Quick Monitor entry by way of safety (tip: you should have your passports in hand so don’t ship them by way of baggage scan — I discovered this the exhausting manner) and Passport Management. This profit can also be prolonged to Star Alliance Gold Members.
Our flight to Istanbul departed from gate G1 so we used the EgyptAir Gienah lounge. At 8:30 a.m. it was filled with little or no obtainable seating.
Two self-serve meals areas included pastries, smooth drinks, tea, bottled water, juice containers, gourmand espresso drinks (with Starbucks beans), finger sandwiches, entire fruit (apples, oranges, bananas), minimize veggies, mini cupcakes, eggs, beans, sausage, cheese, and a handful of different finger meals.
No alcohol was served however we didn’t ask for any. Workers members have been making ready drinks for patrons and I did see an empty wine glass on one in every of their trays however not a single particular person (and there have been many within the lounge with us) ingesting something alcoholic. We have been additionally having points connecting to the lounge WiFi.
It’s price arriving earlier than boarding time as you’ll cross by way of one other safety verify on the gate. Brokers will verify passenger visas, if relevant (carry paperwork — it might have been an enormous problem if I hadn’t printed our Turkey visas). This time, you’ll take away liquids, footwear, and laptops from carry-on luggage earlier than sending them by way of your third airport scan. You’ll stroll by way of a steel detector and all passengers are patted down.
This time, we boarded the airplane straight from the jetway, additionally a 737-800 with the identical seating configuration as our flight from Athens to Cairo.
A scorching towel and the identical pomegranate and guava juice predeparture drinks have been handed round. The one distinction is that inflight leisure labored on this flight.
And, because it was morning, we have been served breakfast although this time in two programs. The primary with fruit, cheese, a croissant, and roll.
The second course selections included crepes, ful medames (a conventional Egyptian breakfast dish with fava beans) that my husband ordered it and was fairly good, and scrambled eggs with sausage and greens.
A passenger in entrance of us was fairly demanding and the flight attendants dealt with the state of affairs flawlessly.
As soon as once more the meals and repair have been glorious. The flight arrived on time. Upon arriving at IST, we used the Quick Monitor line to clear customs and baggage arrived on the carousel inside minutes.
General, we have been fairly happy with our expertise in EgyptAir enterprise class and would don’t have any points flying with them once more. We additionally flew EgyptAir enterprise class from Cairo to Luxor and again on smaller planes.
