Several months ago, we learned how EgyptAir filed with the Department of Transportation (DOT), requesting permission to launch two new routes. There’s now an update, as the new routes are official, and the schedules have been published.
EgyptAir adding Chicago & Los Angeles routes
In the coming months, EgyptAir intends to launch flights from Cairo (CAI) to both Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD).
As of May 23, 2026, the airline plans to launch 3x weekly flights to Los Angeles, with the following schedule:
MS983 Cairo to Los Angeles departing 8:30AM arriving 1:20PM
MS984 Los Angeles to Cairo departing 5:25PM arriving 5:10PM (+1 day)
The 7,605-mile flight is blocked at 14hr50min westbound and 13hr45min eastbound. It’ll operate in both directions on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This will be (by far) the longest route in EgyptAir’s network.
As of June 21, 2026, the airline will launch 3x weekly flights to Chicago, with the following schedule:
MS947 Cairo to Chicago departing 12:50AM arriving 5:15AM
MS948 Chicago to Cairo departing 10:30AM arriving 5:40AM (+1 day)
The 6,148-mile flight is blocked at 12hr25min westbound and 11hr10min eastbound. It’ll operate in both directions on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
EgyptAir intends to use its brand new Airbus A350-900 for these two routes, featuring the carrier’s latest cabin products. These planes feature 340 seats, including 30 business class seats and 310 economy class seats.
I’ve reviewed EgyptAir’s Boeing 787-9 business class. The airline has reverse herringbone seats, which are quite competitive. The A350s also feature reverse herringbone seats, but with doors and updated tech. While the hard product is quite good, just about everything else leaves something to be desired. Then again, my opinions on anything related to Egypt are apparently not valid, so I’ll just leave it at that. 😉
Perhaps what’s most interesting about this new Los Angeles service is that it means that LAX will have a nonstop connection to all six inhabited continents. For what it’s worth, this route would technically be a resumption, as EgyptAir flew to Los Angeles decades ago. For what it’s worth, this isn’t the only Africa service that LAX is getting, as Royal Air Maroc is also launching flights there from Casablanca (CMN).
How these routes fit into EgyptAir’s network
For context, Chicago and Los Angeles will be EgyptAir’s fifth and sixth destinations in North America. The airline also flies to New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Toronto (YYZ), and Washington (IAD).
The Chicago route seems like a safe(ish) enough bet that feeds into a huge United hub (and EgyptAir and United are both in Star Alliance). However, I’m a little more skeptical of the viability of something like the Los Angeles service:
- The economics of ultra long haul flights are challenging, and this flight is 2,000 miles longer than EgyptAir’s service to New York
- There’s a lot more demand for travel to Africa from New York, Washington, and Toronto, than there is from Los Angeles
- While Los Angeles is also a United hub, the airline doesn’t have as much connectivity as at the other hubs; you’d basically just be funneling in a bit of traffic from the West Coast, and those are people that could also potentially route through the East Coast
- Los Angeles has a ton of wealthy people connecting to destinations that could be served one-stop via Cairo, but a vast majority of them would instead elect to fly with Emirates, Qatar, etc.
So I could be wrong, but I feel like this route might be more motivated by prestige and “Hollywood” than by traffic and yield figures. Then again, that would hardly be the first time a government owned airline launched a route for that reason.
Bottom line
EgyptAir intends to launch two new routes to the United States, including a new flight to Los Angeles as of May 2026, and a new flight to Chicago as of June 2026. The schedules for these flights have now been filed, and they’re expected to go on sale in the coming days.
Chicago seems logical enough, given that it’s a United hub, so there’s lots of connectivity. However, I remain a bit more skeptical about the potential profitability of Los Angeles flights, given the length of the flight, the traffic flows, etc.
What do you make of EgyptAir adding flights to Chicago & Los Angeles? Do you think the airline will succeed?
