North Sumatra Vegetables Export down by 952%

The hey-days of North Sumatra vegetables export seems abruptly halt.

In 2007 alone export has been down to 952% compare to 2006.

According to statistic from Pelindo I Belawan and Pelindo I unit Peti Kemas Belawan, until July 2008, export volume is 13.080 ton or down by 28% compare to the same period last year which was 16.571 ton.

Whilst in 2007 total export is recorded at 33.053 ton, this alone is a significan down by 952% compare to 2006.

Back in 1980s, vegetables form Kabanjahe Tanah Karo North Sumatra was the prima dona in Malaysia and Singapore market. Back then, twice a week, a ferry service carrying this commodities left pier 101-102 port of Belawan with destination Singapore. A number of regular ships carrying thousand tons of vegetables also left Gudang Merah Peir Belawan for Port Klang and Penang Malaysia.

These days are gone, let alone exporting, seeds for these commodities now have to be imported from abroad. Farmers prefer to import better quality seeds to ensure profitable.

Iedul Fitr Greeting

Dear All,

From us in Indonesia....

We also inform you that our office will close during Ied ul Fitr from 27 September 2008 Until 5 October 2008, all official work would be continued after 5 October 2008.

NOL to Bid for Hapag-Lloyd

Neptune Orient Lines will definitely bid for Hapag-Lloyd, the chief executive of the Singapore-based ocean carrier said.

Ron Widdows, who in late August expressed doubts about buying the world's fifth-largest liner operator, told Welt am Sonntag, the German Sunday newspaper, he would make a binding offer by the Sept. 26 deadline set by Hapag-Lloyd parent TUI AG. "Something dramatic would have to happen that we don't do that," he said.

But Widdows said he has "a gut feeling" there is only a 50-50 chance TUI, Europe's biggest tourism group, will sell Hapag-Lloyd.

Widdows said NOL, parent of APL, would present a better economic case for acquiring Hapag-Lloyd than a rival bid by a consortium of Hamburg investors, the only other bidders for the carrier. Previously, Widdows said NOL has not definitely decided to make a bid as the deteriorating market environment had raised the risks involved in an acquisition.
The Hamburg investors have secured financing for a "relatively high strategic price", Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the billionaire chief shareholder of forwarder Kuehne & Nagel and a member of the consortium, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Neptune Orient Lines has emerged as the odds-on favorite to acquire Hapag-Lloyd, German analysts say, thanks to synergies the Hamburg investors can't realize. Combining NOL and Hapag-Lloyd would create the world's third-largest ocean carrier.
The recent strength of the dollar against the euro also has tipped the balance in favor of NOL by as much as $300-350 million, according to analysts quoted in the German media.

Widdows dismissed claims NOL would cut Hapag-Lloyd jobs in Germany and at its overseas offices and quit its home port of Hamburg as "nonsense".

"Germany is the most important market for NOL", accounting for a fifth of its European cargo volume, he told Welt am Sonntag. "Our business will grow in Hamburg…it doesn't matter if we grow alone as NOL or together with Hapag-Lloyd." The NOL executive met with German deputy economic minister Dagmar Woehrl last week, reportedly to defuse tensions over the likely sale of Hapag-Lloyd, Germany's biggest shipping line, to a foreign company.

And TUI, which values Hapag-Lloyd at 3.5 billion euros [$4.9 billion], has said it will not sell the carrier unless it gets an acceptable price, said to be a minimum of 4 billion euros [$5.7 billion].

Analysts had predicted Hapag-Lloyd would fetch as much as 4-5 billion euros when TUI put it up for sale in the spring but the slide in ocean freight rates and slowing world trade growth have prompted them to lower their estimates.

Source : http://www.trafficworld.com

Container Volumes Could Drop By 6%

Cargo volume at US retail container ports could be off by 6% in 2008, according to the monthly Port Tracker report.

Released by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight, the report suggests the slow economy has prompted merchants to manage inventories very carefully. The 6% drop is represented by a projected annual total of 15.5 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), down from the August forecast of 15.8 million TEUs. This compares with 16.5 million TEUs in 2007.

Cargo volume each month of 2008 has been below the same period in 2007 and this trend was expected to continue through the end of 2008. Increases expected for October and December are no longer anticipated.

“Retailers are tightening up their inventories to reflect what they expect to be able to sell during the holiday season,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president for Supply Chain and Customs Policy with the National Retail Federation (NRF). “We still expect to see an increase in sales this year, but the economy is clearly challenging and our industry is trying to hit the balance point between supply and demand as closely as they can.”

In July, the latest month with complete data, US ports surveyed showed a 2.6% increase in volumes over June, but an 8.3% drop from July 2007.

New regulations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (See: LA Port Truck Plan Passes Another Hurdle) that would require the use of company drivers have led the NRF and Global Insight to raise the congestion rating for the ports. “Uncertainty about the initial implementation of the Clean Trucks Program raises concerns about potential truck capacity for these ports,” said Paul Bingham, economist, Global Insight. “There is some risk for port performance associated with this program, but the ports say they have received letters of intent from several trucking companies and say they believe operations can go forward without interruption.”

Sorce : http://outsourced-logistics.com

Philippine Container Port Figures

Foreign container traffic handled by Philippine ports (excluding the autonomous Subic Freeport and Cebu International Port) increased by 12.8% in 2007 to 2.385M TEU, according to official figures newly released by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

The improvement boosted nationwide throughput (foreign and domestic) by 5.4% to 3.988M TEU. However, to put the figures in perspective, just one Malaysian port, Tanjung Pelepas, handled 5.5M TEU last year.

This may suggest that the Philippines’ international containerised cargo market remains too small to sustain the four new container terminals that have been built in the archipelago over the past four years.

Mindanao Container Terminal, Batangas-Phase II and Subic Freeport’s NCT-1 and NCT-2 have an aggregate annual handling capaccity of 1.27M TEU. Significantly, foreign container traffic remains concentrated at the Port of Manila with ICTSI’s Manila International Container Terminal in 2007 recording 1.36M TEU (+ 13.6%) and Asian Terminals Inc’s Manila South Harbor 768,632 TEU (+ 7.3%).

Imp/ex volumes were likewise up in other key international ports - 18,204 TEU (+ 54.7%) at International Port of Cagayan de Oro, 182,542 TEU (+ 36.9%) at Sasa Wharf in Davao and 16,828 TEU (+ 41.4%) at General Santos port’s Makar Wharf. The lacklustre Port of Batangas located south of the Philippine capital raised its foreign throughput last year by more than 400% - to 21 TEU from 5 TEU in 2006!

PPA figures indicate that foreign throughput at Mindanao Container Terminal was down 43.6% at 4467 TEU as was overall throughput (down 44.7% at 19,949 TEU). But the Phividec Industrial Authority, which owns the terminal, has reported otherwise: international volume actually hit 14,553 TEU in 2007 for a record-setting total of 80,326 TEU, up 123% from the 2006 level.

Publicly-listed Asian Terminals Inc (ATI), part of DP World, has reported a 15.9% drop in foreign container throughput at its flagship Manila South Harbor for the first half of 2008. Based on PPA data for the same period last year, that would mean that South Harbor cleared some 310,500 TEU in the first half. The company has not given any explanation for the decline. In contrast, ICTSI’s MICT saw throughput jump by 16% to 744,875 TEU between January and June, even though the same Government-fixed tariffs apply in both facilities.

ATI's consolation is that non-containerised shipments through the South Harbor surged by 27.1% (to 394,796t, based on last year's PPA figures). This reverses the prolonged downturn brought about by competition from the Manila Harbour Centre multipurpose terminal.

ATI's consolidated first half revenues increased by 4.9% to Pesos2.112B (US$46.3M) and consolidated net income by 18.8% to Pesos 382M. Earnings were probably once again pulled down by the lacklustre performance of ATI’s South Harbor domestic passenger/cargo terminal, which suffered a 4% cut in passenger volume (to around 770,408). Domestic container throughput is believed to have declined, too, although ATI would not say by how much.

Source : worldcargonews - 13 September 2008

Container Shipping

Container shipping as the term suggest is the carriage of large or bulk containers from one place to the other. This may sound easy; but in fact container shipping is one of the most challenging parts in setting and running any industry.

Container shipping as the term suggest is the carriage of large or bulk containers from one place to the other. This may sound easy; but in fact container shipping is one of the most challenging parts in setting and running any industry. Container shipping is not carried by any ordinary ship but requires a burly ship having loads of space. These specified ships are termed as cargos and the process containerization?

Container shipping is mainly part of commercial transportation and logistics sector, better calling it lifeline of these sectors. Today no freight forwarding, logistics or supplying can be conceived without container shipping. You will be amazed to know that containershipping is one of the largest contributors to global economy. The finest thing about this sector is that here both ends are benefited in terms of revenues and financial asset. That means, place from container shipping is carried and to the end place; every one is benefited and that has been the prime factor for encouragement of containershipping all round the world.

Not only this, there are several other factors as well that make containershipping one of the most attention grabbing sectors in the world. Containershipping has emerged as the largest recruiters of human recourse in the time. Finest thing is that it comprises people of all qualifications and profiles. However, with the incoming of modern methodologies, there has been professionalism in the sector. That is very much visible with loads of container shipping companies jumping in the business of containershipping. These companies are not only making loads of profit but have renovated the shapes of clich?face of containershipping.

Container shipping companies presently have most advanced technologies and scientific enhancements to tackle any task on given day. That is pretty unlike the previous ways when container shipping was considered unsafe and very much risky. Cases of malfunction and casualties have been reduced at drastic rate and that is good news for aspirant container shipping companies. The other aspects like container tracking are same fruiting like container shipping is doing. Very much related to the stream, container tracking has also been facilitated with wholesome exposure of modern technology and investors.

There has been lot talked about container shipping business over the years but present static show that this is one of the most blooming sectors. There are several centers identified all across the world where container shipping is a main source of income to the overall economy. Korea, Japan, Denmark, China, India and many other nations have been the prime players in the business of container shipping.

Looking at the prosperous future and potential, this sector promises loads of benefits to the global economy. Adding to it, frequent modern technology, patterns and other enhancements are always there to make the container shipping topnotch business than any other.

Source : http://www.internet-3.info 

Iran Retaliates On U.S. Sanction Against Shipping Line IRISL

Jupiter Kalambakal - AHN News Writer

Tehran, Iran (AHN) - Iran is considering filing a complaint over sanctions imposed by the United States government to Iranian shipping line IRISL through international institutions.

IRNA reported Saturday that Iran's UN mission said the U.S. move against the national interests of Iran was "illegal and unjustifiable".

The IRISL has never been involved in illegal covert nuclear activities in Iran because principally Tehran has never had such a program, it said.

Aside from the complaint, Iran will seek compensation for the damages that the illegal sanction imposed on IRISL.

The U.S. accused IRISL of shipping military cargo to Iran for the production of nuclear warheads.

Washington reportedly has been pressuring to Tehran to halt its nuclear program, which the latter claim is intended for power generation.

Source : http://www.allheadlinenews.com

Shipping Most Unattractive For Investment

NEW DELHI: Shipping and ports are the most unattractive sectors for investors, claiming less than three per cent of the total investments of the corporates of the country in the first half of 2008, industry body Assocham said.

Of the Rs 6,33,966 crore of investment announcements made by corporates, ports and shipping sector received only Rs 30,690 crore by major companies such as Essar Shipping Ports, Jindal Saw, Shipping Corporation of India and JSW Infrastructure. This in percentage terms works out to be a mere 2.84 per cent.

A major reason for low investment in the sector is that it is highly regulated and marked by procedural constraints, though ports and shipping can absorb a very high volume of investments, according to the chamber.

Another sector that received low investment focus by corporates is construction and manufacturing which could garner only Rs 36,790 crore of investments for a period of January-June 2008. The share in the total investments is only 3.5 per cent and it has happened because of higher input costs and higher cost of borrowings.

Even the IT sector got only Rs 39,654 crores of investment in the period for expansion, upgradation and setting up of IT parks, and software development and delivery centres over the next two to 10 years. IT sector has not been that great centre for investment because it is still reeling under global slowdown and will continue to be so, according to the chamber.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

NOL ahead in race for Hapag Lloyd deal - papers

FRANKFURT, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NEPS.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) leads the race to acquire TUI's (TUIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) container shipping unit, Hapag-Lloyd, ahead of a group of Hamburg-based investors, German newspapers reported on Thursday.

NOL would be able to pay clearly more than the Hamburg group thanks to possible synergies which the group of investors would not be able to realise, German dailies Handelsblatt and Sueddeutsche Zeitung said without citing sources.

The strengthening of the dollar against the euro also played into the hands of NOL. Handelsblatt said the advantage would add up to some $300 million.

The Hamburg consortium had not yet fully set up the financing for the deal, Handelsblatt added, citing financial sources. No one at the consortium was immediately available for comment.

The German travel and shipping group TUI bowed to shareholder pressure earlier this year and agreed to look into the sale of the world's No.5 container shipping group.

Analysts predicted then that Hapag-Lloyd could fetch up to 4-5 billion euros ($5.66-$7.08 billion) in a sale, but with slower growth in freight rates on the horizon, such a price might not be feasible.

Binding offers for Hapag-Lloyd are expected by the end of the month. (Reporting by Eva Kuehnen; Editing by Louise Ireland)

China Cosco and Mitsui OSK decrease transport rates

Bloomberg reported that China Cosco Holdings Co and Mitsui OSK. Lines Ltd led declines among Asian bulk-shippers as transport rates fell after an iron ore producer demanded higher prices.

China Cosco declined as much as 7.9% to HKD 10.78 as of 10:10 AM. in Hong Kong. Mitsui, Japan's largest operator of iron ore ships declined as much as 5.3% to JPY 1,022 and traded at JPY 1,058 as of the morning close of trade in Tokyo.

According to two people familiar with the negotiations, the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity shipping costs tumbled to its lowest in 15 months. Brazil's Cia Vale do Rio Doce, the biggest iron ore producer has asked Nippon Steel Corp and rivals to pay 12% more for the material.

Mr Takuya Osaka an analyst in Tokyo at Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co said that “Shipping stocks are very highly correlated with the Baltic index. The negotiations are adding to the decline.''

Mitsui O.S.K made 91.9% of its operating income from shipping commodities last fiscal year. China Shipping Development Co, China's biggest oil carrier fell as much as 5% to HKD 13.20 in Hong Kong. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest sea cargo carrier, dropped as much as 5.2% to USD 2.01 in Singapore.

Source : http://steelguru.com

Qasim International Container Terminal Activity

Karachi—Shipping activity remained active at the Port where two ships carrying containers took berths at Qasim International Container Terminal on Friday. Meanwhile three more ships with iron ore, palm oil and diesel oil also arrived at outer anchorage of Port Qasim during the same day.

Berth occupancy was observed at 70% at the Port on Friday as against 90% on previous day where a total of seven ships C.V CMA COM Puget, C.V KIA Wakeed, M.V Orient-II, MV Mustafa Bay, MV Shinyo Integrity, M.T Chemroad Luna and MV Babi Tonga were accommodated at PQA berths to load, offload containers, cement, wheat, palm oil and coal respectively during the report period.

Cargo handling operations were carried out efficiently at the Port where a cargo volume of 83,253 tonnes comprising 50,986 tonnes imports and 32,267 tonnes exports inclusive of containerised cargo carried in 4,126 containers (TEUs) was handled during the last 24 hours.

Three ships C.V Maersk Carolina, C.V CMA CGM Ville-D-Aquarius and M.T Chemroad Luna sailed out to sea during the last 24 hours while two more ships C.V CMA CGM Puget and C.V KIA Wakeed are expected to sail on Saturday afternoon.

Two ships M.T Sea Spirit and M.T CS Summer carrying 31,715 tonnes diesel oil and 5,504 tonnes palm oil are expected to take berths at Fotco terminal and Multipurpose terminal respectively on Saturday.

Two ships M.T Prem Pride and M.V Nordiana-G are due to arrive at Port Qasim the same day while two more ships M.T Oak Galaxy and M.T Oem Star are due to arrive on Sunday.—APP

Source : http://pakobserver.net

Boeing Statement: Renegotiation Fails; Strike Called

Boeing [NYSE: BA] issued the following statement after mediated talks with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers concluded today without reaching agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, covering nearly 27,000 employees mainly in Washington, Oregon and Kansas:

"Over the past two days, Boeing, the union and the federal mediator worked hard in pursuing good-faith explorations of options that could lead to an agreement. Unfortunately the differences were too great to close," said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The IAM has called for a strike to begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. Boeing operations in Washington, Oregon and Kansas will remain open. Employees who are not represented by the IAM are expected to report for work as normal.

During the work stoppage, Boeing will support its customers and their airplanes in service. The company will continue delivering airplanes that were completed prior to the strike, and will continue providing customers with spare parts. Boeing does not intend to assemble airplanes during the strike.

Source: Boeing

FedEx Completes Acquisition of Watkins Motor Lines

FedEx Corp. announced it has completed the $780 million cash purchase of the LTL operations of Watkins Motor Lines and certain affiliates. A privately held company based in Lakeland, Fla., Watkins Motor Lines is a leading provider of long-haul LTL services with more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

The operations of Watkins Motor Lines and Watkins Canada Express, Watkins' LTL carrier in Canada, which together include more than 140 service centers and more than 14,000 tractors and trailers, will be re-branded FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada, respectively. Re-branding of both operations will begin immediately.

"These strategic additions to the FedEx portfolio offer more flexibility and greater value to shippers in the less-than-truckload sector," said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Corp. "FedEx Freight, FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada create a reliable, single-source provider of one- and two-day regional as well as long-haul LTL services that customers have been requesting." Other benefits customers will enjoy include easy access to bundled transportation solutions available with other FedEx operating companies, specifically FedEx Express and FedEx Ground.

FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada each operate as a separate network within the FedEx Freight segment, which also includes FedEx Freight, FedEx Custom Critical and Caribbean Transportation Services. More than 470 service centers comprise the FedEx Freight, FedEx National LTL, and FedEx Freight Canada networks. The companies will operate nearly 54,000 tractors and trailers to meet customers' regional and long-haul LTL needs.

"FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Canada will provide the certainty and reliability of service that customers have come to expect from FedEx Freight," said Douglas G. Duncan, president and chief executive officer of FedEx Freight. "As integration moves forward, FedEx National LTL will strengthen its focus on providing core long-haul services, while FedEx Freight Canada begins identifying service enhancement opportunities as we work together to grow our LTL market share throughout North America."

With a workforce of nearly 9,000, FedEx National LTL will benefit from Watkins' rich heritage in the transportation industry and a strong workplace culture similar to that of FedEx. "Over the years, Watkins' teams have earned a stellar reputation for professionalism and dedication to customer service," added Duncan. "They share these customer-focused priorities with an engaged FedEx workforce, a factor that will facilitate a smooth integration process, help grow our business and guide our company toward an even brighter future."

Source: Press Release

Saga Airlines Orders Two Boeing Next-Generation 737-800s

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and Saga Airlines today announced that the Istanbul-based airline has ordered two Boeing 737-800s with Blended Winglets. Saga Airlines has also secured two purchase rights for the same model. This order is valued at $149 million at current list prices.

"We currently have four Boeing airplanes in our fleet and we decided to expand our fleet and made our first new airplane deal with Boeing," said Saga Airlines Chairman Abdülkadir Kolot during the signing ceremony. "We are very happy with the agreement we made with Boeing for two firm, two optional 737-800s. We are thrilled to contribute to the fast growth of the Turkish aviation industry."

"The Boeing 737-800 offers Saga the perfect complementary qualities of fuel efficiency, industry-leading reliability and low maintainence costs and it represents the ideal choice for Saga's growth requirements," said Marlin Dailey, Boeing vice president of Sales, Europe, Russia and Central Asia. The Next-Generation 737 is the world's most popular jet airliner, with nearly 5,000 orders.

Source: Boeing

NYK To Take Over South America Service

NYK Line plans to take over the Atlantic North-South Express Service this month that it has been operating with Hapag-Lloyd in a joint vessel-sharing alliance.

The Japanese carrier decided to operate it as its own independent service connecting the U.S. East Coast with main ports on the east coast of South America, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic after Hapag-Lloyd dropped the service, according to Doug Cole, an NYK spokesman.

NYK will deploy six 1,100-TEU vessels on a fixed-day weekly rotation as follows: Navegantes, Santos and Vitoria, Brazil; Puerto Sucre, Venezuela; Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Norfolk; New York-New Jersey; Savannah; Caucedo; Puerto Cabello, Venezuela; and Navegantes.

ShippingDigest, September 1,2008

California Container Fee Hits Snag

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he would not sign the California-senate-passed bill that would place a $60 fee on loaded containers handled by California ports. The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) reported the governor threatened to hold the bill and veto it if necessary unless the legislature approves a new state budget. NITL explained that under California law, any bill sitting on the governor's desk for more than 12 days automatically becomes law. The governor said he would veto any measures that were about to go into effect.

The bill's sponsor, State Senator Alan Lowenthal could be forced to withdraw the bill to avoid a veto. If the California legislature can pass a budget that satisfies the governor, Lowenthal could resubmit the bill for approval before the August 31st end of its session.

Three political entities have asked to be exempted from the fee provisions should the bill be signed into law. The US territory of Guam, the state of Alaska and the state of Hawaii have all said the fee would place a burden on trade with California.

Outsourced Logistic Aug 12, 2008 3:21 PM

Indonesian port raises container charges

Customers at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) and the Koja Container Terminal, Tanjung Priok port, have protested against the increase in container handling charges (CHC), the Binis Indonesia reported.

Previously, foreign shipping companies collected a US$95 terminal handling charge (THC) per TEU, and a $135 THC per FEU.

The $95 THC consists of $70 payable to the port operator and $25 in surcharge.
The port operator's share has now increased to $83 per TEU and $124 per FEU.
International shipping companies have said they would raise their surcharge to compensate for the increased CHC tariff.

Big Delays At Jebel Ali

DP World may be making pots of money, but big delays at its flagship Jebel Ali operation, the UAE's largest container terminal and one of the busiest in the world, are having a ripple effect throughout the country's logistics network, leading to increased delays.

Logistics firms have been warning customers for some time of "serious berthing delays. "These have been reported to be as much as 90 hours for smaller feeder vessels, but motherships offloading containers from the Far East for transhipment to Europe have also been seriously delayed, with delays of 24-30 hours being reported.

The congestion has resulted in a slowdown of goods reaching Sharjah and Abu Dhabi ports through smaller feeder vessels from Jebel Ali. The number of containers handled in Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed Port fell by 17% in July, to 23,438 TEU, with officials attributing it to a delay in feeder vessels arriving from Jebel Ali.

Also in July, OOCL warned customers that it continued to face huge delays for transshipment connections to Ajman, Sharjah and other Upper Gulf countries via Jebel Ali due to heavy port congestion at the latter port.

Source : WorldCargoNews, 29 August 2008

Boeing, EgyptAir Announce 777 Fleet Enhancement

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and EgyptAir today announced an order for two 777-300ER (Extended Range) jetliners as part of the airline's twin-aisle fleet upgrade for its long-haul service. The order, which is worth $529 million at current list prices, previously was attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries Web site.

"The notable fuel efficiency of Boeing's 777, combined with the airplane's extensive range and large cargo capacity, is something EgyptAir values highly in this competitive environment," said Capt. Tawfik Assy, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company. "As a new member of the Star Alliance, we look forward to increasing our connectivity across the globe and bringing our passengers the utmost in cabin comfort and service with a dynamic new business class layout that will debut on the 777-300ER."

On July 11, EgyptAir celebrated its induction as the 21st member of Star Alliance, officially expanding its network to 1,624 weekly flights to 69 destinations around the world. The Cairo Airport Authority plans to open a dedicated Star Alliance terminal later this year, capable of serving 11 million passengers annually.

"We'd like to congratulate EgyptAir on its order and acquisition of Boeing 777-300ERs and on the airline's induction into the Star Alliance," said Marty Bentrott, vice president of Sales for The Middle East and Africa, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 777's operational performance, with its significant savings in fuel and maintenance costs, will have a positive impact on EgyptAir's growth plans and help the airline achieve greater profitability."

EgyptAir's new business class seating planned for the 777-300ER includes 49 full lie-flat beds with a 78-inch seat pitch. The airline is slated to receive its first 777-300ER on lease in January 2010 with three additional airplanes delivering throughout the year.

Fifty-six customers from around the world have ordered 1,092 777s, making it the most successful large twin-engine airplane in the world. Boeing has more than 355 unfilled orders for the 777, worth more than $91 billion at current list prices.

Source: Boeing