Egyptair to launch Cairo to Manchester flights

Egyptair is adding a new route between Manchester and Cairo.

Whilst it hasn’t opened up for booking on the Egyptair website, it does show in the online timetable.

Flights are shown as starting on 1st July 2023. There will be five flights per week, on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The timings are not ideal for a short break. The outbound leaves Manchester at 4.30pm, landing at 9.35pm, whilst the return leaves Cairo at 10am, landing at 3.30pm.

The airline is using a Boeing 737-800. Despite being a short haul aircraft, it has a decent Business Class cabin with 2 x 2 seating. This is ‘proper’ 2 x 2 and not just a BA-style blocked middle seat as you can see here:

Egyptair has flown this route before, originally launching in 2013 before dropping it in 2014. Let’s hope it does better this time.

Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance and generally has good reward availability. The exact number of miles and taxes will depend on which Star Alliance frequent flyer programme you use for a redemption – I doubt many readers have a decent balance with Egyptair’s Plus programme.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (June 2025)

None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.

There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card. 

The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.

The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.

The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card

60,000 points (to 15th July) and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review