We flew from Johannesburg to Istanbul via Cairo. The Johannesburg to Cairo leg was operated by EgyptAir's Airbus A330-300, Cairo to Istanbul by Turkish Airline's Airbus A320.

Istanbul back to Cairo was operated by EgyptAir's Embraer 170 and lastly Cairo to Johannesburg by EgyptAir's A330-300.

I've flown EgyptAir many times and hated it every single time, however, the same can simply not be said for this journey. The first thing I realized when I entered the aircraft at JNB was the upgraded cabin. Each seat had finally (after all these years) been fitted with their own personal video screens.

A very welcome upgrade from the then days of EgyptAir's infamous drop down TVs. The selection of movies etc was pretty average but better than nothing at all so I'm not complaining.

EgyptAir's staff (most of them) seem to be from the stone ages and goodness knows they ain't going to win any beauty pageants but are so much more courteous than the 'pretty face but cold attitude type' flight attendants of many airlines.

I personally feel that because English isn't their first language, some of their responses may seem rude, but yes, there is no denying that they have improved tremendously. Seats were comfortable enough for Economy class and had sufficient legroom.

The food was also was not too bad and actually edible. They even served us with metal knives and forks. Cabin cleanliness was good and lavatories were like any other airline I've flown.

The best part, however, was EgyptAir's flight crew. Smooth take-offs and landings to the point that they were actually quite boring. Cairo Airport remains a dump as far as I'm concerned and leaves a lot to be desired, though I hardly think that's EgyptAir's fault at all.

All in all, EgyptAir is not perfect, but is really not a bad airline to fly with. So thank you EgyptAir for a wonderful journey. I would definitely fly with you again.

Originally reviewed by Taahir Sardiwalla on airlinequality.com