Ethiopian Airline, Africa’s largest airline took delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000. The occasion also marked the aircraft’s official debut in the continent. Arriving from the Airbus Blagnac Toulouse – France factory on November 5th, the brand new aircraft was presented to a highly enthused public that had gathered at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, the airline’s global hub. The aircraft immediately underwent a celebratory complimentary flight carrying some of the airline’s guests which had also been joined on board by officials and representatives from Airbus and Thales. After a brief sight seeing tour across some of the country’s monuments, the aircraft returned, ready to be redeployed on the company’s global network’s destinations.
Validating the airline’s tremendous success these past few years, the really festive ceremony that had taken place barely evoked the painstaking building of Addis Ababa, not only into a regional hub, but also giving it global prominence. The new Airbus A350-1000 which is expected to be joined in the coming months by another three similar aircraft will only help the carrier further that claim.
With a current fleet of more than 154 modern aircraft, the carrier has solidified its visibility particularly in the long haul segment with a widebody fleet consisting of 20 Airbus A350-900XWB, 19 Boeing B787-8, 10 Boeing B787-9, 4 Boeing B777-300 ER and 6 Boeing B777-200LR. Remarkably Ethiopian Airline has managed to concurrently also develop substantial global freight carrying activities. Sustaining its logistic operations, the carrier operates a dedicated long haul cargo fleet consisting of 10 Boeing B777-200LRF together with 3 Boeing B767-300F.
Today, while Ethiopian Airline supports operations to more than 150 domestic and international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents, the acquisition of the Airbus A350-1000 presents a modern and highly fuel efficient alternative to the fleet’s Boeing 777-300ER. While both aircraft models show near identical size, the state-of-the-art Airbus A350-1000 is well suited for operating on the airline’s premium Washington D.C., London, Paris and Frankfurt routes. The aircraft have been configured to provide superior passenger experience thanks to the Thales’s AVANT Up inflight entertainment system and the HBC+ connectivity system.
Pursuing its Vision 2035 strategy, the airline claims it will then fly to more than 209 international destinations operating more than 271 modern aco-friendly aircraft. Critical to this operation ramp up, the arrival of the three remaining A350-1000s will also be augmented by the delivery of another 11 Airbus A350-900s. Furthering its growth perspective, the airline passed, this past March an order with Boeing for 8 Boeing 777-9X along with 12 options. Slightly longer than the A350-1000 by about three meters, the still-in-development Boeing 777-9X will be able to accomodate as many as three more rows of passengers seats than the A350-1000. With both aircraft types in service by the 2030s, Ethiopian Airline is looking to firmly upgrade its status as one of the 20 most competitive and leading aviation groups in the world.