Ethiopian Airlines to Expand Operations in India

Vaishali Dar Jun 18, 2018

AS THE leading and most profitable airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has been a pioneer in African aviation. The carrier has been spearheading aviation technology in the continent for decades, since the first jet service in Africa in 1962. It now contains one of the youngest and most modern civil aeronautics fleets in the world, with an average age of fewer than five years and with examples such as Boeing 787-900 and Airbus A350, the first African B787 Dreamliner and is leading the way again by providing the first African A350 XWB.

Recently, Ethiopian Airlines received its 100th aircraft, to become the first airline to operate that amount of aeroplanes in the history of the continent. “The milestone is a continuation of our historical leadership role in the sector,” said Tilahun. Implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading airline group in Africa with seven strategic business units, the airline has registered an average growth of 25% per annum for the past 10 years.

“India and Ethiopia allow carriers to operate 35 services per week between them. While Ethiopian Airlines are using all of it and offer 11,172 seats per week, we will launch our passenger service in Bengaluru or Ahmedabad later this year,” said Tilahun.

With 100 planes flying to dozens of destinations from Asia to South America, India is among top six source markets after China, USA, Dubai, Europe and UK. The launch of Ethiopian Holidays, under Cox & Kings, further strengthens the leisure tourism service in India as there is nobody to support Ethiopian Tourism in India, informed Tilahun.

With the launch of e-visa service to all international visitors, effective June 01, 2018, the Ethiopian Immigration and Nationality Affairs Main Department in collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines will help boost travel and trade within the country.