Ethiopian Airlines
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| Founded | 1945 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Addis Ababa Bole International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Sheba Miles | ||||||
| Alliance | none (applied to Star Alliance) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 43 (33 current, 10 B787 Dreamliners in order) | ||||||
| Destinations | 60 (50 current, 10 will be added in 3 years) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | ||||||
| Key people | Seyoum Mesfin (Chairman), Girma Wake (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.ethiopianairlines.com | ||||||
Ethiopian Airlines is an airline based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the national airline and operates scheduled international passenger and freight services to 50 destinations world-wide, as well as domestic services to 28 destinations and passenger and cargo charter flights. Its main hub is Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa.[1]
History
Ethiopian Airlines was founded on December 30, 1945 by Emperor Haile Selassie with assistance from TWA. It commenced operations on April 8, 1946 with a weekly service between Addis Ababa and Cairo with 5 Douglas DC-3 propeller-driven aircraft.[2]
It started long-haul services to Frankfurt in 1958 and inaugurated its first jet service in January 1963 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. In 1965 it changed from being a corporation to a share company and changed its name from Ethiopian Air Lines to Ethiopian Airlines. It is wholly owned by the Government of Ethiopia and has 4,700 employees (at March 2007)[1].
Although it relied on American pilots and technicians at the beginning, by its 25th anniversary in 1971, Ethiopian Airlines was managed and fully staffed by Ethiopian personnel. It has been described by Ethiopianist Paul B. Henze as "one of the most reliable and profitable airlines in the Third World",[3] noting that the airline was featured by The Economist as an example of excellence. [4] In 1998 it started transatlantic services. Like South African Airways, TAAG Angola Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc, Tunisair and Kenya Airways it is one of the few profitable African airlines.
The Airline provided service to the Eritrean capital of Asmara for many years until a civil war erupted between the two countries in 1998. In 2002, the airline carried 1,054,687 passengers. It employed 4,539 staff in January 2005.[citation needed] Ethiopian Airlines commenced "Vision 2010" a few years ago which aims to increase the net profit of the airline to 1 Billion US Dollars and the staff to 6,000. The airline calls its frequent flyer program "Sheba Miles" in reference to the legendary Queen of Sheba.
Destinations
Cargo
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo operate Boeing 757 freighter aircraft to points in Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, Hong Kong.
Incidents and accidents
Since 1970, there have been two fatal events involving Ethiopian Airlines aircraft.
On 15 September, 1988 an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 taking off from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, ingested pigeons into both engines. One engine lost thrust almost immediately and the second lost thrust during the emergency return to the airport. During the crash landing, 31 of the 105 passengers were killed.
On 23 November, 1996, three hijackers commandeered a Boeing 767 on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961. The flight was on its first leg of an Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-Nairobi, Kenya-Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo-Lagos, Nigeria-Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire route. The hijackers instructed the pilot to fly to Australia. Flying south along the African coast, the controller of Nairobi advised them to land at Mombasa. The fuel ran out and one of the plane's engines stopped. While attempting a landing near Moroni in the Comoros Islands the aircraft ran completely out of fuel and ditched into waters 500m from shore. 123 of the 175 passengers and crew died.The pilot, Capt. Leul was dubbed person of the week in the US media for having been able to smoothly land on the ocean and as a result save some of the passengers. All of the hijackers are presumed dead.[1]
Fleet
The Ethiopian Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (at May 2007)[1]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Upper/Premium Economy/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-12 | 1 | ||
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | ||
| Boeing 737-700 | 5 | 122 | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 7 | ||
| Boeing 757-200PF | 1 | ||
| Boeing 767-200ER | 1 | ||
| Boeing 767-300ER | 7 | ||
| Fokker 50 | 5 | ||
| Boeing 787-8 | (8 orders) | 2008 | |
| Boeing 787-9 | (2 orders) | 2008 | |
| De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 | 1 | ||
| Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules | 2 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F | 1 | ||
| Total number of aircraft | 32 (10 orders) |
Updated: May 2007 |
Not counting the earlier Fokker 50 planes, the fleet average age is 8.2 years at June 2006[5].
In February 2005 Ethiopian Airlines signed a preliminary agreement to buy up to 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (5 firm orders and 5 options). On 31 May 2005 Boeing announced that Ethiopian had exercised its purchase rights and confirmed a firm order for 10 aircraft. Expected delivery of the new planes is between 2008 and 2011. Ethiopian Cargo operates two Lockheed L-100 freighters. ET Cargo also leases additional aircraft based on traffic requirements. Three of the current four passenger 757-200s are expected to be converted to freighter configuration over the coming years.[citation needed]
External links
References
- ^ a b c Flight International 3 April 2007
- ^ Camerapix, Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia (Brooklyn: Interlink, 2000), p. 296
- ^ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 246.
- ^ "In Search of Excellence, the Hard Way", The Economist, 31 December 1987.
- ^ Ethiopian Airlines Fleet Age