Ethiopia airlines confirms 10 Boeing order, looks for more
June 10, 2009 (KUALA LUMPUR) — The national airline of Ethiopia confirmed an order for 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and may pay more planes in the future.
Ethiopian Airlines ordered 10 Dreamliners which are scheduled for delivery between July 2010 and 2013. It is considering buying more from 2014 onwards, as it sees medium-term growth of 20 percent in revenues and passengers.
“We’ve started talking to both Boeing and Airbus — it depends who gives us the best price,” said EA Chief Executive Girma Wake on the sidelines of IATA’s annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Wake further said that he was also looking at buying other types of planes from next year.
Ethiopian Airlines is the fourth largest airline in Africa by passengers and destinations. However since 2005 the airline implements a plan aiming to strengthen its position in Africa and world by becoming the Africa’s World Class Airline.
The company announced it would launch during this month a new flight to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea in central Africa. It is also expected to increase the number of its flights to Riyadh the capital of Saudi Arabia to three weekly.
Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945. The carrier serves about 70 destinations national and international in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America with a fleet of some 30 airplanes including Boeing 737, 757 and 767s and Fokker 50s.
(ST)