Ethiopian Airlines
Soaring to New HeightsEthiopian Airlines continues to receive the acclaim of the surrounding industry, as it goes further than any African operator in bridging the continent to the rest of the worldWriter: Matthew Staff | Project Manager: Tom CullumAs the largest and most profitable airline in Africa, it should perhaps come as no surprise to see the rapid expansion enjoyed by Ethiopian Airlines over the past 12 months, but the Pan-African global carrier has exceeded industry expectations and soared to new heights in 2015 to ensure it is not just the biggest, but the best.Embracing not just network enhancements, but also a careful acknowledgement of improved internal procedures, the culminating service offered across 91 destinations, five continents and 230 daily departures has led to numerous awards and widespread, international acclaim.Surpassing previously pioneering continental competitors in the process, Ethiopian Airlines’ seemingly constant broadening of its destination network has been a large driver behind the plaudits, both ‘nearby’ to other African nations, and to the wider world.Both Cape Town and Durban have been added to its previously sole South African representation in Johannesburg, while Goma in the DRC, Gaborone in Botswana and Yaoundé in Cameroon formed its domestic expansion strategy over the course of 2015.Meanwhile, Addis-Ababa was brought closer and more speedily than ever before to the likes of Tokyo in Japan, Manila in the Philippines, Sao Paolo in Brazil and Dublin in Ireland; complementing arguably its most significant foray which took the Company further into the US.Los Angeles was ticked off in mid-2015 and is now in…
Ethiopian Airlines
Rapid Expansion of Africa’s Largest Airline With further fleet and network expansion plans in 2015, Ethiopian Airlines has been able to jet ahead of the competition Writer: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Tom Cullum Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) has already become the largest airline in Africa based on fleet size and could overtake South African Airlines (SAA) this year as the largest in terms of passengers carried. With plans to further expand both its fleet and network, the flag carrier hopes to widen the gap between itself and the other leading African carriers.Fuelled by 15 percent year on year growth, in 2014 Ethiopian carried six million passengers and is one of only four airlines in Africa with more than five million annual passengers, and one of only four airline groups with a fleet of more than 50 aircraft.Having doubled in size since the beginning of the decade, Ethiopian has aggressive plans to tap the booming Asia-Africa market moving forward, with plans to launch services to Tokyo in April this year, which will become its 11th destination in Asia. The carrier will also add its second US destination in June as a service to Los Angeles is launched.Booming Asia-Africa marketCEO Tewolde Gebremariam told CAPA TV in November 2014 that the airline believes most of its future growth opportunities are in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He pointed out that while “Europe is a strong market for us”, most of the growth over the past decade has been to Asia and China is now Ethiopian’s single largest market.Ethiopian currently serves Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai,…
Ethiopian Airlines
Living the dream Ethiopian Airlines makes record high profit of 2.7 billion birr Writer Ian Armitage Project manager James Mitchell Ethiopian Airlines recently announced it made a record profit. The company's chief executive officer, Tewolde Gebremariam, credited the profitability to the use of new, modern and fuel-efficient jetliners such as the Boeing B787 Dreamliner and B777, and his "exceptionally dedicated employees". The company's operating profit between July 2012 and June 2013 was 2.7 billion birr, 165 percent up from the profit made the previous year. Net profit increased by 178 percent from 734 million to 2.03 billion and the airline generated a revenue of 38.5 billion, up by 14 percent. It transported 5.5 million passengers and hauled 174,000 tons of cargo during the year. "The 2012-2013 fiscal year has been a challenging year for the global industry in which many airlines faced factors that have affected their performance," Ethiopian Airlines told Africa Outlook in a recent interview. "These factors include high and volatile fuel price and weak global economic situations which in turn reflect in low demand for travel. Although Ethiopian was no different and was faced with similar challenges, it managed to finish the year with record revenues and performance and continue its double digit growth registered over the last decade." During the year, Ethiopian took delivery of 14 new aircraft, deploying ultramodern fuel-efficient aircraft. The Boeing B787 uses 20 percent less fuel - its airframe is predominantly made from composites, which account for 50 percent of the aircraft by weight. This makes the aeroplane…
