Ethiopian Airlines made their inaugural flight on April 8, 1946 with service between Addis Ababa and Cairo. This week, the carrier kicked off a year-long celebration under the theme ‘Celebrating 75 years of Excellence.’
On Thursday (April 8, 2021), Ethiopian Airlines marked the 75th anniversary of their maiden flight to Cairo which took place on April 8, 1946. Award-winning Ethiopian Airlines Group is now the largest and most profitable Pan-African aviation group and the airline has kicked off a year-long celebration under the theme ‘Celebrating 75 years of Excellence.’ Ethiopian Airlines attributes their success to the four pillars of their growth strategy including human resource development, utilizing a modern fleet, infrastructure development and technology. The company continues to partner with other African airlines and governments to create a robust airline industry in Africa by sharing technical and management expertise.
In Thursday’s announcement, Ethiopian Airlines Group’s CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, said,
“As we celebrate 75 years of excellence, we take stock of our accomplishments over three quarters of a century. Among the many firsts introduced by Ethiopian are the first Jet aircraft in Africa, the first East Africa to West Africa scheduled flight, the first airline from the Western Hemisphere to fly to China, the first scheduled service between the capitals of the most populous nations in the world (from New Delhi to Beijing), the first airline in Africa to introduce the B767, B777-200LR, B787(the Dreamliner) and later on the A350 to Africa.
“Today, our industry faces a serious challenge posed by COVID-19. The route we chose to overcome this challenge is to tighten our belt, change the way we do business and be agile. We remain the only commercial airline that hasn’t sought government bailout and didn’t lay off a single employee. I would like to take this opportunity to cement our commitment to sustainable aviation and continue to work with all stakeholders to enhance Africa’s air connectivity. While congratulating all Ethiopian families, I would like to thank our esteemed customers for their strong vote of confidence, their loyalty and support.’’
Celebrating their 75th year of operations, Ethiopian Airlines is the fastest growing airline in Africa. The carrier commands the largest share of Pan-African passenger and cargo service and operates one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the world. Ethiopian serves 127 destinations across five continents with a fleet of ultra-modern fuel efficient aircraft including Airbus A350s, Boeing 787-8/9 Dreamliners, Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 777-200LRs, Boeing 777-200 Freighters and De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s. The airline’s fleet has an average age of five years and Ethiopian was the first African carrier to operate the previously mentioned aircraft types.
Ethiopian Airlines is implementing a strategic plan called ‘Vision 2025’ which envisions the carrier becoming the leading aviation group in Africa with six business centers including Ethiopian International Services, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, Ethiopian MRO Services, Ethiopian Aviation Academy, Ethiopian ADD Hub Ground Services and Ethiopian Airports Services. The award-winning airline has reported an average annual growth of around 25 percent over the past seven years.
Source: Ethiopian Airlines