Addis Ababa, July 2, 2022 (FBC) – Ethiopian Airlines gets more attention for its European and North American network than it does for South, Southeast, and North Asia. After all, Western markets account for two-thirds of its non-Africa and Middle East flights from many more routes. But that is just part of the story.
There’s no question about it. While Asia remains down, especially because of China, Asia-Africa is an important market for the Star Alliance member.
In 2019, when things were normal, Ethiopian Airlines was the leading airline between the two continents (excluding the Middle East). Booking data shows that it had about a quarter of the eight million-plus passengers carried, more than any other airline, including Emirates via Dubai.
While the Indian city of Chennai has been served for freight, it will join Ethiopian’s passenger network on a regular, scheduled basis on July 2nd, the same month that Jakarta returns. And in August, the Philippine capital, Manila, will be served again.
It means that Ethiopian Airlines’ Asia passenger network in August (excluding the Middle East) comprises 13 destinations, as summarized below.
Regular passenger services from Addis Ababa to Chennai, India in the state of Tamil Nadu, take off on July 2nd, 2022. At 2,821 miles (4,540km), the route is just 6% short of being considered long-haul. Booking data shows that over 140,000 people flew between Chennai and Africa in 2019.
The aircraft remains in India for 18h 20m. That’s for one reason: to ensure it arrives at its Addis Ababa hub to ensure connectivity to 50+ African cities and to São Paulo. Indeed, it is for this reason that the vast majority of Ethiopian Airlines’ flights from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America arrive between 05:10-08:00 and leave between 22:30-01:30.
Source: simpleflying.com