New airbus plane will help Ethiopian Airlines to address market demands: Group CEO

Addis Ababa, May 4, 2023 (FBC) – The new Airbus A 350 airplane that the Ethiopian Airlines has received last week will help the company to address the market demands, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Mesfin Tasew, said.

Recall that Ethiopian Airlines has received the 20th Airbus A 350 airplane out of the 24 it ordered from the Airbus Company last Saturday.

The brand new A 350 has flown from Toulouse to Addis on Saturday morning in Sustainable Aviation fuel, which, according to Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Mesfin Tassew, is a pioneering new chapter in the history of the airlines.

According to ENA, the airplane also carried 10 tonnes of humanitarian shipment into Ethiopia.

The airlines has delivered the humanitarian shipment to various humanitarian organizations.

“The humanitarian shipment the ferry flight carried also signifies our commitment to discharge our social responsibility. We will continue to invest in fulfilling our corporate social responsibility by reducing carbon emissions and transporting humanitarian shipments going forward,” Mesfin said.

The delivery flight used 30 percent blend Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) thus reducing its carbon footprint and contributing to the ambition set by IATA, ATAG and ICAO to reach “net zero carbon emissions by 2050”.

Last year, even facing the Covid 19 pandemic, we flew over 8.7 million passengers, he said adding that “we have fully recovered from the impact of Covid-19 in terms of passenger operation.”

This year by June Ethiopian expects to carry over 13 million passengers, which will be even greater than the pre-Covid-19, Mesfin pointed out.

With excellent reliability and good performance, the new plane will help the company to address the market demand, he said.

The 350-900 aircraft that we operate today carries between 345–355 people. It can also carry a lot of cargo on board, the Group said.

Ethiopian will mostly fly the A 350 on long range routes like China and North America, according to the CEO. “We have over 140 aircraft, 20 are A 350. We use them throughout the world.”

Airbus Africa and Levant vice president Hadi Akoum, on his part, indicated that it took the company 15 years to gain the trust of Ethiopian Airlines.

We are just the beginning of  the journey that will continue to partnership, the vice president Added. “We don’t just sell aircraft, we engage in partnership.”

It will also create new opportunities to even further strengthen our mutual partnership with the Ethiopian Airlines, he said.

The potential of Africa and the capability that Ethiopian Airlines develops through know-how and cost structure is in itself a unique capability, Airbus Africa and Levant vice president pointed out.

It will increase the capability of Ethiopian to meet sustainability goals and the obligation in terms of environmental responsibility, which has become more important in the aviation industry, he said.