Ethiopian Airlines gets new 737 MAX, increases flights to South America
Ethiopian Airlines continues to strengthen its fleet with the receipt of a new Boeing 737 MAX. The aircraft (MSN 62456, ETAWK) departed from Boeing's Seattle facility in the United States on 13 July and is currently en route to Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Airlines' new Boeing 737 MAX 8 is scheduled to arrive this Friday afternoon, July 15, after a stopover the day before in Manchester, UK. This is the second delivery of the type since the beginning of this month.
With its arrival, the carrier will now have a fleet of six Boeing 737 MAX 8s configured with 16 seats in Business Class and 144 in Economy Class. The first four returned to service in February 2022 "following recertification by the FAA, EASA in Europe, Transport Canada, CAAC, ECAA and other regulatory bodies, as well as the return to service of the aircraft by more than 34 airlines worldwide. Its backlog includes 23 other 737MAX aircraft.
Since the Boeing 737 MAX returned to service in December 2020, 190 countries worldwide have re-approved it, 41 airlines are flying it, nearly 600 aircraft are in the air and approximately 500,000 commercial flights have been made since its return.
In parallel with the fleet refloat, the airline continues to expand its network
Ethiopian Airlines will strengthen its operations on the Addis Ababa - Sao Paulo Guarulhos - Buenos Aires Ezeiza route. From next month, the Ethiopian flag carrier will add a fifth weekly rotation on this corridor.
From August 4 until October 29, Ethiopian Airlines will serve this route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Flight ETH506 departs Addis Ababa at 10:05 a.m., arriving in Sao Paulo Guarulhos at 4:15 p.m. local time, and continues to Buenos Aires where it is expected at 8:25 p.m. local time. On the return leg, flight ETH507 leaves the Argentinean capital at 21:55, arrives in Brazil at 00:30 the next day, departs at 01:45 and arrives in Addis Ababa at 19:45. The route is operated without competition by Boeing 787-8.
To Asia, Ethiopian Airlines will also strengthen its operations from September with the reintroduction of the fourth weekly flight on the Addis Ababa - Seoul Incheon - Tokyo Narita route. From September 2, this route, which is also operated without Boeing 787-8 competition, will now be operated on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
