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The success story of Ethiopian Airlines The success story of Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines is truly the prototype of the successful airline. The Ethiopian national company inaugurated Sunday, December 15, 2019, two new international routes. One to Houston in the United States, and the other to Athens in Greece.

Adding these services, Ethiopian Airlines has become the No. 5 carrier in the world, in terms of countries served. This news has been published on ET's facebook page, Thursday, December 19, 2019.

With a young fleet of nearly 120 aircraft, ET currently serves 127 destinations in 81 countries around the world (Africa, Europe, America, Middle East and Asia). This performance was far ahead of its “vision 2025” strategic roadmap, which targeted 90 international destinations and 120 aircraft by that date.

According the comparisions of OAG Schedules Analyzer, Ethiopian Airlines has joined the Top 5 worldwide following Turkish Airlines (121 countries served), Air France (91), Qatar Airways (87), British Airways (82). It is ahead of major companies such as Emirates (78), Lufthansa (76) and even KLM (67).

Overall, this rapid growth of the network testifies to the financial health of the carrier. During the 2018/2019 fiscal year, ended June 30, Ethiopian Airlines posted a net profit of $ 180 million for a turnover of $ 4 billion, despite the crash of its Boeing 737 MAX 8, March 10, 2019.

Over the same period, passenger traffic jumped 14%, crossing the 12 million passenger mark for the first time in its history. This performance was achieved in a very difficult operating environment in Africa, where the price of fuel, the main cost factor of the company, is on average 35% more expensive; And also in a context marked by the aggressive penetration of foreign carriers on the African market.

In order to support the growth of its network, the company will continue to strengthen its fleet. It plans to acquire about 20 Airbus A220 aircraft. Negotiations are at an advanced stage. It is also awaiting delivery of the ten remaining aircraft from its initial order for twenty-four A350 XWBs.

A landmark in the past five years, the Ethiopian carrier is boosting its fleet at an average rate of more than one plane per month. More than 70 aircraft have been delivered since January 2014, including 13 aircraft this year.