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Tag: Ethiopian Airlines

  • Ethiopian Airlines CEO wins award

    The Group Chief Executive Officer the Ethiopian Airlines Group, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, was recently recognized as one of the most influential Africans in the category of business and entrepreneurship. The event was held recently in Addis Ababa.

    The most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) is a global civil society initiative in support of the United Nation’s International Decade for People of African Descent, recognizing high achievers in four categories, namely, politics and governance, business and entrepreneurship, media  and  culture and religious and humanitarian.

    Regarding the recognition, Mr. Tewolde GebereMariam said: “It is an absolute honour to have received this prestigious recognition, an accolade that highlights the contribution of high achievers to Africa. First and foremost, my recognition is a tribute to the hardworking Ethiopian employees, ardent management members, the board and the government of Ethiopia at large.

    “The award attests the incredibly important role Ethiopian airlines plays in the integration of Africa through a robust business. I have always taken a great deal of pride that Ethiopian is catalyzing the much needed trade and investment, tourism, and people-to-people relations in the continent and beyond.

    “We, African business leaders, who wield an influence in Africa’s business and economic circles should promote business and entrepreneurship in collaboration with all concerned stakeholders to help ensure sustainability and development, capitalizing on one if the greatest assets of Africa, which is its young, fast-growing, and increasingly urbanized population.”

    When cut-throat competition is bound to be the order of the day in the aviation industry, under his leadership, Mr. Tewolde has demonstrated an outstanding strategic thinking and direction in spearheading the strikingly exceptional growth trajectory of Ethiopian and put the airline on global aviation industry ”game changers” map, under a 15-year growth roadmap, Vision 2025, a growth plan what the rest of the world referred as “over ambition and unattainable growth plan.”

    While much has evolved in the industry, Ethiopian has stood the test of time and achieved most of its overarching goals, going halfway through its projected 15 year plan. Ethiopian is now expanding its footprint to underserved global destinations and is serving global travelers with its signature Africa’s flavored Ethiopian hospitality onboard and in the air. True to form, the airline has also continued pushing the frontiers of aviation technology with the 21st century new generation fleet, among others. Joining the airline thirty-plus years ago, Mr. Tewolde has passed through the ladders to be at the helm and won a plethora of awards including African CEO of the Year, Best African Business Leader, The Airline Strategy Award for Regional Leadership, the 2015 International Grand Prix Special Award in Milan and the Most Gender Focused CEO Award 2015 by the Leading Women of Africa Group among others.

  • Ethiopian Airlines wins Africa Outstanding Airline of the Year

    Africa Project Against Suicide in conjunction with the South West Nigeria Excellence Awards recently honoured Ethiopian Airlines (ET) with the Africa Outstanding Airline of the year.  The event was held recently at the Conference Centre of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    Mrs. Firihiewot Mekonnen, while receiving the award on behalf of the Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, GabrielMariam Tewolde, thanked the organisers for the award.

    She said: “Ethiopian Airlines will always support great ideas that will uplift the standard of living for Africans. As this programme will also be launched in different African countries, including Ethiopia, I am proposing that you take ET as the official carrier whenever you fly.

    “ET is a pan-African carrier that supports any project which aims for the betterment of Africa. Ethiopian Airlines is the biggest Airline in Africa and has been recognised as the African four-star airline. It is a member of the Global Star Alliance and flies the newest aircraft brands in Africa, including the B787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350”.

    The conference came as a United States-based organisation, Leadership in Obscurity Network, had officially entered into partnership with the African Project Against Suicide (APAS) in a one-year-long crusades being undertaken by the latter.

    The Overall Coordinator of APAS, Pastor Honey Olawale, South Africa Coordinator, Reholegile Mehlape, and Eastern Africa Coordinator, Daniel Madalanga, jointly stated that the terms of the partnership include training of selected African leaders on suicide prevention.

    According to him, 10 countries within Africa are participating in the first phase of anti-suicide project. The countries are South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Gambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Mauritius. As for Nigeria, however, cities listed for the war-against-suicide crusades and concerts are Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Benin, Abuja, Kaduna and Enugu.

    He said that Ethiopian Airlines was the official airline for the conference as members from all over Africa travelled to Nigeria with the airline.

  • Ethiopian Airlines moves operations to Abuja new terminal

    Ethiopian Airlines, the largest African airline, on Thursday, moved its operations to the newly inaugurated terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, constructed by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC).

    Ethiopian Airlines is the second international airline to move its operations to the new terminal, inaugurated on Dec. 20, 2018, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Asky Airlines was the first to start flight operations from the terminal on Jan. 6.

    Mr Sani Mahmud, the Regional Manager, North Central, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said that the terminal had been equipped to handle all the international carriers.

    Mahmud, who is also the Airport Manager of NAIA, said that the terminal had been equipped with fibre backbone to provide free internet services to passengers and airport users.

    He expressed optimism that other airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Egypt Air and British Airways would
    likely move their operations into the terminal in the not too distant future.

    The regional manager said that the issue of connectivity had been the reason given by some airlines for the
    delay in moving their operations to the terminal.

    He, however, added that “we feel great that the terminal has come alive after it was commissioned last year
    and one of the biggest airlines, Ethiopian Airlines has moved its operations into the terminal.

    “We are grateful for their cooperation and we hope that very soon, others will join.

    “When we have these two giants here, others will be eager to come.

    “Hopefully, all the airlines will come in within a week because the connections have been done. The duty free shops are in progress because the management wants a uniform-style that will be of international standard and we are ready to provide world class services here.”

    Read Also; Abuja new airport terminal to process 15m passengers annually

    Meanwhile, the Traffic and Sales Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr Tilahun Tedesse, said that the airline was determined to continue to champion air transport services in Nigeria.

    Tedesse said that the airline hoped to expand its operations, considering the space and facilities in the new terminal,
    adding that it currently operated about 100 routes from Abuja.

    He added that “we just started today in this new terminal and we will continue to be an example to other airlines.

    “If you remember the last time this airport was closed we moved to Kaduna to serve Nigerian people and Nigerian passengers and this time also, we have been asked to start using this facility and we have started today.

    “Asky is our partner and we asked them to start first, but we are the first to commence international long haul from here to connect our passengers to Asia, Europe and America.

    “We didn’t have a good space at the old terminal but here, we have enough space, many check-in counters and the air conditioner is perfect.

    “We usually deploy our big capacity aircraft to this airport when we were using the small space, but now, I believe we will be able to deploy aircraft like the Airbus and B777 series.”

    A passenger, Dr Ayodeji Samuels, a medical practitioner, commended the government for the new terminal, saying it was befitting for the seat of power like Abuja.

    Samuels urged the authority to provide adequate signage and self-service facility within the terminal to enable passengers to have seamless experience.

    “This is more befitting for the Federal Capital Territory than what we used to have and we hope that operations will go on smoothly and most importantly, this improvement should be maintained.

    “It would be good to have appropriate signage to direct passengers where exactly they should go and there should also be self-service kiosks where passengers can check themselves in before approaching the counter for boarding pass.”

  • Ethiopian Airline offers 25 per cent discount for flights

    Ethiopian Airlines said Wednesday that it is offering 25 percent discount on fares to selected destinations from Lagos to all it travel partners.

    The offer, the carrier said is one of the ways of appreciating its esteemed customers and in celebration of the yuletide season,

    According to the airline, sales of the discounted fares had commence since December 12,  2018 to  December 31,  2018. Ethiopian Airlines said the activation date for booked tickets by customers will commence on the first of January 2019.

    According to the airline, the selected destinations include: Dubai International Airport, Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, Cairo International Airport, Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Hamad International Airport, Doha, Kuwait International Airport, King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Other destinations are: Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Lapangan Terbang Changi, Singapore, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi, Kigali International Airport, Kigali Rwanda.

    It further stated that the fares discount also covers destinations such as Entebbe International Airport Entebbe, Uganda, O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport Aéroport International De Djibouti, Dulles International Airport, Washington D.C, Los Angeles International Airport,  O’hare International Airport, Chicago.

    Other destinations include: Liberty International Airport, Newarknjusa, Flughafen Frankfurt Am Main Frankfurt, Aéroport International De Genève, Oslo Lufthavn, Oslo Norway, Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath Dublin Ireland and Manchester Airport, Manchester, UK. Ethiopian Airlines stated that customers will have to travel on New Year day to enjoy the 25 percent discount.

     

  • Ethiopian Airlines unveils privatisation plans

    Ethiopian Airlines is working on proposals to privatise the carrier,  its Group Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, has said.

    Gebremariam , has therefore called on African governments to consider having shares in the airline.

    He said in Addis Ababa, it would be good if  some African countries including Nigeria had shares in the airline.

    The Ethiopian government he said is seeking to open up its economy by selling a stake in some of its state-run enterprises , including the airline.

    He however, cautioned that in the liberalisation strategy, Ethiopian Airlines should not be “treated like other state enterprises set for privatisation.

    He said given the airline’s role in connecting Africa, the government should capitalise on that to maintain its position in the continent.

    “As a pan-African airline, I don’t see any reason why we should not sell the minority shares of Ethiopian Airlines to African countries if they are interested in buying.”

    Meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Ethiopian Airlines  has stepped up its expansion plan by setting up hubs across the continent.

    The airline , IATA said has been in talks with African governments including Chad, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Nigeria, and Mozambique to set up carriers through joint ventures.

    Meanwhile the airline said  it has finalized agreements with the Government of Chad for the launch of Chad national carrier. Ethiopian has 49 percent stake in the joint venture while the Government of Chad retains 51 percent.

    The new Chad national carrier is planned to go into operation as of October 1, 2018. Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines remarked: “The strategic equity partnership in the launching of the new Chad national carrier is part of our Vision 2025 multiple hub strategy in Africa. The new Chad national carrier will serve as a strong hub in Central Africa availing domestic, regional and eventually international air connectivity to the major destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. I wish to thank His Excellency President Idriss Deby Itno, the Government of Chad and the stakeholders in the aviation sector in Chad for their strong support to the project.”

    Through its multiple hubs strategy in Africa, Ethiopian currently operates hubs in Lomé (Togo) with ASKY Airlines and Malawian in Lilongwe (Malawi), while having the already acquired stakes in Zambia’s and Guinea’s national carriers and making preparations to launch Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines.

     

     

  • Ownership: Ethiopian Airlines invites African countries

    As a way of boosting the fragmented African airspace, Ethiopian Airlines (ET)said it is willing to bring in other African countries into ownership of the airline and  forming strategic alliances, besides launching or reviving new sovereign African airlines.

    The company’s managing director, Tewolde Gabremariam, suggested the airline should be co-owned by African governments.

    Tewolde said Ethiopia’s government should capitalize on the airline’s stature to consolidate its place in the African continent.

    “As a pan-African airline, I don’t see any reason why we should not sell the minority shares of Ethiopian Airlines to African countries, if they are interested in buying,”he said.

    More than anything, Tewolde’s bullish statement is reflective of the bold new era in Ethiopia. Since prime minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April, he has overseen radical reforms that have changed the country’s trajectory. These include introducing a major policy aimed at loosening the government’s monopoly on several key economic sectors, including aviation and telecommunications.

    Tewolde’s words were based on the airline’s success in improving its financial, operational, aircraft fleet, and annual passenger numbers. In the fiscal year ending July 2018, the carrier announced it bought a 45 per cent  stake to revive Zambia Airways, which went into liquidation way back in 1994.

    To spread its regional footprint, it also kick-started negotiations to establish new hubs in Mozambique, Chad and Equatorial Guinea in addition to the ones it already operates in Malawi and Togo.

  • Ethiopian Airlines not favourite to manage Nigeria Air – FG

    The Federal Government has faulted the claim by the Ethiopian Airlines’ Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam , that the airline is  the favourite to establish and manage the new  ‘Nigeria Air’.

    The Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, faulted the claim through the Deputy Director, Media and Public Affairs, Mr James Odaudu, on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Sirika’s statement was a  response to the enquiry by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to the claim by Gebremariam recently in Addis Ababa.

    Sirika  said that even if Ethiopian Airlines had tendered an offer to be partner, it is preposterous and misleading for Ethiopian Airlines boss to make such a statement.

    According to him, discussions are ongoing with prospective partners and investors ranging from development finance institutions, airlines and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

    “And these discussions are not limited to the establishment of a national carrier.

    “There are other components of the Aviation Roadmap for which investors are being sought.

    “These include the Establishment of an MRO centre, cargo terminals, Concession of airports, establishment of an Aviation Leasing Company etc.

    “I don’t know about ET or any other prospective investors being favourites or frontrunners to establish and manage Nigeria Air.

    “The Public and prospective partners and investors are hereby assured that the processes for the establishment of the national carrier, and indeed other projects in the roadmap have been guided, and would continue to be guided by the national policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) and it’s elements of transparency, accountability and the overall public interest,” he said.

    Ethiopian Airlines boss last week said his  airline is the frontrunner to set up and manage a new national carrier for Nigeria.

    GebreMariam was quoted as saying, ET is  among a small group with an interest in establishing a national carrier (in Nigeria)…we do not know the results (of the tender), though we are frontrunners.

  • Ethiopian Airlines grows passengers 21%

    Ethiopian Airlines the  number of passengers it carried grew by  21 per cent  topping the 10 million mark for the first time in the airline’s history, reaching 10.6 million passengers.

    This was contained in its financial performance  covering its operations, commercial and customer services for the 2017/2018 fiscal year.

    During the period under review, the airline  introduced additional 14 new aircraft; averaging  more than one aircraft per month;

    The airline , according to its  Group Chief Executive Officer, Tewolde GebreMariam, opened  eight  new international destinations including  Geneva (Switzerland), Chicago (USA), Bahrain, Kaduna (Nigeria), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Kisangani and Mbuji-Mayi (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Nosy-Be (Madagascar).

    Freight carried, he said  grew by  18 per cent  from previous fiscal year to attain 400,339 tons;

    Operating revenue, he affirmed  grew by  43 per cent  from previous fiscal year to culminate at 89.1 billion Ethiopian birr (ETB).

    Net profit, he said  stood at 6.8 billion ETB.

    He said : ” During the fiscal year, the airline was given for the first time in its history a 4 Star rating by SKYTRAX, the leading customer service rating organization in the airline industry, putting it on par with other global airlines. SKYRAX also recognized Ethiopian as Best Airline in Africa; Best Business Class in Africa and Best Economy Class in Africa.

    ”  Ethiopian reached and passed the 100th aircraft in service milestone during the year, becoming the first African airline in history to do so” .

    Recapping the exceptional 2017/18 fiscal year performance, GebreMariam said: “It was an exceptional year for Ethiopian with record performance in financial, operational, commercial and customer service areas.

    ” This historical performance is, due first and foremost, to the commitment, hard work and competence of my 16,000 colleagues with each one of them at all echelons of the company playing a critical role in this success.”

  • Ethiopian Airlines begins flight to Asmara

    Ethiopian Airlines, has announce that it has finalized preparations to resume daily flights to Asmara, Eritrea on 17 July 2018 with the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787. This follows agreements reached in Asmara between Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of t DeRepublic of Ethiopia and President H.E. Isaias Afewerki of the State of Eritrea.

    Regarding the resumption of flights to Eritrea’s capital, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam said: “We at Ethiopian feel an immense honor and joy to resume scheduled flights to Asmara after 20 years, following the visit to Eritrea by H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. With the opening of a new chapter of peace and friendship between the two sisterly countries, we look forward to starting flights to Asmara with the B787, the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft, which gives customers unparalleled on-board comfort.

    The resumption of air links will play a critical role in boosting the overall political, economic, trade and people-to-people ties between the two sisterly countries. Thanks to Ethiopian extensive network of more than 114 international destinations in 5 continents, our flights to Asmara will avail best connectivity options to the vast Eritrean Diaspora Community across the world and will boost the flow of investment, trade and tourism into Eritrea.

    Very quickly, we plan to operate multiple daily service and to start cargo flights in view of the huge market potential between the two sisterly countries.”

  • Ethiopian links Buenos Aires with all-female flight

    Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, has announced that it has started  five weekly flights to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    Buenos Aires is the world’s capital of Tango, home of centurion old buildings and a vibrant cultural scene. Argentina is one of the largest economies in Latin America and Buenos Aires is the second largest city in South America with a population of over 13 million.

    Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “We are glad to add Buenos Aires, our 6th gateway to the Americas, to our extensive global network. Our new flight to Buenos Aires will provide efficient connections to our network in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, including Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Mumbai, Delhi, Dubai, Beirut, Nairobi and Cairo.

    “To mark this important occasion and as part of our commitment of mainstreaming gender into our core business, we would make the inaugural flight an All Women Operated Flight.

    “Currently, Ethiopia is registering rapid economic growth with strong emphasis on industrialization with the construction of industrial zones and the development of tourism in light of the truly unique natural, cultural and historical wealth of the country. As the national carrier, we are fast expanding our global footprint, currently covering over 100 international destinations across five continents, to support the country’s growth by facilitating its access to investors and tourists”.