Ethiopian Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of its US Services

Addis Ababa, 19 June 2023

Ethiopian Airlines Group, the fastest-growing airline brand globally and the continent’s largest airline brand, celebrates the 25^th Anniversary of the start of its services to the United States (US). Ethiopian connected Africa with the US in June 1998 with its cross-Atlantic flights to Washington D.C., the capital city and federal district of the United States.

Ethiopian and the US aviation industry share an impressive relationship that dates back to the 1940s when the airline was founded in December 1945, in partnership with Trans World Airlines (TWA). In the years since then, Ethiopian has been a proud partner to American aviation firms including Boeing and GE Aerospace.

Sending his congratulatory message on the Anniversary, Mr. Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO said, “We are pleased to mark this milestone and celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of our successful services to the US. Ethiopian has become a pioneer African flag carrier by starting services to Washington D.C., in June 1998. Our flights have been instrumental in facilitating trade and businesses, promoting tourism, and strengthening socio-economic ties between Africa and the US. Ethiopian now is connecting the US with Africa direct from Addis Ababa, Lomé, and Abidjan cities. We are indebted to the US Government and our aviation partners for the mutually beneficial cooperation that lasts over the past 75 years of our journey. As the US will always remain a significant part of our strategic expansion plan, we will continue connecting the US with the African market to enhance cooperation between the two regions.”

Commending Ethiopian role of availing connectivity services, Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia said, “Our two countries, and our aviation sectors, share a long and unique history. In 1945, African-American pilot Colonel John C. Robinson traveled to Ethiopia to train pilots and to help organize the country’s national airline. Ethiopian Airlines now connects Ethiopia to the rest of the African continent and the world. With the start of direct flight service to the United States in 1998, flying U.S.-manufactured aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines has provided a vital link between the United States, Ethiopia, and Africa, and that link has grown stronger as the number of direct flights to the United States has grown. The U.S. government is invested in strengthening people-to-people and two-way trade and investment ties between Ethiopia and the United States, and Ethiopian Airlines has been an essential part of realizing those goals.”

Ethiopian, the best African Airline, has been successfully connecting the US with its more than 60 African destinations for the past 25 years. The airline transported more than half a million passengers to and from the US only from June 2022- May 2023. As a pan-African airline committed to bringing Africa together and closer to the world, Ethiopian will continue to enhance the connectivity between the US and Africa.

Currently, Ethiopian serves more than 150 international and domestic passenger and cargo destinations including six in the US: five passenger services to Washington D.C., New York, Newark, Chicago, and Atlanta as well as a cargo service to Miami. Ethiopian operates 30 weekly flights to the US.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its seventy-seven years of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivaled in efficiency and operational success. In addition to its main hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it is also pursuing its multi-hub strategy through a hub in Lomé, Togo with ASKY, in Lilongwe, Malawi with Malawi Airlines and in Lusaka, Zambia with Zambia Airways. Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the Pan African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 150 domestic and international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents.

Ethiopian’s fleet consists of ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as Boeing 737s, 777s, 787s, Airbus A350-900 and Bombardier Dash 8-400 double cabin with an average fleet age of seven years. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate most of these aircraft. Having achieved its strategic plan (Vision 2025) ahead of time, Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2035 that will see it become one of the top 20 most competitive and leading aviation group in the world by providing safe, secured, market driven and customer focused Passenger and Cargo Transport and Logistics Services, Aviation Training, Airport Management and Ground Services, MRO and Aerospace Manufacturing and Travel and Tourism Services. As a multi-award-winning airline, Ethiopian has been winning various coveted awards including Skytrax’s ‘Best Airline in Africa Award’ for five consecutive years. The airline has been a Star Alliance member since 2011 and has been registering more than threefold growth in the past 10 years. For more  www.ethiopianairlines.com     

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