TWO NEW AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES BRING ETHIOPIAN’S FLEET TO 120 AIRCRAFT
(Posted 21st November 2019)
The delivery of another Boeing B787-9 yesterday and only a day earlier of Ethiopian Airlines’ 27th De Havilland Q400 – formerly known as the Bombardier Q400 – has brought the overall number of aircraft on the fleet to 120, making it the largest in Africa.
ATCNews had a few days ago reported about the Q400 ferry flight, when the aircraft was seen in Manchester / UK while in transit from Canada to Addis Ababa (https://atcnews.org/2019/11/18/ethiopian-airlines-prepares-for-another-de-havilland-q400-delivery/).
These latest arrivals bring the average fleet age to 6.4 years with already 11 new deliveries this year and more expected before the end of 2019. Ethiopian is also finalising a firm order for as many as 25 Airbus A220-300 models, to further boost the capacity on African routes where the airline is serving over 60 destinations across the continent.
Ethiopian Airlines is also the airline with the most partnerships across the continent, where it joined hands with national governments to operate existing or newly launched airlines, among them ASKY in West Africa, Malawian and Ethiopian Mozambique, to name but a few. Other such carriers are presently under formation such as a new Zambian national airline and are expected to take to the skies in 2020.
