Ethiopian Airways adds ninth Boeing 787 Dreamliner to its fleet.

Friday 8th August 2014

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing and most profitable African airline, is pleased to announce that it has added its ninth Boeing 787 Dreamliner to its expanding fleet. The new aircraft which was received on August 3rd has been named 'Great Wall of China'. This latest additional aircraft will support the route to Hong Kong from Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian was the first airline in the world outside Japan to receive the ultramodern Dreamliner in August 2012 and was the first airline to bring the new jet to London's largest hub airport Heathrow. In addition, it currently operates the largest 787 fleet in Africa.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner serves as Ethiopian's core fleet on its fast expanding mid and long range routes between Africa, China, India, Brazil, the USA and Europe. In July, the eighth B787 was added to the fleet to support the increased frequency of flights between London Heathrow and Addis Ababa as the airline increased to a daily schedule on July 8th.

Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group, Tewolde Gebremariam comments: "For almost seven decades, Ethiopian has been playing a pioneering role in African aviation by providing its esteemed customers the most technologically advanced aircraft the industry has to offer. Going forward, we will continue to expand our 787 destinations with the aim of providing our esteemed customers with the ultimate in on-board comfort."

Ethiopian's Boeing 787 offers unique features, which enhance passenger comfort such as greatly reduced noise, higher cabin humidity, the largest windows in the sky, unique lighting adaptable to the outside environment, wider aisles, more headroom and more seating flexibility. Ethiopian's B787s offer a two-class configuration with 24 business class/Cloud Nine seats and 246 seats in economy.

Ethiopian is a Pan-African global carrier with the youngest fleet in the continent with an average age of less than seven years and currently serves 82 international destinations across five continents with over 200 daily departures.

About Ethiopian Airlines:

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has become one of the continent's leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to 81 international destinations across five continents including 49 destinations in Africa. Ethiopian fleet of 68 aircraft includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

www.ethiopianairlines.com