Airline News
Ethiopian China-bound, to order more A350s
November 13th 2015
"Asia and particularly China is our focus. This is our biggest market," Ethiopian Airlines chief, Tewolde Gebremariam, has told AFP, who said the carrier planned to add Chengdu, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta and Singapore to its network next year. Read More » East Asia has been the main driver of Ethiopian’s rapid expansion in recent years, with two destinations, Manila and Tokyo, added in 2015 for a total of nine.
To better serve its customers, Ethiopian is training Mainland crews for its China-bound flights, because "90% of passengers flying to China don't speak English”, Gebremariam said. "They don't understand the safety instructions," he added, and stressed the carrier needed crews who speak the language and understand the culture.
To meet its growth targets, Ethiopian plans to double its wide body fleet in the next ten years, as well as its total fleet, under its Vision 2025 business plan. It has commitments for six additional B787-8s, two B787-9s and 14 A350-900s. The six -8s and twelve of the A350s were ordered directly from the manufacturers, while the remaining two A350s and the two -9s were sourced from lessor, AerCap.
In the latest update, Gebremariam on Wednesday told Reuters he intended to order at least ten A350s in the next two years. "This fleet (of A350-900s), as core aircraft in our network, is going to grow," he said. "We haven't been able to quantify the right numbers, but definitely we are going to order more. At least more than 10," he said. State-owned Ethiopian expects to receive the first A350 in May. The frame is currently on the Airbus final assembly line in Toulouse.
