Ethiopian Airlines Orders 11 Airbus A350-900s

Great for ET, but what about ADD? That airport is the most underwhelming part of the ET experience, and is already rather congested. How will it handle all this growth?

The Adient Ascent seat is also certified for the A350, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that installed on the new deliveries in due course. The intention of the Boeing partnership is to certify the ET AMO to do these seat fittings not just for their own fleet but also third parties in the region, so with that level of partnership between Boeing and ET, I would expect that the seating will standardise across the fleet (including the Airbuses).

What about it? It continues to expand - just last week they opened up the renovated T1 and an additional 5 contact stands. There is a further expansion happening north of the T2 expansion. The lounges are fine and never struggle for capacity, and there is even a Priority Pass lounge there now. There are plenty of Fast Track lines through security, immigration, boarding, etc.. for premium passengers (and this is enforced). Lots of new food outlets opening up in the Terminal too, both for fast food and sit-down options. It isn't Singapore Changi, but I'm there once a month or more on average and I'm perfectly happy with the facilities.

It staggers me that airlines owned by their governments can without any obvious consequences order billions of pounds worth of aircraft in one hand and in the other lobby other countries and apply for Aid to help struggling communities with access to clean water and food.

Ethiopian Airlines actually does not receive a penny of support from their Government anymore. The airline group generates more hard currency than probably the rest of the economy put together, is profitable and extremely creditworthy. The Government of Ethiopia needs Ethiopian Airlines more than Ethiopian Airlines needs the Government.

A bulk of ET's orders are financed through the US, Canadian or French Exim banks, and there are lessors and financiers lining up to provide financing on favourable commercial terms to them thanks to their exceptional track record.

Do airlines with mixed Airbus and Boeing long-haul fleets cross-train pilots to fly both? Or do they have to maintain two groups of pilots?

Ethiopian has 5 groups of pilots.

Dash8 - who fly the Dash8-Q400 exclusively
737 - who fly both the 737NG (-700/-800) and the 737Max
757/767 - who only fly the freighters now that the pax variants are retired
777/787 - who fly the 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8 and 787-9
Airbus - who fly the A350s only

When's the last time you've been there? Bole has expanded significantly and has added some nice dining places. The ET loungers are quite nice. Not that it's gourmet dining, but they even have a Burger Kind. Didn't expect to see one at Bole Airport.

The Burger King is possibly the world's most expensive (definitely relative to the average local income) at $18 for a Whopper with Cheese, and add a further $5 to make it a combo meal.

At some point there were significant plans for a new greenfield and massive airport for Addis, and i believe construction (at least ground clearing) was started.

^The only thing that made this smackdown funnier...... is that the person who assumed all and knew nothing, is flying what's perhaps the world's most recognized emblem of colonialism + underestimation of developing cultures/economies.

LOL