Ethiopian Airlines is on quite the shopping spree. Yesterday the airline placed an order with Boeing, for 20 737 MAX 8s and 11 787-9s. Now the airline has placed an order with Airbus.
In this post:
Ethiopian Airlines orders more Airbus A350 jets
Ethiopian Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding for 11 additional Airbus A350-900s, to be added to the carrier’s existing fleet. Ethiopian currently has a fleet of 20 A350-900s, which are an average of just under five years old.
So now the airline has plans to bring its A350-900 fleet to 31 aircraft, and on top of that, Ethiopian has four A350-1000s on order. The delivery timeline for these jets hasn’t yet been revealed, though I’ll be sure to update this post if it’s announced.
Here’s how Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew describes this order:
“We are excited to place this commitment for 11 Airbus A350-900s. As a customer focused airline, we are particularly excited for this fleet as it offers extra comfort to passengers with its features like the quietest cabin in its class and ambient lighting. We are keen to expand our fleet size, acquiring the latest technology aircraft to offer a convenient and memorable onboard experience to our esteemed passengers.”
I’m curious to see what kind of a product Ethiopian installs on these upcoming A350s. The airline already has so many different kinds of business class seats. Ethiopian is introducing a new business class product on 787s, though it’s a product from a Boeing joint venture partner, so I don’t think that’s coming to Airbus jets. Perhaps the airline will keep installing the Safran Optima seats that are on the carrier’s newest A350s.
Ethiopian Airlines is seriously focused on growth
Ethiopian Airlines is already Africa’s largest airline, and has a global route network, with service to five continents. It looks like the airline is really taking that to the next level. Looking at the Star Alliance carrier’s wide body fleet, Ethiopian currently has the following 59 jets:
- 20 Airbus A350-900s
- Six Boeing 777-200LRs
- Four Boeing 777-300ERs
- 19 Boeing 787-8s
- 10 Boeing 787-9s
On top of that, the airline now has the following 26 jets on order:
- 11 Airbus A350-900s
- Four Airbus A350-1000s
- 11 Boeing 787-9s
I suppose the Boeing 777s will be retired at some point in the future (though they’re an average of under 10 years old), but even so, this is some significant planned growth. That doesn’t even account for Ethiopian’s plans to greatly expand its narrow body fleet, to eventually feature 50+ Boeing 737 MAX 8s. There’s even talk of the airline eventually using those planes for longer flights.
Bottom line
Ethiopian Airlines is placing an order for 11 additional Airbus A350-900s, following yesterday’s order for a similar number of Boeing 787-9s (plus 737 MAX 8s). The Addis Ababa-based carrier is already the largest in Africa, but you can expect it to get even bigger in the coming years.
What do you make of Ethiopian Airlines’ Airbus aircraft order?
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
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...
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.
^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
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).
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?
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...
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.
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.