Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, made a firm order for five Q400 NextGen Bombardier aircraft confirmed Bombardier 
Aerospace.
Three of the five airplanes are to be operated by Ethiopian Airlines affiliate ASKY, the Togolese airlines, while the other two will remain with Ethiopian.
According to the list price of the Q400 bombardier aircraft the purchase is estimated at a total of 160 million US dollars.
The bombardier aircraft has met all expectations of performance, passenger approval and economical considerations according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines.The Q400’s high rate of climb, higher take-off weight, and greater payload was particularly important in view of the high altitude, hot weather airports Ethiopian operates out off said Tewolde Gebremariam.
It is to be remembered that in 2010 Ethiopian Airlines purchased 8 Q400 aircraft which were deployed for domestic and regional routes.
In related news Ethiopian Airlines won the Gold Award in the African Airline of the Year 2011/12 Award organized by the African Aviation News Portal.
The team at Ethiopian Airlines is pleased by the vote of confidence establishing its services as the leading airline on the African continent said Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, in response to the award announcement.
Ethiopian Airlines received a majority of the votes cast by readers and fans of African Aviation to become the clear winner according to a statement issued by the airline.
The voting process was carried out online, at a poll set up at the African Aviation website, as well as various airline congress events and industry meetings attended by African Aviation officials.
Source: Marketwatch.com
