Ethiopia’s flag carrier airline, Ethiopian Airlines, is awarded as the Best Regional Airline of the Year by Air Transport World (ATW). Ethiopian won the award at the 41st annual Air Transport World Airline Industry Achievement Awards ceremony held in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, February 25, 2015.

The award was created back in 1974 in the aim of recognizing excellence in the sector with the vote of the most renowned journalists of the industry.

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, commented on the development saying; :"I would like to thank the ATW Board and management for honoring us with this prestigious award. It is a special privilege for me to accept the award on behalf of the employees, management and the board of Ethiopian Airlines.

The award is above all a testimony of the commitment and dedication of our more than 8,500 employees, who work hard day-in and day-out around the globe to make the airline shine high in the sky. I also thank our valued customers, partners and suppliers for their support in our fast, profitable and sustainable growth strategic road map of vision 2025 which has made us the largest Passenger and Cargo Airline in Africa. The award encourages us to double our efforts to earn the confidence of all our stakeholders with laser sharp focus on delivering superior customer services."

Judges of the awards explained Ethiopian has been enjoying growth since 2010. They noted the airline is now the most profitable and largest airline in Africa based on fleet size and passengers flown, has shown outstanding capability in its efficient use of smaller aircraft, skillfully developing markets that are not part of its mainline international airline network. They furthered and lauded Ethiopian for its first-rate safety standards and consistent high standards of customer service.

Source: Ethiopian Airlines Press Release