Tewolde Gebremariam CEO of Ethiopian Airlines told Air Transport World (ATW) that Ethiopian is considering extra-long-haul fleet and expects to reach on a decision by the end of the year.

Tewolde told ATW: “The extra-long-haul fleet selection is still in progress. There is a committee working on the evaluation and the committee has not yet made any recommendation to the executive management.”

According to the reports of various media outlets last week, Ethiopian is evaluating to purchase either 15 to 20 Airbus A350-1000s or Boeing 777Xs.

ATW had also reported this evaluation process being started in January 2015, yet the evaluation process is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, Tewolde noted.

Latest media reports state that Ethiopian favors 777X for its operations as the high-altitude hub Addis Ababa puts a strain on aircraft.

In addition, Ethiopian orders 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, six 787-8s and 777-200Fs, its website indicates.

Source: ATW