Ethiopian Airline Group, the largest Pan-African aviation group, celebrated its 75th-anniversary yesterday, April 8, 2021. Ethiopian made its maiden international flight on April 8, 1946, to Cairo. Since then, the Airline overcame the ups and downs of the aviation industry and the challenges unique to Africa to become Africa’s largest, most profitable and award-winning Aviation Group, the airline noted in a statement sent to 2merkato.com.
Ethiopian Airlines aims to expand its fleet and network map. It currently has 140 aircraft and plans to add at least 130 more by 2035. The next round of aircraft orders will be a mix of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, including the Embraer E2 series, Airbus A220, Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo, 777X, and A350-1000. The airline is also planning to expand its network to Australia, the Americas, and Europe and increase flights to Toronto and apply for traffic rights to Montreal.
Ethiopian Airlines Group has celebrated the arrival of its second Airbus A350-1000, registered as ET-BAX. This addition reinforces Ethiopian Airlines’ standing as Africa’s leading airline. The A350-1000, part of a four-aircraft order, was first introduced to the fleet in November 2024, making Ethiopian Airlines the first African operator of this aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines wins the prestigious African Champion of the Year Award on March 26, 2019 at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali. The forum is being attended by more than 1,800 delegates.
Ethiopian Airlines has been recognized as the ‘African Airline of the Year’ by the African Travel Quarterly magazine it 
announced.
The airline received the award at an event held in Lagos, Nigeria during the Akwaaba: African Travel Market Exhibition.
Ethiopian Airlines was recognized for the excellence of its service and its pioneering acts in the aviation industry in Africa as evidenced by its introduction of the continents first 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The airline has managed to bridge the continent and made Africa proud in the past year through its efforts to open new routes and facilitating integration regionally and continentally according to the organizers of the award ceremony.
