Africa’s fastest-growing carrier, Ethiopian Airways, plans to acquire six new Boeing 787 Dreamliners at a cost $1.3-billion as part of an ambitious expansion programme.
The airline, which aims to double its size by 2025 and become Africa’s leading carrier, placed an order for the six aircraft at the Paris Air Show 2015, in France.
With the new order, Ethiopian Airlines will increase its fleet of the modern aircraft to 19. The airline was the first to operate a Boeing 787 in Africa.
“We plan to keep investing heavily in technologically advanced and modern airplanes as part of our long-term strategy to increase capacity and provide greater route flexibility to and from our hub in Addis Ababa,” says Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam.
The airline intends to increase its fleet from 73 currently to 110 over the next decade.
Investing in its fleet is part of the airline’s ambitious expansion programme, which is geared towards increasing the number of passengers from the current 3.2-million to 18-million a year by 2025.
The airline is also investing in a new cargo terminal, a new hangar and a new headquarters building, and is expanding its aviation academy.
The cargo terminal will be one of the biggest in the world, with a yearly capacity of 1.2-million tons when it is completed in 2016.
The airline has invested more than $50-million in the Ethiopian Aviation Academy to date in a bid to increase the number of pilots, technicians and cabin crew trained at the facility