The first Boeing 787-9 Ethiopian Airlines was delivered
On October 27 2017, the first Boeing 787-9 Ethiopian Airlines was delivered. The aircraft is rented through an agreement with AerCap.
On October 27, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines celebrated the delivery of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft arrived in Addis Ababa after a flight of 13 444 kilometers, the delivery being made from Everett's Boeing base.
Thus, Ethiopian Airlines became the first African carrier with this type of aircraft in the fleet. We remind you that Ethiopian Airlines was the first African airline operator with Boeing 787-8 in the fleet (in 2012). Also Ethiopian Airlines, similarly, introduced 777-200LR (Longer Range), 777-300ER (Extended Range) and 777 Freighter.
The first Boeing 787-9 Ethiopian Airlines
The new acquisition is part of the "Vision 2025" strategy developed by Ethiopian Airlines. Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, said the Dreamliner family of aircraft is the core of the fleet. The Ethiopian carrier's plan is to invest in new, modern and reliable aircraft, thus providing increased passenger comfort.
Ethiopian Airlines currently operates 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (19 x 787-8 and 1 x 787-9), plus 10 triple seven aircraft (4 x 777-300ER and 6 x 777-200-6-767-300 and 20 aircraft from the 737 family. To the Boeing aircraft fleet, we also add 19 x Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and 6 x Airbus A350-900.
The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (ET-AUO) will facilitate the opening of new routes on the Ethiopian Airlines network. It can carry up to 315 passengers in two classes: 30 seats in Business Class and 285 seats in Economy Class. Propulsion is provided by 2 Trent 1000 engines.
The first information about the flights operated by Boeing 787-9 Ethiopian Airlines also appeared:
- from 3 December, it will fly every Sunday on the route Addis Ababa - Brazzaville - Pointe Noire - Addis Ababa;
- from 6 December, will fly once a week on the Addis Ababa - Cape Town route;
- from February 21, it will fly once a week on the Addis Ababa - Chengdu route;
- between December 12, 2017 - January 30, 2018, will operate 1 flight out of 3 per week on the route Addis Ababa - Rome - Milan Malpensa.
Changes to the operational program may occur!