Ethiopian's breath of fresh Airbus

Ethiopian Airlines has taken delivery of the first of four 395-seat Airbus A350-1000s, with the carrier urgently needing the largest member of the A350 widebody family to offer additional capacity on popular routes that connect London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Washington DC to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

“We are here to celebrate this monumental occasion in the history of Ethiopian Airlines and the African aviation industry,” said Mesfin Tasew, group CEO of the carrier, speaking at the Airbus aircraft delivery centre in Toulouse.

Ethiopia’s government, which is the sole owner of Ethiopian Airlines, is committed to the success of the carrier as it aims to “connect Africa to the world” and “support the continent’s economic growth”, said Yilma Merdasa, chairman of the airline’s management board and chief of the country’s air force, who attended the delivery event.

Ethiopian took delivery of its first A350, the smaller -900 version that it operates with 343 seats, in June 2016, said Tasew.

The airline now operates 20 A350-900s and will take delivery of a further 11 of this type from 2027. The A350-1000 twinjet is powered by the Rolls-Royce XWB-97 engine, which is the sole engine option for the A350 family.

While the A350-900 has become “a core fleet” for Ethiopian with “outstanding reliability and performance” the extra 16 business class seats offered on the A350-1000, with 46 in total, is a “step change” compared to the 30 available on the smaller -900, said Tasew.

Ethiopian is taking delivery of four A350-1000s, with the second arriving in the first week of December, another in the third week of that month and the final one in March 2025, Tasew told African Aerospace.

The first A350-1000 will be operated to eight destinations across Ethiopian’s network in a promotion move until the carrier receives its second one when both will be dedicated to serving its Washington DC route.

On this route, plus Heathrow and Frankfurt, the larger business class cabin is required to meet demand as the carrier’s premium product is often fully booked, he explained.

Additionally, the A350-1000 will be especially vital at slot-constrained airports like London Heathrow with 11 per cent more capacity compared with the A350-900, said Tasew.

The A350-1000 also brings other important improvements over the airline’s existing fleet such as the latest in-flight entertainment system, supplied by Thales, and the aircraft’s innovative lighting system.

“This will enhance and elevate our level of service for customers, while also providing a “competitive edge” over its rivals, said Tasew. “We are setting a new benchmark for the aviation industry in Africa.”

The airline is also preparing to order up to 10 firm aircraft in the 100-seater category in the coming eight months with the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 family in the running and has a widebody freighter order competition under way as well.

Ethiopian also has a further 11 A350-900 outstanding orders to add to the 20 aircraft already operating with the airline, however these are to be delivered from 2027, he said.

This leaves a gap. “This gap is not OK to sustain our growth strategy. We need new aircraft every year, both in the wide and narrow-body category,” explained Tasew. “We need a minimum of four to six widebodies and six to seven narrowbodies” and it is looking to the leasing market to bring more aircraft in, he said.