Ethiopian Airlines Signs For 67 More Boeing Aircraft Including 737 MAX & 787 Dreamliners

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered more Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 787 aircraft, with a firm order of up to 31 aircraft, split between 20 737 MAXs and 11 787-9s. The airline also has options for 21 and 15 aircraft of the type, respectively. The order was announced at the Dubai Airshow 2023, where Boeing has so far dominated its rival, Airbus.

Ethiopian Airlines bolstering fleet

Ethiopian Airlines currently operates a fleet of 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 29 Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline has two 787 models in its fleet, split between 19 787-8 and 10 787-9, according to ch-aviation data. Furthermore, Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries data showed that the carrier has 17 737 MAX aircraft still on order, as well as five 777F cargo jets. Speaking at the announcement, Mesfin Tasef, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ethiopian Airlines Group, which includes cargo, maintenance, and other service providers, stated that the group has a strategic roadmap for its future.

“This strategy is a continuous growth strategy and we have been using several breakout plans, and the addition of the new brand-new […] widebody and narrowbody [aircraft] will enable us to expand our network, enhance our growth, our operation, and our profitability.”

Photo: Sumit Singh | Simple Flying

In addition to the order, Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with Boeing to retrofit the airline’s 787 Dreamliner cabins with a new inflight entertainment system and a modern interior. Brad McMullen, the Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing, added that the relationship between Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing spans decades, as the airline has been a “partner of ours on almost every single model of Boeing aircraft that we have ever produced.”

“You have just been a great partner throughout all these years.”

Confidence in the 737 MAX

According to Tasef, when the airline initially acquired the Boeing 737 MAX, Ethiopian Airlines based its decision on the performance of the type. “It was safe and reduced costs for the airline,” he added. “Unfortunately, we had to face that accident in 2019,” Tasef continued, noting that, since the accident, the airline believes that it has “confirmed and checked” that Boeing addressed the design flaws of the 737 MAX.

“We have renewed our confidence in that aircraft.”

In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), marking the second fatal accident of the type since October 2018. Then, another 737 MAX, operated by Lion Air, crashed into the Java Sea just minutes after it took off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK).

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Following the second crash, aviation authorities began grounding the type, resulting in no Boeing 737 MAX flights being operated between March 2019 and December 2021, when Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas resumed flights with the 737 MAX. Ethiopian Airlines resumed services with its 737 MAX fleet in February 2022. At the time, Tewolde Gebremariam, the now-former CEO of the group, said that the aircraft returned to the airline’s operations after months of rigorous checks and its confidence in the 737 MAX was showcased by “flying the top executives and the board chairman and other top government officials on the first flight” since the groundings.

Read more: Ethiopian Airlines Resumes Passenger 737 MAX Flights

Sources: ch-aviation