Ethiopian Shares The Love With Order For Airbus A350-900s At Airshow

Leading African carrier Ethiopian Airlines has spread the manufacturer love around at Dubai Airshow today with an order for 11 more Airbus A350s. The order comes just a day after the airline committed to a further 67 Boeing aircraft, including the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner.

The airline already operates a mixed fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but the A350 is the only Airbus product in its lineup. The carrier has 20 A350-900s already in its fleet, and according to ch-aviation, has orders in for four of the larger A350-1000s yet to be delivered.

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Details of the order

The announcement today is not a firm order, but rather a memorandum of understanding (MoU). As such, it means the order will not officially be added to the Airbus backlog until the MoU is translated into a firm order, something which tends to happen weeks or even months after the MoU signing.

The MoU indicates Ethiopian wants to add another 11 A350-900s to its fleet, taking the total order book for the type with this carrier to 33, including the four A350-1000s. Ethiopian was already Africa’s largest user of the A350, and has further solidified its leading position with this incremental increase to its fleet.

CEO of Ethopian Airlines Group, Mesfin Tasew, commented on the order and is significance for the carrier. He said,

“As a customer focused airline, we are particularly excited for this fleet as it offers extra comfort to passengers with its features like the quietest cabin in its class and ambient lighting. We are keen to expand our fleet size, acquiring the latest technology aircraft to offer a convenient and memorable onboard experience to our esteemed passengers.”