The Ethiopian Airlines Fleet In 2023

Ethiopian Airlines is often considered to be one of Africa’s leading carriers, with a diverse fleet and an extensive network at its disposal. Having come into existence just after the Second World War, the Star Alliance member now has a portfolio of 133 aircraft, according to ch-aviation.com. Let’s take a closer look at its makeup.

Narrowbodies and turboprops

Like many carriers worldwide, Ethiopian Airlines’ narrowbody jet fleet consists entirely of models from the same aircraft family, in this case, namely the popular Boeing 737 series. The carrier even flies aircraft from the modern Boeing 737 MAX family, with 13 examples at its disposal at an average age of 2.9 years and 17 more on order.

However, these are outnumbered by the Star Alliance members’ Boeing 737NG series aircraft, of which there are presently 19 in total. This figure includes five 737-700s (18.1 years old on average) and 11 737-800s (9.7 years old on average), as well as three cargo-carrying examples in the form of one 737-800BCF and two 737-800SFs.

Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

Somewhat smaller than these are Ethiopian Airlines 30 De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q-400 turboprops. These regional aircraft are relatively young, with an average age of 7.4 years old, compared to a feet-wide mean of 11.4 years. They have three different seating configurations, with two being all-economy (78 or 82 seats) and one having seven business class and 60 economy class seats.

Boeing widebodies

Moving on to Ethiopian Airlines’ widebody twinjets, the Star Alliance member flies designs from both sides of the industry-dominating Airbus-Boeing manufacturing duopoly. As far as Boeing is concerned, three families are present, with the 767 series represented by one 767-300ER and two 767-300ER(BDSF) jets.

The carrier also flies both passenger and cargo-carrying examples of the triple-seven family. The former of these see greater representation, with six 777-200LRs and four 777-300ERs present. However, they are set to be overtaken by the 777-200F; while there are currently only nine, another five examples of the freighter are on order.

Photo: Tim Stake/Boeing

Ethiopian Airlines’ most modern Boeing widebodies are its two variants from the US manufacturer’s ‘Dreamliner family. 29 aircraft from this next-generation series currently serve the carrier, comprising 19 787-8s (with an average age of 9.2 years old ) and ten 787-9s (with an average age of 3.9 years old).

Airbus widebodies

Finally, Ethiopian Airlines also flies 20 widebodies from the Airbus A350 family. All of these are examples of the smaller A350-900 model, and they have an average age of just 4.5 years old. Two seating configurations are available.

In both instances, these aircraft have 30-seat business class cabins. However, ch-aviation’s data shows that some of these have their flatbeds laid out four abreast, while the others have six seats per row. In the case of the former layout, the economy section features 325 seats, while, in the case of the latter, there are 313.

What do you make of Ethiopian Airlines’ present fleet? How many of its aircraft have you flown on? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Source: ch-aviation.com