Ethiopian Airlines stands as 1st Airline in Africa to take delivery of Airbus A350XWB on 28 June, 2016, in Toulouse, France.
“Ethiopian is proud to be the first airline from Africa to take delivery of the A350 and excel in offering its passengers the ultimate travel experience on-board this aircraft ahead of other carriers. Ethiopian is also pleased to make all Africans proud by being the first airline in the world to fly this ultra-modern airplane in the African skies”, the airline said in a statement.
Ethiopian A350 XWB was built for passengers comfort and well-being. Wider seats in both Business and Economy classes, the lowest twin engine noise level, advanced air conditioning technology and full LED mood lighting enhance the comfort while reducing fatigue after a long flight.
“The fact that we are ushering in another first to Africa in a span of four years is an affirmation of our continuing pioneering role in African aviation. It is also a testimony of our commitment to give our passengers the very best travel experience, with the latest industry products and services. On behalf of all my colleagues at the Ethiopian family, I am delighted to see Ethiopian to continue making Africa First in Aviation Technology,” said Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian.
Ethiopian Airlines’ A350 Business Class
All seats are fitted with the latest high-definition touchscreen personal monitors and a higher selection of movies, television series and audio channels. Inflight Wi-Fi connection will be made available on this aircraft in the future. Passengers with smart devices can connect to the world while others can use the smart individual touch screens on their seats when the internet service goes operational.
The A350XWB’s innovative technology improves performance in operation. Its revolutionary airframe and simplified systems have optimized fuel burn, maintenance costs and reliability, and its engines have the lowest carbon dioxide CO2 emissions of any in the wide body category.
Ethiopian has ordered 14 Airbus A350XWB aircraft and will continue receiving the remaining 13 soon constantly raising number of Airbus aircraft in the fleet ensuring the extra comfort.
Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet includes Boeing 787s, Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 777-200LRs, Boeing 777-200 Freighters and Bombardier Q-400s, with an average fleet age of five years.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.