East African carrier and Africa’s most profitable airline, Ethiopian Airlines is the 4th largest airline in the world by the share number of countries served by the carrier.
The airline which serves 81 countries globally is trailing Turkish Airlines regarded as the largest airline serving 121 countries, followed by Air France with air operations to 91 countries globally and British Airways serving 82 countries.
Ethiopian has come a long way since commencing operations in 1945 with a weekly service between Addis Ababa and Cairo.
Early on the airline recognized that a successful future depended on first developing a far-reaching pan-African route network. With this aim now largely fulfilled, the airline’s focus is shifting. New destinations and increased numbers of flights to Europe, the United States of America, Canada, Asia and the Middle East have been launched, as the airline goes about bringing the world closer to Africa.
Internationally, Ethiopian flies to a number of major cities in Europe including Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, Brussels and Stockholm; to Bangkok, Beijing, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Mumbai across Asia; to numerous destinations in the Middle East; to Washington D.C ,Newark and Toronto in North America.
First starting its operations with former military Douglas C-47 transports, Ethiopian Airlines has grown to become Africa’s largest airline. The carrier now has a fleet of 130 aircraft, operating a particularly diverse fleet of widebody twinjets.
