Despite the global travel restrictions imposed by various governments to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Africa’s largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has said it registered some profit during the period.
According to airlinegeeks.com, airline has been working around the clock during the pandemic, becoming the go-to airline for essential travel, repatriation flights and the airlift of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) and as travel restrictions slowly ease out across the globe, Ethiopian is pleased to welcome back air travel with more emphasis on safety.
As Ethiopian welcomes back business and leisure travel, it pledges more emphasis on safeguarding the health and safety of its customers and staff with the chain involving steps to be taken during interaction with customers, ticketing/reservations up to arrival at the destination.
“Ethiopian is proud to be there when the world needed it the most, repatriating citizens, reuniting families, facilitating essential travel and transporting much needed medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) for health professionals and the general public under very difficult and challenging circumstances,” noted the CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam.
“We are proud to be an integral part during the fight against COVID-19 and now we want to play a leading role in the new normal.
To a very large extent, it’s about getting back the confidence of business and leisure travelers. With the protective measures, we are taking in line with the CDC, IATA, ICAO and WHO guidelines, customers and staff can rest assured that their safety and health are well looked after when flying with us,” continued the CEO.
All customers will be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) during check-in and while facing staff. Customers are also advised to check travel restrictions of destination countries prior to arriving at the airport for flights.
Facemasks will be mandatory throughout the journey except for children under the age of two. Onboard service will be re-designed to minimize contact while maintaining our African Flavoured Ethiopian hospitality. Magazines, menus and other reading material that were traditionally shared will no longer be available.
Registering Profits
The Star Alliance airline expects to register a profit even after the coronavirus took a toll on the global aviation industry.
According to Bloomberg, revenue generated from the transportation of goods allowed the airline to keep up monthly fixed payments of $120 million to $150 million that includes loan servicing, aircraft leases, salaries and rentals as said by the group CEO.
“We may not be as profitable as we expected but we registered some profit. The first half of the year was good and the cargo business has done very well,” said Tewolde GebreMariam in an interview.
Moreover, the African airline is expecting compensation for the crashing of the Boeing 737 MAX jet in March last year, with negotiations currently underway. The compensation is expected in the coming months.
“We want the compensation as soon as possible,” noted the boss of the company.
Source: airlinegeeks.com
