Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier is projecting an annual turnover of $10 billion by 2025.
This is just as the airline disclosed that it plans to increase its fleet to 140 aircraft and reach the 22 million passengers mark by the same year. The airline currently has a turnover of $2.4 billion annually.
According to Solomon Begashaw, general manager, Ethiopian Airlines, Nigeria Office, the vision of the airline is to be the leading airline group in Africa with seven profit-oriented centres and a 4-Star airline with 5-Star services by 2025.
Explaining the airline’s plans to the media in Abuja recently, Begashaw noted that the airline currently has 76 aircraft is running vision 2025, a 15-year plan it started in 2010.
“Our vision in 2025 is to be the leading airline group in Africa with seven profit-oriented centres and a 4-Star airline with 5-Star services. In this vision, there are parameters, expectations and requirements that we are supposed to achieve. In our vision 2025, our mission is to transport 22 million passengers per annum; currently we are at six million plus per annum. In terms cargo, we are expected to hit 820 tons of cargo per annum; we are currently doing 220 tons of cargo”, he said.
The general manager said the airline’s target was to fly 120 to international destinations in 2025 and 26 domestic destinations, adding that currently the airline is flying 91 international destinations.
He said the airline is also expected to have 17, 000 employees in 2025 as against 8,000 employees on its payroll at present.
In the last three months, the airline has launched routes to seven new destinations including; Manila, Japan, Los Angeles, Cape Town, Republic of Congo, Dublin and Gaborone.
It is expected that the completion of the ongoing expansion of Addis Ababa Bole Airport would boost the airline’s operations, while the Ethiopia Aviation Academy would provide the company with skilled labour.
In the same vein, the Addis-Ababa-based, airlines has awarded its travel partners at an awards dinner, held in Accra, to recognise the agencies’ efforts in the airline’s success in the country.
The airline’s top agencies by sales volumes, received an undisclosed amount of cash from the airline as well as a certificate.
Genet Michel, country manager of the airline in Ghana, said: “What we did today was reward people who have served the airline very well; it is an award dinner for travel agents who have supported the airline. This will be done two or three times in the year going forward. Ethiopian is popular because it is pocket-friendly. Over the last three months we have launched flights to Manila, Los Angeles, Japan, Cape Town, Dublin, and Gomah. We want to fly to more than a hundred destinations and we are already flying to 91 now.”
Explaining further on the rationale behind the reward, Michel noted that the load factor is picking up and now the airline has a good load factor of about 70 percent. “We have revised all our fares downward and we have given more commission and incentives to the travel agents”, he said.
Ethiopian currently serves about 91 destinations across five continents from its base at Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian flag-carrier’s partnership with Boeing has existed for more than half a century, with a current fleet of more than 50 Boeing airplanes that includes 787 Dreamliners and a cargo fleet that includes 757 and 777 Freighters.
This year, the airline introduced the Boeing 787-Dreamliner on the Accra-Addis Ababa route, following requests by the travelling public and agencies.
