Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s leading airline and the first international airline to fly into South Eastern Nigeria stormed the cities of Enugu, Aba, Onitsha and Owerri to thank the market leaders and others stakeholders who had supported its operations from Enugu. The team, led by Solomon Begashaw, the airline’s general manager, Nigeria, included Elias Omerenna, the sales manager , Theodros Selassie, the sales and traffic manager, Enugu and some Nigerian journalists.
The team started its Eastern roadshow from the Ogbette Market in Enugu, and was received by the executives of the Ogbette Main Market Association (OMMTA). In a town hall meeting at the executive council chambers, the traders commended Ethiopian Airlines as the airline of choice for most people in the East.
According to Anthony Nebechukwu Nwodo, vice chairman, OMMTA, Easterners are the biggest travellers in Africa and any airline that wins their heart would thrive. They wanted Ethiopian Airlines to increase frequency of its flight from three weekly to a daily schedule. They also asked for a big aircraft like the B777 along with regular cargo flights to bring back all their bags when they travel. They assured the airline executives that the airline would be supported to succeed in Enugu as they consider ET an organised airline. The ET team later visited the Kenyatta Market in Enugu. The team also visited Onitsha, Aba and Owerri on the thank you tour. The tour is part of Ethiopian Airlines’ reach out to Nigerian Travellers over the last three months. In his response the general manager promised improvements on service delivery.
He told his hosts that starting from March Ethiopian Airlines charged the same fare from Enugu and Lagos so there is no need traveling by road to Lagos to catch a flight out of Nigeria. He also promised new cargo flights to Enugu once they get the necessary approvals from the Nigerian government. Recently the airline was chosen by National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA), the largest travel association in West Africa with 1500 members, as the Best Airline in Nigeria.
The award was presented to Solomon Begashaw, general manager, Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria by Aminu Agoha, the immediate past president of the association at its 40th Annual General Meeting which took place at Premier Hotel Ibadan on March 17, 2016. While thanking the agents and the travellers that made the award possible, Begashaw promised to further improve on the values that made the airline stand out. He announced that travelers to Ethiopia can now get their tourist visas easily through the help of registered tour operators and travel agents in Nigeria. This was a reiteration of the message he shared in Kano while addressing travel agents at the annual Agency Seminar. Before now, all travelers have to visit the Ethiopian Embassy in Abuja to procure tourist visa. As the headquarters of African Union, Ethiopia is joining the move by AU to simplify travel within Africa by Africans. The new arrangement will see selected tour operators and travel agents assist their passengers in approaching the embassy for tourist visa, and also take away one of the obstacles for tourists to Ethiopia. Ethiopia, the land of Queen of Sheba is home to the largest number of UNESCO heritage sites in Africa.
Ethiopian Airlines started its flight to Enugu in 2013 but has been flying to Nigeria since 1960. Today, ET flies to Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Enugu. Founded on December 21, 1945 and started operation on April 08, 1946, the airline operates its major hub at Addis Ababa, a second hub in Togo, Lome and a third hub at Lilongwe, Malawi.
