Ethiopian Airlines Orders Africa’s First Airbus A350-1000

Ethiopian Airlines has become the first airline in Africa to order the Airbus A350-1000. The airline converted four of its existing A350-900s on order to the largest variant of the A350 Family, the A350-1000.

Ethiopian Airlines has already ordered 22 A350-900s, of which 16 aircraft have been delivered. With the A350-1000 upsizing, Ethiopian Airlines’ backlog consists of four A350-1000s and two A350-900s.

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said, “We are delighted over the upsizing of the A350-900 on order to the largest variant, A350-1000, that helps us stay ahead of the curve in technology.

We are the technology leaders in the continent introducing the latest technology and fuel-efficient fleet into Africa. The A350-1000 is the best fit for our dense routes, and we believe that the upsizing will be instrumental in satisfying the increasing demand of customers in our vast global network across five continents.

We will continue on keeping ourselves abreast of aviation technology advancements to enhance our service and fulfil customers’ demand.”

”We are proud of our strong partnership with Ethiopian Airlines - the first airline in Africa to order and operate the A350-900.

In another first, Ethiopian Airlines is once again leading the way in Africa’s aviation sector by introducing the A350-1000, the largest version of the world’s most efficient and technologically advanced passenger aircraft.” said Mikail Houari, President, Airbus Africa and Middle East.

“The A350-900 has delivered extraordinary capability, fuel efficiency, and operational reliability of 99.5% together with unbeatable operational flexibility and efficiency, from short to ultra-long-range operations.”

The A350-1000 will increase Ethiopian Airlines capacity and will be an addition to its modern wide-body fleet. The airline will benefit from a flexible, high-value Family leveraging Airbus’ fleet commonality and same type rating.