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Ethiopian Airlines is laying plans to order more than 100 aircraft as part of an ambitious growth strategy, all while navigating near-term turbulence and skyrocketing oil prices from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
The airline’s fleet planners are evaluating proposals for jets ranging from small narrowbodies to Boeing and Airbus widebodies, with deliveries expected to start after 2032, Ethiopian Group Chief Executive Officer Mesfin Tasew told The Air Current. The airline will start placing the next round of orders over the next one to two years with a goal of doubling its fleet by 2040, he said.
Africa’s oldest airline intends to use the additional aircraft to grow its network within the continent as well as abroad to markets like China, Europe and the United States. Ethiopia has begun constructing a $12.5 billion airport outside of Addis Ababa to serve as a long-haul hub, with more than double the capacity of Bole International Airport, the airline’s current home base.
“The new airport is going to change the African aviation landscape,” Tasew said. “It will be the Dubai of Africa, or the Istanbul of Africa.”
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