Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines was set up on December 21, 1945 by Emperor Haile Selassie, with help from the American airline TWA. The first flight left on April 8, 1946, when a Douglas C-47 flew from Addis Ababa to Cairo. Ethiopian later led Africa into the jet age with Boeing 720s in the early 1960s. It opened routes across the continent as African nations won independence.

Few African countries had airlines then. The academy in Addis Ababa trained generations of African pilots and engineers. The state owned the company, yet managers ran it like a business. That rare mix helped it grow steadily while many rivals stumbled. Two plans, Vision 2010 and Vision 2025, turned it into Africa's largest airline group. It joined Star Alliance in 2011, a group of airlines that work together.

Ethiopian was Africa's first Boeing 787 operator, in 2012, and later flew the Airbus A350. Addis Ababa Bole passed Dubai as the top gateway for long flights to Africa. Flight 302 crashed in 2019, a 737 MAX accident that grounded the model worldwide. The airline runs a giant cargo business. It holds shares in African carriers such as ASKY and Malawi Airlines, and plans a mega-airport at Bishoftu.

Ethiopian flies about 150 aircraft, the largest fleet in Africa. Long trips use Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners, Airbus A350-900s, and Africa's first A350-1000s, plus Boeing 777-200LRs and 777-300ERs. Shorter routes use Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s.

Bombardier Q400 turboprops serve home and nearby countries. Ethiopian Cargo flies 777 and 767 freighters, which are planes built only for goods, through one of the world's busiest cargo centers. Orders include Boeing 777-9s, more 787s and A350s, and dozens of 737 MAX jets for the Vision 2035 growth plan.