By Riches Soberekon
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline by revenue, has announced a significant deal with Boeing to acquire 20 737 MAX aircraft and 11 additional 787 Dreamliners.
This agreement was made during the ongoing Dubai Air Show.
The airline’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew, expressed his optimism about the future of the company and its partnership with Boeing. He stated, “This is just the beginning of our fleet renewal process. We expect to place another order for additional aircraft in the coming years.”
Ethiopian Airlines has options to purchase an additional 21 737 MAX aircraft and 15 787-9 Dreamliner jets. In the coming months, the airline will also announce an order for wide-body jets, either the Boeing 777X or Airbus A350. The exact number of wide-body jets to be ordered has not been disclosed.
Regarding the 2019 MAX crash, Mesfin Tasew reaffirmed his confidence in the aircraft. He commented, “The accident involving the 737 MAX was a tragic event. However, we have carefully reviewed the situation and are confident that Boeing has fully addressed the design flaws that led to the crash.”
The March 2019 737 MAX crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, resulted in the loss of all 157 people on board. This incident, along with another MAX crash that occurred within five months, prompted a worldwide grounding of all MAX jets for nearly two years.
The accidents revealed a critical issue with the aircraft’s systems, leading to significant financial losses for Boeing and legal action that exposed shortcomings in the certification process.
Boeing has described the sale to Ethiopian Airlines as the largest-ever purchase of Boeing aircraft in African history, though the financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
