Ethiopian Airlines to introduce new services to Cotonou, Benin

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing African airline, is proud to announce that effective 15 June 2012, the airline will launch new flight services non-stop from Addis Ababa to Cotonou, the economic capital of the Republic of Benin. The introduction of the new services will expand Ethiopian extensive network in West Africa.

The Republic of Benin is a small but influential country in West Africa, with a significant amount of trader activity. Cotton is also a major contributor to Benin’s economy.

Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said, “Ethiopian Airlines offers easy and convenient access to East-West and North-South African destinations through its strategic hub in Addis Ababa. The new service to Benin will further strengthen Ethiopian Airlines’ presence in the West African markets by widening flight options to its passengers.”

With this new flight, Ethiopian Airlines will offer more seamless travel options for tourists, traders, and businessmen to and from Benin. Passengers from Cotonou will also be easily connected to the vast Ethiopian network worldwide, with fast and frequent connections to Nairobi, Kigali, Beijing, Guangzhou, Bombay, Hong Kong, Dubai, Riyadh, and Beirut.

Ethiopian Airlines currently operates a total of 40 weekly flights to nine West African countries with daily East-West connections within the continent.

The commencement of new flights to Benin will increase the number of Ethiopian on-line destinations to 66 worldwide and 42 in Africa. The new service will be operated per the following schedule:

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946 and with the new additional services to Seychelles and Cotonou, the Airline will provide dependable services to 66 international destinations spanning four continents.

Ethiopian is proud to be a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience. The Star Alliance network offers more than 21,000 daily flights to 1,290 airports in 189 countries.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. Recently, Ethiopian won Gold in the African Airline of the Year 2011/2012 Awards organized by the African Aviation News Portal. Ethiopian also received the 2011 AFRAA award for being consistently profitable over the years and has won the “AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2011 Award” for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian also won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and “the Airline of the Year 2009 Award” from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern fleet, the airline is well positioned to pursue aggressively the implementation of its 2025 strategic plan to become the leading aviation group in Africa.