Ethiopian Airlines to Start Flights to Shanghai

Press Release

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing and most profitable Airline in Africa, is pleased to announce the commencement of daily services to Shanghai, China as of 29 March 2014. Ethiopian will operate the Shanghai flight using its B787 Dreamliner with 24 Cloud Nine Business Class and 246 Economy Class seats.

Shanghai is the largest city in China, and the country’s economic and financial hub with growing ties with Africa. Ethiopian passengers traveling between Shanghai and Africa will enjoy direct flights with the B787 Dreamliner, which offers the best on-board comfort of any aircraft with greatly reduced noise, biggest windows in the sky, higher ceiling, higher humidity, unique lightening and extra leg space.

Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, said “We are very proud of our continuous service to China for over 40 years. Ethiopian was one of only four international airlines to operate to the country back in 1973. Today, with 28 weekly direct flights operated with latest technology airplanes and multiple awards winning customer service, we offer the best connectivity from 4 major cities in China to 48 cities in Africa and 2 cities in Brazil. It is really fascinating for us to see that our network in China is growing very fast along with the growth of trade, investment and tourism between China and Africa. Shanghai is the economic and financial hub of a booming Chinese economy, and our direct flights will promote increased mobility of people and goods, which is critically important for the socio-economic development of an expanding society” Shanghai will be Ethiopian 80th international destination. With this new flight, Shanghai will be connected to 66 cities across Africa via Ethiopian main hub in Addis Ababa. Convenient connections will be available to and from major African cities such as Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Entebbe, Lagos, Johannesburg, Abuja, Libreville, Luanda, Lusaka, Harare, Maputo, and Douala among others.

A multiple award winner in 2013, Ethiopian was voted as the Best Airline in Africa by the African Airlines Association and by Passenger Choice Awards. It was also recognized by SKTRAX as Best Staff Service in Africa and Best Business Class Airline in Africa by Chinese travelers.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 79 international destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

For more information about this press release, please contact:

Manager PR & Publications 
Ethiopian Airlines
Tel: (251-1) 517-84-07
Email: publicrelations@ethiopianairlines.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ethiopianairlines
Twitter: @flyethiopian