ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES' AFRICAN AMBITION

12 March 2023

A big question arises when talking about air transport in the African continent: where will Ethiopian Airlines' expansion stop? It must be said that the career of this company created in 1945 is surprising in several aspects.

First, its longevity and financial health. Here is a complicated country, divided by very complex internal conflicts, traversed by difficult times, regularly crossed by famines that lead to population displacements and which nevertheless managed to acquire the first African airline by far. Because, and this is an additional paradox, Ethiopian Airlines, which belongs 100% to the state, has managed to keep its independence in the face of all the governments that have succeeded each other with sometimes considerable changes in policy.

And its financial health is flourishing despite all the obstacles that stand in front of the carrier. The latest accounts show a profit of $ 900 million, or nearly 20% of profit compared to some $ 5 billion in turnover. This is no exception because even in the most difficult times, the company has managed not to lose money.

In short, how to explain this, what recipe does the Ethiopian carrier apply to ensure such success? Let us first recall that the company was founded at the initiative of the Americans who then imposed TWA to manage the first years of existence. And the fundamentals that ensured the prosperity of American air travel in their time were imported into the company and they stayed there. They can be summed up in a few words: professionalism, independence and pragmatism. All applied to a cultured population and undemanding in terms of its remuneration. The counterpart of independence is self-sufficiency. This obliges the company not to ask anything from the State and therefore to ensure its profitability. Finally, as they can only rely on themselves, leaders are on the lookout for development opportunities. To be convinced, it is enough to recall the speed with which the company converted several dozen long-haul passenger aircraft into freighters during the Covid crisis.

No wonder then that Ethiopian Airlines has the most modern fleet in Africa composed of 57 long-haul aircraft: 19 Airbus 350, 10 Boeing777 and 27 Boeing787 with a single B767 ER which dates a little, and 37 medium-haul mainly at Boeing: 26 B737 and 11 B737 Max 8, with 32 regional aircraft: DH8. This well-balanced fleet will be completed by 30 new aircraft: 5 A350/1000, 4 B737/800 and 21 B737 Max 8. This can support great ambitions.

Because the Ethiopian market alone cannot fill such a capacity. So we had to look for opportunities outside. For this, Ethiopian Airlines has built a "hub" of very good international level with a "lounge business" that many international airports could envy. And from this tool, the company has developed a powerful international network: 59 destinations in Africa, 19 in Europe, 6 in North and South America and 29 in the Middle East and Asia. This already makes it the first network owned by an African company. Of course, service and punctuality must follow, otherwise, a "hub" becomes more of a handicap than an advantage. It is the application to the African continent of what has been so successful for the two major Gulf carriers.

But Ethiopian Airlines' ambition doesn't stop there. In recent years, the leaders have launched a strategy of taking stakes in several African companies struggling to develop. In 2010 it took 40% of Asky, the Togolese company, in 2013 49% of Malawian Airlines, in 2018 45% of Zambia Airways and it is trying to establish itself, certainly with difficulty, in Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria because local carriers are very reluctant to see such a bulldozer arrive.

And now Ethiopian Airlines is becoming the reference carrier of Côte d'Ivoire for its transatlantic service. If the profitability of the Abidjan / New York line can be achieved quickly, it will certainly serve as an example for other countries.

Basically, Ethiopian Airlines is no longer an Ethiopian carrier but the African reference company. Well, I say bravo!