Ethiopian Airlines Essay

1508 Words7 Pages
Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, is one Africa’s leading and pioneering airlines. Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is a state owned company headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Today the company has become one of Africa’s most successful companies, bringing in profits for almost its entire existence (Henze, 2000). Ethiopian operates at the forefront of aviation technology and has become an ambassador of what is being touted as an Ethiopian renaissance. Ethiopian dominates the African network offering the largest number of destinations in the continent. The Star-Alliance member is not only the fastest growing and most profitable airline in Africa, but it has also maintained its pioneering spirit by operating the newest and aircraft and technology in the industry (Kottasová, 2012). Ethiopian Airlines was founded on December 1945, making it one of Africa’s oldest airlines. The company commenced operations by making its maiden flight to Gondar, a domestic destination. On the 8th of April 1946, Ethiopian’s first scheduled international flight took off headed to Cairo, Egypt via Asmara in a Douglas C-47 Sky-train (Guttery, 1998). The carrier’s origins trace back to Emperor Haile Selassie I’s request for help from the United States, United Kingdom and France, in the establishment of a national airline as part of his modernization effort. In 1945, two U.S companies, Transcontinental Air transport and Western Air Express signed an agreement with representatives of the Ethiopian government (Guttery, 1998). The agreement called for the establishment of a commercial entity that would be managed by TWA and financed by the Ethiopian government. Minister Tafesse Habte Michael became the first president of the company but the staff was initially dominated by TWA personnel. Today, the company has one of the most accomplished management teams in Africa
Open Document