An Airbus A350-941 aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines is pulled by a pushback tractor at Zurich Airport near RuemlangBy Duncan MiririNAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines expects its passenger business to recover to pre-pandemic levels in its financial year ending in June, its chief executive told Reuters. Africa's biggest carrier will ferry 12.7 million passengers during the year, Mesfin Tasew Bekele said in an interview, up from 8.6 million passengers in the previous financial year and 12.1 million before the pandemic struck. Ethiopian fared much better than other African carriers during the pandemic, thanks to its cargo business that was able to compensate for a steep drop in passenger traffic. "Unless we grow, we cannot be successful," Mesfin said, adding that a larger network will give the business economies of scale. Under the expansion plan, Ethiopian is ordering new planes from Boeing, Airbus and De Havilland across all categories, aiming to double the size to 271, he said.

Source: Ethiopian News December 19, 2022 10:05 UTC