The airline was considering European jets last year, however, it eventually had decided to go with larger Boeing 737 family aircraft. Should the deal go through, it would be the airline’s first order since the crash of its Boeing 737 MAX in March. According to Tewolde, Ethiopian Airlines faced difficulties operating large Boeing 737 MAX, as it had to stop off at a second destination on flights from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to cities including Windhoek in Namibia and the Botswana capital Gaborone for refueling. Operating Airbus A220s will allow direct flights with no additional stops. Ever since Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX jets have been grounded after two deadly crashes earlier this year, Airbus’ profits have been growing exponentially, while Boeing posted its largest-ever quarterly loss in July, calculating the total cost of the 737 MAX crisis at over $8 billion.

Source: Ethiopian News October 07, 2019 23:48 UTC