 Ethiopian Airlines : Ethiopian Airlines is an airline based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the national airline of Ethiopia and operates scheduled international passenger and freight services to 50 destinations world-wide, as well as domestic services to 28 destinations and passenger and cargo charter flights. Its main hub is Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Airlines was founded on December 30, 1945 by Emperor Haile Selassie with assistance from TWA. It commenced operations on April 8, 1946 with a weekly service between Addis Ababa and Cairo with 5 Douglas DC-3 propeller-driven aircraft.
It started long-haul services to Frankfurt in 1958 and inaugurated its first jet service in January 1963 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. In 1965 it changed from being a corporation to a share company and changed its name from Ethiopian Air Lines to Ethiopian Airlines. It is wholly owned by the Government of Ethiopia and has 4,700 employees (at March 2007).
Although it relied on American pilots and technicians at the beginning, by its 25th anniversary in 1971, Ethiopian Airlines was managed and fully staffed by Ethiopian personnel. It has been described by Ethiopianist Paul B. Henze as "one of the most reliable and profitable airlines in the Third World",[3] noting that the airline was featured by The Economist as an example of excellence. [4] In 1998 it started transatlantic services. Like South African Airways, TAAG Angola Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Air Maroc, Tunisair and Kenya Airways it is one of the few profitable African airlines.
Ethiopian Airlines Fokker 50 at Lalibela airport.The Airline provided service to the Eritrean capital of Asmara for many years until a civil war erupted between the two countries in 1998. In 2002, the airline carried 1,054,687 passengers. It employed 4,539 staff in January 2005.[citation needed] Ethiopian Airlines commenced "Vision 2010" a few years ago which aims to increase the net profit of the airline to 1 Billion US Dollars and the staff to 6,000. The airline calls its frequent flyer program "Sheba Miles" in reference to the legendary Queen of Sheba.
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