Dreamliner delay puts damper on Ethiopian’s Canada connection

22 January, 2009

CapitalEthiopia - Delay of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft delivery has caused Ethiopian Airlines to slow down negotiations it started to fly to Canada, Girma Wake, CEO of the flag carrier, told Capital.

According to him, the airline has a shortage of aircrafts so it cannot open such a long route without securing delivery of its aircrafts from the American manufacturer.

Ethiopian had originally expected delivery of their first Dreamliners in 2008. However, Boeing has recently announced an overall delay in the program.

“The delay will affect our planned activities for the years ahead because our strategy has taken into consideration the Dreamliner jets as a core fleet for operation to major international destinations, including flight to Canada. The delay poses a lot of challenges,” Girma said.

Essey Takele, who arrived in Ethiopia last month from Canada, said he and many Ethiopians living in Canada will benefit if the route is opened as it will shorten the transit time.

“Currently, we are passing through London, Paris, Rome or Amsterdam to come to Ethiopia. The aircraft stops for eight hours in Amsterdam, for example, making it difficult to travel,” he added.

Previously, Ethiopian had faced resistance from groups residing in Canada not to fly to the North American nation.
“The individuals had a political agenda aimed at inflicting harm on Ethiopia. However, after we spoke to members of the Ethiopian community living in Canada about the said resistance, we found out that they were unaware of the activity. They were not even Ethiopians for that matter,” Girma remarked.

Leul T. Medhin, Public Relations Acting Manager of the airline, told Capital that Ethiopian Airlines is purely a business organization and that is why it survived under three regimes.

“We do not interfere in political activities as Ethiopian is a business entity,” he said.

In an effort to extend its long tradition of excellence in air transport service, Ethiopian is undergoing major expansion activities. In addition to opening new routes, it is also modernizing its fleet for both domestic and international routes.
According to Girma, since the resistance is no more in the way for the national carrier to fly to Canada, it is a matter of time until the route is opened.

“The Canadians are now requesting us to fly there. They have come here to assess some safety measures last year so we will start our route as soon as we overcome the aircraft shortage,” Girma concluded.