| Home | Politics | Human Rights | Water | Economy | Education | Sci & Tech | Culture | Sport |
30 July, 2007
Ethiopian Airlines this month signed an agreement with Boeing Capital Corporation (BCC) for the purchase of one MD-11 freighter aircraft, the airline told The Reporter.
Ethiopian Chief Operating Officer Tewolde G. Mariam and Boeing Capital Corporation’s Senior Director Christopher M. Cooked signed the agreement on July 12, 2007.
The MD-11, currently in a passenger configuration, will soon be converted to freighter with a capacity of 88 tons of cargo. The aircraft will be delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in December 2008 according to a statement the airline emailed The Reporter.
Ethiopian is also negotiating for a second converted MD-11 freighter aircraft on a lease basis scheduled for delivery at the end of 2009. Ethiopian presently owns and operates two B757 freighter aircraft.
Currently out of production, the MD-11 is the world’s only modern large, wide-cabin tri-jet, according to BCC. The Boeing Company stopped producing the aircraft in 2001.
BCC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Company, supports the Boeing business units by arranging, structuring, and (or) providing financing to assist in the sale and delivery of Boeing products and services, according to information posted on its web.
Ethiopian, which recently won the 2007 Africa Business Award of The African Times-USA for its significant contributions towards the development of air transport in Africa, took the move in a bid to accommodate the country’s increasing exports shipped overseas by freighter aircraft.
“Currently, the Ethiopian export market is exhibiting a dramatic annual average growth rate and ET’s total international freight traffic uplift has been increasing at 12.03% annually. The addition of these two freighter aircraft will bolster cargo capacity of the airline supporting the increasing export market of the country,” Ethiopian’s statement read.
Ethiopian Cargo provides “efficient” air cargo services to and from various points in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Ethiopian operates eight times per week en route Brussels, the airlines cargo hub in Europe; five times a week to Dubai; four times to Djibouti; three times to Mumbai; two times to Lagos; Kinshasa and flies weekly to Bujumbura, N’djamena, Jeddah and Kigali, in addition to belly-hold cargo space on scheduled passenger services.
Ethiopian Airlines, dubbed African Airline of the year in 2006, recently inaugurated a new cargo terminal in line with a strategic plan to make Addis Ababa a cargo regional hub and to meet the expanding cargo operation, as well as in response to the growing export market of Ethiopia.
Currently, Ethiopian Airlines provides services to 50 destinations spread around the globe.
By Hayal Alemayehu - Ethiopian Reporter