May 2010 covers_Covers.qxd - World Airnews

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES’ “VISION 2010”
TOUCHES DOWN
By Keith Mwanalushi
THE PIONEERING spirit demonstrated by
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) for over 60 years
has set a benchmark for efficiency and
operational success. The state-owned airline
has worked its way through multiple governments,
political unrest and a global economic
crisis, but has still turned a profit for almost
every year of its existence.
“Several years ago ET mapped out its ‘Vision
2010’ programme, its core objective was to
achieve annual revenues of US$1-billion by
2010 and also increase passenger uplift to
three-million passengers,” said CEO, Girma
Wake, when he spoke about his airline’s Vision
2010, new aircraft and airline cooperation. He
was recently elected president of the African
Airlines Association.
“Our Vision 2010 strategy was a blueprint
for concerted action in a number of ways, and
I am pleased to report that we are now well on
our way to meeting these objectives,” Wake
declared.
Capacity increase and network development
have been the major driving forces in
achieving this vision, which began alongside
the order for 10 Boeing 787s in 2005. This was
followed by an aggressive marketing campaign
and major cost cutting.
The financial target that the airline set for
itself seems well on course. During the fiscal
year 2008-2009 the company achieved operating
revenues of over US$900-million while
transporting 2,8-million passengers. Over the
last five years, passenger traffic has grown at
a staggering rate of 20% annually.
The surge in passenger uplift has been predominantly
on African routes, on which the
airline makes special emphasis. The African
network is among its key strengths with a 70%
transfer rate. Routes have been increased from
28 African destinations in 2006 to 35 in 2010.
Ethiopian Airlines recently introduced
services to Mombasa, Abuja, Lubumbashi,
Monrovia and Zanzibar, and four additional
weekly flights have been added to Nairobi and
Dar-es-Salaam respectively from the 2009/
2010 winter season.
“We have increased capacity, and as a result
our Eastern and Southern African destinations
are now served with a daily frequency. In West
Africa, we have both increased the frequency
and provided higher capacity aircraft,” Wake
explained.”
Network development has seen an increased
shift to non-stop services or at least
one-stop at the most. ET was once notoriously
renowned for its multiple leg routings such as
the tedious Addis-Nairobi-Brazzaville-Lagos-
Abidjan route.
Capacity increase has also been applied to
the Middle East and Asia where the network
spans 14 destinations. Service to Dubai alone
has been extended to three flights per day.
Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, in China,
are split between 14 flights a week.
The airline’s European affairs have also
made the news; its courtship with Lufthansa
has been strengthened by enhancing their
code-share partnership. Currently, the two airlines
jointly offer eight weekly services between
Addis Ababa and Frankfurt. As of June
2010, this service will be extended to 10 flights
a week on the same sector.
“Our code-share agreement is providing a
mutual competitive advantage. It has enhanced
Ethiopian business in Europe and has
helped boost Lufthansa’s performance in
Africa,” Wake said.
Lufthansa provides access to over 100 destinations
in Europe alone, via its vast Euro network
that covers 39 countries; a fitting
complement to ET’s limited network in Europe
that covers just a handful of destinations that
include London, Rome and Stockholm. Nevertheless,
Lufthansa’s footprint in Africa is
Top: The five Boeing 777-200LRs on order will be used predominately on long-range routes.
Above: The airline has an order for up to eight DH Dash 8-Q400s worth US$366-million.
WORLD AIRNEWS, MAY 2010. 43