November 21, 2008
Fri 21 Nov 2008
ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian Airlines said on Friday it had signed an agreement to buy eight Bombardier nextgen turboprop aircraft worth $242 million to satisfy growing domestic demand.
“Following the rapid growth of the Ethiopian economy, we have been experiencing an appreciable rate of growth in market demand on the domestic sector of our services,” said Ethiopian Chief Executive Girma Wake.
Girma said the airline had optioned the purchase of four more aircraft, which would bring the total deal to US$366 million.
The new aircraft will mainly be used to service Ethiopia’s northern religious tourist sites.
Tourism represents a mere 2.5 percent of the Horn of Africa country’s gross national product, but the government has set the ambitious goal of attracting a million foreign visitors a year by 2010, quadrupling current figures.
Wake said the planes would also be used to service some regional routes.
One of Africa’s leading carriers, Ethiopian Airlines announced last month that operating revenues rose 34 percent to 9.2 billion birr ($941 million) in the year ended June 2008. The airline travels to 33 destinations in Africa and 53 international airports.
