AN AFRICAN AIRLINE JOINS THE BIG LEAGUES
FLYING HIGH
Interview with Girma Wake, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines
SEBLE DEMEKE
In addition to its African routes,
which are the countries to which
Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) flies?
Ethiopian Airlines flies to Washington DC in
North America. It also serves eight destinations
in Europe: London, Frankfurt, Rome,
Amsterdam, Brussels, Stockholm, Tel Aviv
and Paris. In the Middle East and Asia,
Ethiopian flies to Dubai, Jeddah, Beirut,
Riyadh, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Bangkok,
Bombay, Delhi, Beijing, and Guangzhou.
Furthermore, the airline reinstated flight services
to Bahrain and Sana’a in June this year.
Girma Wake, CEO,
Ethiopian Airlines
Who are your main clients?
Ethiopians? Other Africans?
Presently, about 60 per cent of EAL passengers
are from Africa, with the rest from all
over the world.
EAL has enjoyed a protected market
in Ethiopia and many other African
countries for a long time. Now, other
airlines have been operating in and
out of Ethiopia including Lufthansa,
KLM, Alitalia, and others well known
airlines new to the market. How do
you look at these new developments?
The aviation industry is a dynamic industry,
constantly changing, and it is a proof of the
strength of an airline when it is prepared to
reposition itself to meet the changing environment
and the growing fierce competition. Ethiopian is aware that things can’t remain
the same in this volatile industry and
that is why it has kept on preparing itself to
meet the changes. Having said this, Ethiopian
Airlines does not see the new entrants into
the market as threats but rather as opportunities.
They bring new vitality and growth in
business and they also help in widening the
scope of awareness of the country and what
it has to offer and this itself is a positive trend
that will benefit all. The other important aspect
is that it will force the airline to look into
itself and come up with the appropriate strategy
which will reposition it to withstand the
increasingly growing competition and carry
on as a highly profitable airline.
We understand EAL received the
award as “African Airline of the year’’
in 2006. Could you tell us more about
its role in Africa and the secret behind
this success?
There are a number of factors that have contributed
to success of Ethiopian Airlines. The
following are some of the most important
ones:
A highly trained, totally dedicated, motivated
and focused workforce,
A transparent, visionary and energetic management,
Self-sufficiency in training and maintenance,
And of course a customer base that is loyal
to the airlines have contributed to the continuous
growth of the airlines.
Are the number and kind of aircraft
at the present compatible with the
demands?
Ethiopian Airlines fleet planning has gone
hand in hand with its route expansion. Thus
the airline introduces the type of aircraft to
match its network requirement while at the
same time taking into consideration passenger
comfort. The current number and type of
aircraft is compatible with the demand. However,
due to the growing number of passengers,
the airline has leased two additional
aircraft on short term basis. In 2003 the airline
introduced a fleet of B767-300 and B737-300s to meet the traffic demand and to modernize
its fleet. And as part of its ongoing fleet
modernization programme, Ethiopian Airlines
has placed an order for 10 Boeing 787
Dreamliners – a revolutionary aircraft with
unprecedented passenger comfort. The first
two of these aircraft will be delivered in September
and November of 2008, making
Ethiopian the first to operate the 787 in Africa.
In addition the airline is in the process of
completing its domestic fleet.
Do you have cooperation agreements
with African airlines? If so, which ones
and in what area? What about other
non-African airlines?
Ethiopian Airlines has a number of Special Fare Agreements with a number of carriers in
the countries it operates to cover the sectors
that it does not fly to. It also has code share
agreement with South African Airways on
the Addis Ababa-Johannesburg route. It recently
concluded code share agreement with
Lufthansa. It is also exploring possibilities of
concluding code-share/Alliance agreements
with other African and non-African carriers.
How many pilots and technicians have
been trained under this programme
and how many of them are from other
countries?
To date the Ethiopian Pilot Training School
has graduated 788 pilots, of whom 495 are
Ethiopians while the remaining 293 are from
36 other countries, most of them in Africa.
The Aviation Maintenance Technician School
has also graduated 703 technicians coming
from different countries in Africa.
What has EAL planned as contribution
to the Ethiopian Millennium which
will be celebrated starting in September
2007?
Ethiopian Airlines preparation is near completion
to facilitate air transport to Ethiopians
and foreign citizens coming to celebrate
the bright festivities of the Ethiopian
Millennium.
To accommodate the high traffic, Ethiopian leased one Boeing 767 aircraft in June 2007 and the other one is expected to arrive in July 2007. Three months prior to the Millennium Ethiopian plans to raise the number of flights to its major destinations, from which Millennium guests are expected.
What other developments are envisaged?
Ethiopian Airlines is pursuing a fast-growth
strategy to make its vision for 2010 a reality
and a success story. By 2010 we will be a
US$ 1 billion company, flying to more than
60 destinations around the globe with some
30 jet aircraft, carrying about 3 million passengers
per annum.
Our annual performance measurements indicate that we are surpassing these high goals.
