Ethiopian Airlines Introduces a Markup System in Ethiopia - 24 November, 2011

Ethiopian airlines would like to announce the change on commission remuneration of Travel Agents from the current ticket commission structure to a service markup practice effective December 01, 2011. Currently, the airline provides agencies with a commission of 7% on International tickets and 2.5% on domestic tickets. With the new move, the airline will allow the agencies to charge fees on international tickets for the booking, ticketing and other services they render to the customer. Ethiopian will also collect a similar service fee on international tickets through all its ticket offices. "The new mark up practice will be officially implemented throughout all agencies in Ethiopia effective December 01, 2011”, said Ato Yeneneh Tekleyes, VP Marketing- Ethiopian Airlines. He stated that 'the airline industry has been following this practice for a long time and Ethiopian Airlines has also implemented it in most of its European, African and Asian markets for a while.' He further added that the Airline delayed such implementation in Ethiopia to make sure that the practice is well understood and tested in other markets. The new practice will enable agencies to offer quality and professional services to their clients for a reasonable fee. On the other hand, customers will also benefit from the service quality improvement and professionalism that this practice is believed to bring. Customers who make their bookings online using www.ethiopianairlines.com will be exempted from any service fees by the Travel Agencies. Ethiopian would like to reaffirm that adjustments have been made on ticket fares so that the change will not affect the end user, the customer.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the addition of new flight services to Milan, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 63 international destinations spanning four continents. Recently, Ethiopian received the 2011 "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR" Award for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and the 2009 "Airline of the Year" award from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

In August 2008, Ethiopian won "the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award" of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry. Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.