Ethiopian Celebrates First Year Anniversary as Star Alliance Member - 12 December, 2012

Ethiopian Airlines will celebrate its first year anniversary as a Star Alliance member on December 13, 2012 with various prizes prepared for its customers. Ethiopian will award round trip tickets for passengers, who fly on Ethiopian from one of the following Star Alliance hubs within its network - Frankfurt, Washington D.C., and Beijing – to Addis Ababa on that day.

Passengers flying from Addis Ababa to one of the five regions Ethiopian flies to will also enjoy prizes. The airline will also raffle round trip tickets to passengers flying outbound from its main hub in Addis Ababa. "It gives us great pleasure to celebrate our first year anniversary as a member of Star Alliance.

Our membership has greatly enhanced the service we provide to our customers. Through the Star network, the largest in the world, our customers are enjoying seamless travel experience to over 193 countries, earning and redeeming miles on frequent flier programs of member airlines, getting access to more than 990 lounges and benefiting from more coordinated schedules. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Star Alliance GMBH, member airlines and our esteemed customers for their continued support and vote of confidence." said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian. Ethiopian membership in Star Alliance, the largest alliance in the world, has enabled its customers to benefit from connections to 1,358 airports in 193 countries on one of the 21,956 daily flights offered by member airlines.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946 and now the Airline provides dependable services to 70 international destinations spanning four continents. Ethiopian is proud to be a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience.

The Star Alliance network offers more than 21,555 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 countries. Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. Recently, Ethiopian won gold in the African Airline of the Year 2011/2012 Awards organized by the African Aviation News Portal.

Ethiopian also received the 2011 AFRAA award for being consistently profitable over the years and has won the "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2011 Award" for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian also won the 2012 "African Airline of the Year Award" from Air Transport Quarterly Magazine. With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern fleet, the airline is well positioned to pursue aggressively the implementation of its Vision 2025 strategic plan to become the leading aviation group in Africa.