Ethiopian Receives an Award for Pioneering the African Renaissance from the President - 09 January, 2013

Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam received the award during a ceremony celebrating the 89th birthday and 60 years of Diamond Jubilee of the president held at the Sheraton Addis on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

Ethiopian was given the award for continued growth and performance and for putting Ethiopia and the continent on the map by being the first airline outside of Japan to own and operate the Dreamliner.

"Ethiopian Airlines, from its beginning, has been the pride of Ethiopia and Africa. Its continued excellence and performance has always been unparalleled and contributes to the development of the continent. Ethiopian recent acquisition of the Dreamliner is the crowning jewel of its close to seven decades of operation," said President Girma presenting the award to Tewolde.

"On behalf of all Ethiopian Employees, I am honored to receive this award from president Girma Wolde Giorgis who contributed a lot for the growth of the Ethiopian Aviation industry. This is an encouragement for all Ethiopian employees to work harder and to achieve the development goals our country has aimed which embraces our Vision 2025. "Said CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam. " At this occasion, I would also like to appreciate the Addis Ababa Youth Association; striving towards empowering the youth to be productive, responsible and reliable citizen as the young generation should be empowered to shoulder the responsibility for tomorrow."

Ethiopian is currently implementing its 15-year strategic growth plan to become one of the leading Aviation Groups in Africa. Ethiopian is continuing to work as an ambassador of Ethiopia, attracting tourist to the country and to the continent, and is the only Africa air cargo operator supporting the growing export of Ethiopia and the rest of the continent.

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.