Ethiopian to Fly B787 Dreamliner Daily to Johannesburg ahead of Africa Cup of Nations - 06 December, 2012

Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce that it will start serving its Addis-Johannesburg route using its Dreamliner ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in South Africa. Passengers traveling to South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations from Ethiopian extensive destinations in the continent will have the opportunity to enjoy this ultra-modern aircraft starting December 7, 2012. They will enjoy unique features of Ethiopian Dreamliner such as wider leg space, large overhead bins, reduced noise, higher humidity, biggest windows in the sky as well as higher ceiling. "We are pleased to dedicate our Dreamliner on our Johannesburg route at a time South Africa is hosting the 13th African Cup of Nations. I am sure it will be a good opportunity for sports fans and players to enjoy the ultra-modern and comfortable features of Ethiopian Dreamliner." said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian.

Ethiopian inaugurated its first flight to Johannesburg on June 01, 1993. The airline currently has daily flights from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa, with connecting services to cities throughout Middle East and Asia including Tel Aviv, Guangzhou, Riyadh, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, Dammam, Bombay and Dubai. 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.