Ethiopian to Start New Services to Blantyre - 23 January, 2013

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, is pleased to announce that it will commence three weekly flights to Blantyre starting March 31, 2013.

Blantyre is the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi. It will be Ethiopian 44th destination in Africa and the second in Malawi next to Lilongwe.

“Ethiopian, as a flagship carrier of Africa, is pleased to add Blantyre to its wide route network and to offer passengers to and from the city the best possible connectivity through its Addis Ababa hub,” said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian.

Passengers to and from Blantyre will enjoy smooth and hassle free connections to destinations in Ethiopian route network such as London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Washington D.C and Toronto.

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 "Airline Reliability Performance Award" from the Bombardier Aerospace; "African Airline of the Year Award" from Air Transport Quarterly Magazine; "Transformation Award 2012" from Planet Africa Network; "International Diamond Prize for Excellence in Quality" from the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR). Also Captain Desta Zeru, Vice-President of Flight Operations, won "Africa Legend of Travel" award from African Travel Quarterly (ATQ) magazine; and Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, won "African CEO of the year" from the African CEO Forum as well as "African Business Leader of the Year" award from the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).

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.