Ethiopian Airlines, full steam ahead

Even though the Ethiopian government hold complete ownership of the business, the airline continues to excel, turning profits for almost all the years of its existence.The result is a success story that has seen the airline become one of the continent's leading carriers.

Ethiopian Airlines was established in 1945 and has been in operation for the past 60 years. During that time, it has been steadily expanding across the pan-African network and now services 53 international destinations with 187 weekly international departures from Addis Ababa and a total of 4,968 weekly flights in 618 markets worldwide. The company has a current fleet of 32 aircraft (comprising a mix of propeller and jet aircraft) with 10 B787 Dreamliner jets on order. It runs a passenger carrier service as well as a cargo network across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Ethiopian Airlines' strategic plans for 2010 include reaching a revenue target of US$1bn, increasing its fleet to 30 jet aircraft, increasing its international destinations to 60, further expansion of its training and cargo services, the construction of a new catering building and a four-star hotel, expanding the Ethiopian Aviation Academy and installing a B787 simulator.

Ethiopian is self-sufficient in all aviation training systems. The Ethiopian Aviation Academy offers training and recurrent training for pilots, aircraft technicians, cabin crew, marketing and sales as well as management and finance staff. All training is internationally recognised with training services and management assistance to countries outside Ethiopia as well. The company provides management and technical assistance to other airlines on a secondment basis by availing trained and skilled manpower in different areas related to the airline industry.

During a period when companies are pulling back on spending and rethinking their strategies due to the global economic turmoil, Ethiopian Airlines is on track with its expansion plans that were already set out on the drawing board and are moving full steam ahead. "We are not downsizing, this is our time for expanding," says Busera Awel, vice president - commercial of Ethiopian Airlines. In three years, profit has more than doubled with more passengers, increased frequency and expansion.

So why is Ethiopian succeeding where others have not? It is because, according to Awel, government does not intervene, "I operate independently, I don't expect any influence from my Minister of Transport," he says. "Government is too closely involved in other African airlines, hence they fail."

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Ethiopian Airlines also invests in promoting Ethiopian culture and tourism, possibly more than the government does, covering 25% of the budget for trade fairs and tour operations. Ethiopia has such a rich heritage yet extreme perceptions of the Central African country persist with images of poverty, drought and dereliction.

In fact, Ethiopia is bustling with construction and in a few years we will see this country reach its full potential as a Central African hub for investment. Ethiopian Airlines is the proof in the pudding that businesses in Africa do have the potential to exceed beyond all expectations.