Ethiopian Airlines Plans Network, Fleet Expansion

Ethiopian Airlines, one of
the leading African carriers is planning further fleet and network expansion in 2015 to enable it widen the gap with other airlines.
Ethiopian airlines has already become the largest airline in Africa based on fleet size and could overtake South Africa Airlines SAA in   2015 as the largest, based on passengers carried.
The airline has doubled in size since the beginning of the decade while most other major African carriers have grown only slightly or not at all. Asia and Africa have been and will continue to be the primary drivers as Ethiopian Airline taps the booming Asia-African market.
Ethiopian plans to launch services to Tokyo in April 2015, which will become its 11th destination in Asia. The carrier will also add its second US destination in June 2015 as service to Los Angeles is launched.
Ethiopian airlines, according to official sources, is one of only four airlines in Africa with over five million annual passengers. It is also one of only four airline groups with a fleet of more than 50 aircraft.
The airline surpassed the 5 million passenger mark for the first time in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013 (Fy2013) when the government owned flag carrier transported 5.22 million passengers. Passenger traffic reached 6 million in 2014 (Fy2014) fuelled by 15 per cent year-over-year growth.
Passenger traffic has more than doubled since Fy2009 and has grown at a double digit dip over the last six years, adding that other three African airlines that have at least five million annual passengers have recorded virtually zero growth over the last six years.
Similarly, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) also carried about six million passengers in Fy2014, roughly matching the Moroccan flag carrier’s figures from Fy2008 and Fy2011 traffic shrunk in Fy2012 and Fy2013 as it restructured but grow again in Fy2014).
SAA carried about 7.1 million passengers in Fy2014, maintaining its position as market leader in Africa based on number of passengers carried. But SAA traffic is below Fy2008 levels, when it carried 7.4 million passengers. (SAA traffic shrunk Fy2009, Fy2010, Fy2011, and Fy2012 but grew slightly in Fy2013 and Fy2014.
Egypt Air also carried an estimated seven million passengers in Fy2014. The airline’s traffic  level reached a pre-Egyptian crisis high of 7.3 million in Fy2010. Back in Fy2008 Egypt Air transported 6.8 million passengers (Egypt Air’s financial year ends in June while SAA’ s financial year ends in March and RAM’s financial year ends in October).