Ethiopian Airlines has posted US$7.02 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2023/2024, which ended on July 7. This represents a 14 per cent increase compared to the fiscal year 2022/2023.
- •The airline flew 577,746 hours during the period, a 19 per cent increase compared to its total flight hours reported during the previous year.
- •Passenger flights contributed US$5 billion to the total revenue earned in the year.
- •Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group said geopolitical conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Sudan conflict, and the increased fuel prices, have remained the pressing challenges for the global aviation industry.
The airline reported flying 577,746 flight hours, which represents a 19 per cent increase from the previous record. They handled 17.1 million passengers during the fiscal year (a 23% increase), with 13.4 million being international travelers and 3.7 million being domestic travelers.
Regarding cargo, the airline experienced a decrease compared to the same period last year, transporting 54,681 tons of cargo. The revenue from cargo was US$1.65 billion, reflecting an 8 per cent decrease compared to the previous fiscal year.
Five new passenger aircraft were put into operation during the period, bringing the airline’s total fleet to 145.
“With the addition of five international and three domestic destinations, the airline’s network expanded to 139 international and 21 domestic destinations, excluding the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport,” Mesfin said.
Mesfin further said the airline expects to carry 20 million passengers in the financial year that started in July and plans to add five new routes.
The airline has also ordered 125 more planes, in addition to the 20 previously ordered, noting a shortage of aircraft due to the non-availability of the planes ordered from Boeing.
Mesfin also announced that the construction of new airports in Yabelo, Mizan Aman, Gore Metu, Negele Borena, and Debre Markos is expected to be completed by the middle of the 2024/2025 Ethiopian budget year.
Ethiopian Airlines Passenger Conflict
On 19th July, Ethiopian Airlines was on the spot on social media, after a video of a passenger on one of their flights (ET308) from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was allegedly kicked out because a minister took her seat.
On 21st July, Ethiopian Airlines put out the following statement on their X (formerly Twitter) handle:
“On the date mentioned above, the flight experienced an overbooking situation. Three individuals with standby economy class boarding pass arrived at the boarding gate just a few minutes before the scheduled departure time of the flight. The Boarding Agent advised them that the flight was full and they would be protected on the next flight.
“However, they ignored the advice of the Boarding Agent and attempted to board the aircraft bypassing security personnel at the boarding gate. Our staff members courteously asked these passengers to disembark. One passenger acquiesced to this request, while the remaining two were escorted off the aircraft by security due to non-compliance.
“It is pertinent to mention that these passengers were booked in economy class, and their seating was in no way influenced by the presence of a non-Ethiopian national VIP passenger in business class.Ethiopian Airlines follows a standard protocol wherein VIPs, Business Class Passengers, and Platinum ShebaMiles members are allowed to board subsequent to the seating of all other passengers.
“A misapprehension arose among the standby passengers, leading to the distorted belief that their seats had been allocated to a VIP. This is not the case, and the circulating video does not reflect the true sequence of events.”
However, the statement did close to nothing in the quest to quell emotions on social media.
Eritrea’s Ban on the Airline
On 24th July, The State of Eritrea’s Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice to suspend all Ethiopian Airlines flights destined to Eritrea , with effect from 30th September 2024.
“Cognizant of the consistent and persistent malicious trading practices pursued by Ethiopian Airlines in general and systematic and organized passengers’ luggage theft, pilferage, damage, prolonged delays and loss with no compensation in particular, coupled with unjustified and unwarranted price hikes and other irregularities witnessed…” read the statement in part.
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