Ethiopian Airlines names latest A350 after volcano

Ethiopian Airlines has received its third Airbus A350XWB aircraft and named it after Erta Ale, a large basaltic shield volcano located in the Afar Region of north-eastern Ethiopia.

The airline is in the middle of a fleet modernization programme which has seen it introduce both Boeing B787 Dreamliners and the Airbus A350XWB programme.

Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said, “As part of our continuous fleet modernization program, we have now phased in a third Airbus A350 XWB 900. Both the B-787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A-350 are the most technologically advanced airplanes in the world today and we are highly delighted that we are one of the very few airlines in the world to own and operate both airplanes at their early stage in service. Ethiopian Airlines customers will have the special privilege of experiencing the superior features and services of both airplanes. These environmentally green planes are enabling us to expand our vast network to new and exciting destinations like Oslo in Norway, Singapore, Chengdu in China, Jakarta in Indonesia, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Antananarivo in Madagascar.”

The new aircraft has a configuration of 30 Cloud Nine business and 313 economy class seats. Ethiopian was the first African Airline to take delivery of Airbus A350 XWB in 2016.