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Flights To Africa - Which African Airlines Are Best?

Many of my travel clients in the west expressfirst jet service, from Bole to Nairobi. The
reservations about flying on Africanfollowing day the second Boeing inaugurated a
carriers. With some recent disasters,new route to Madrid, via Asmara and Athens.
cancelled flights and terrible timeMeanwhile the elderly Skytrains and their
performances I share their hesitation. Basedrelated civilian DC-3s continued to fly the
on the need to find safe and efficient airdomestic and cargo services and six further
travel I have started an investigation andDC-3s were bought during the next decade.
found several African carriers to be actuallyDespite their age, these aircraft were
outstanding and even better than some U.S.ideally suited to Ethiopia's rugged terrain
carriers  or  their  European  competitors.and  high  altitude.
My first choice for air travel in Africa is1965:
with Ethiopian Airlines. I've had the good
fortune to work a lot with the airline andThe company changed its legal status from a
experience their service firsthand. Thecorporation to share company. At the same
company has a long history that started withtime the title was changed from Ethiopian Air
TWA. They have continued to be on the leadingLines  to  Ethiopian  Airlines.
edge management, performance, service and
fleet modernization since. They are one of1971:
the first to order the Boeing 787
"Dreamliner" and the airport at ADD is theColonel Semret Medhane was appointed general
most modern and well-managed in Africa takingmanager, the first Ethiopian to hold the
it's design from Atlanta's Hartsfield. Whatposition.
this means to the traveler is safe,
courteous, comfortable service with efficient1977:
baggage transfer and on-time performance to
meet connections. With an extensive worldwideA Boeing 720B flight simulator was acquired,
network this also means connectionsmaking the airline independent of foreign
throughout Africa, Europe and Middle East. ETairlines  for  its  pilot  training.
has flights from IAD to FCO (Washington to
Rome) en route to Addis Ababa and this can1979:
oftentimes be a less expensive than European
and  U.S.  carriers  to get to the continent.Two Boeing 727s were purchased for
medium-range routes, to replace the oldest
Below  is  a  brief  history  of the airline:Boeing  720s.
8th  April  1946:1982:
The first scheduled flight took place toThe airline bought a third Boeing 727 and two
Cairo via Asmara in Douglas C-47 Skytrain.de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo short-field
The national airline had been set up a fewtransports  for  use  on  domestic  services.
months earlier as Ethiopian Air Lines Inc., a
joint venture with American airline, TWA1984:
(Trans World Airlines). Five US Government
surplus C-47 aircraft were purchased forEthiopian Airlines attracted worldwide
venture. Following the successful inauguralattention on 1st June when its first Boeing
flight to Cairo, a regular weekly service was767 landed at Bole after a
established. Weekly services to Djibouti andthirteen-and-a-half hour delivery flight from
Aden followed, as well as a domestic serviceNew York - setting a new world distance
to Jimma. Demands for additional servicesrecord for commercial twin-jets. The airline,
were so great that towards the end of 1946,which was a launch customer for the new
four more C-47 Skytrains were purchased.aircraft, brought two of the advanced, wide
Since these aircraft were ex-US military,bodied B-767 aircraft to replace the ageing
they had few comforts; all had foldingBoeing 720s. In addition to their 190-seat
bench-type canvas seats along the sides, withpassenger capacity the aircraft could carry
the central aisle kept clear so that cargo12  tones  of  cargo  in  the  hold.
could  be  lashed  to  the  floor.
At the end of 1985, when the DC-3/Skytrains
1947:started to be withdrawn, the airline still
had nine of these in service, all of them at
Three more Skytrains were purchased for theleast 40 years old. The last of these
international routes. These were fitted outaircraft remained in service until October
in a `luxury' layout with 21 forward facing1991. The main replacements were six
seats and were the first to wear the colorful18-seater DHC-6 Twin Otters, and - for the
Ethiopian  Airlines  livery.busier domestic routes - two ATR-42sL fast
and  modern  46-seater  aircraft.
During the late 1940s the route network was
extended to Nairobi, Port Sudan and Bombay.1989:
Charter flights were also flown to Jeddah
during the Hajj season, carrying pilgrims toThe Cargo Management Department was
Makkah.established to afford special attention to
the development of the airline's cargo
1950:services. Hitherto the airline had regarded
its cargo operations more as a public service
Two Convair 240 aircraft were purchased,commitment that as a secondary source of
followed later by a third, for use on foreignincome.
routes. These higher-performance aircraft had
fully furnished interiors and seats for 361995:
passengers. Their pressurized cabins allowed
the  aircraft to fly higher, in smoother air.The airline's Engineering Division opened a
new purpose-built jet engine test facility,
By the end of 1952 the faithful Skytrainsallowing engines of up to 45,000 kg
were still the mainstay for the domestic(100,000lbs)  thrust  to  be  ground  tested.
routes, linking 21 towns and cities to the
capital and carrying both passengers andApril  1996:
cargo.
As the airlines celebrated 50th anniversary
1953:the route network stretched from Europe
(London, Frankfurt, and Rome) to China
Three quarters of the airline's staff were(Beijing) and Thailand (Bangkok). The Middle
now Ethiopian but expatriates still held mostEast and Indian sub-continent were well
key posts. The Ethiopian governmentrepresented, and the airline's African routes
negotiated and new agreement with TWA withreached Senegal and Ivory Coast in the west,
ultimate aim of operating entirely withCairo in the north, and Johannesburg and
Ethiopian  personnel.Durban in the south. The fleet consisted of
two ATR-42 and four DHC-6 Twin Otters for the
1957:domestic passenger services, one Boeing 737
and four Boeing 757 aircraft for the medium
The fist Ethiopian commercial aircraftrange passenger services and three Boeing
commander, Alemayehu Abebe, made his solo767s for long-range services. For its cargo
flight  as  captain  on  DC-3/C-47  aircraft.and non-scheduled services the airline had
one Boeing 707 freighter, one Boeing 757
The National Airline Training Project was setFreighter, two Lockheed L-100 commercial
up with US Government help in Addis Ababa toHercules  and  one  DHC-5  Buffalo.
train local pilots, technicians and
supervisory  personnel.The pilot training school was equipped with a
state-of-the-art flight simulator,
The airline established its own maintenancereplicating the flight deck of the Boeing
facility at Addis Ababa, reducing the need767. The simulator was also used to train
for maintenance overseas. In subsequent yearscrews on the Boeing 757, whose flight deck is
the facilities expanded into a well-equippedsimilar.
center for maintenance, overhaul and
modification work on aircraft, engines andIn October 1996 the first of five Fokker 50s
avionic systems, not only for its ownwas acquired to enhance the domestic
aircraft, but also for other airlines in theservices.
region.
1998:
The route network expanded with flights to
Frankfurt.Another giant leap was made with the launch
of a twice-weekly service to Washington - the
1958:Airline's first destination in the America -
and  New  York  followed  shortly  after.
The DC-6B Cloudmasters were purchased. These
four-engined, 71-seat aircraft were used on1999:
the  long-haul  routes.
In February the ShebaMiles frequent flyer
1960:program was launched. Construction started on
a new, ultra-modern terminal building at Bole
The airlines prepared to enter the jet ageInternational Airport to upgrade passenger
and decide that the Boeing 720B best met itsservices and cater for an anticipated
requirements. However, the existing airfieldincrease in traffic. In November Scandinavia
serving Addis Ababa - Lidetta, which had beenwas brought into the route network for the
built in 1936 - was not suitable for jetfirst time with a new service to Copenhagen,
operation, which required a long runway, andDenmark, along with anew route to Maputo,
a decision was made to construct an entirelyMozambique.
new  airport  and  headquarters  at  Bole.
2002:
1961:
The airline embarked on a period of sustained
A new east-west service was inaugurated,growth and fleet modernization with plans to
linking Addis Ababa with Monrovia in Liberia,purchase, over the next four years, 12 new
via Khartoum and Accra. This was the firstaircraft, Six Next-Generation B737-700s and
direct air link between east and west Africasix 767-300ERs were scheduled to replace the
operated  by  any  airline.existing two B737-200s and two B767-200. In
October night operations out of Addis Ababa
1962:were introduced, to supplement the daytime
flights.
By December the new runway and control tower
at bole international Airport were2003:
operational and two Boeing 720Bs arrived on
their delivery flights. Ethiopian was theThe new, 3,800 meter runway and control tower
first airline in Africa to order Boeing 720B.at Bole International Airport become
operation, along with the spacious new
1963:airport terminal with its 21st- century
facilities. Renovation of the older terminal
On 15th January the airline inaugurated itsbegan, to serve mainly domestic flights.



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