Africa’s First A350-1000 Delivered to Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines became the first airline in Africa to add the Airbus A350-1000 to its fleet. Ethiopia’s flag carrier has taken delivery of the first of four Airbus A350-1000s from Airbus in Toulouse.

Though Ethiopian operates a large number of Boeing aircraft, the airline is Africa’s largest operator of Airbus aircraft. To date, the Addis Ababa-based carrier operates a sub-fleet of 21 Airbus A350 aircraft.

A total of fourteen additional A350 aircraft are set to join the airline’s fleet in the future, including eleven A350-900s and three additional A350-1000s.

Additional Capacity

With a total of 395 seats, the A350-1000 will increase Ethiopian Airlines’ passenger capacity and provide enhanced passenger experience in the largest business class cabin in the airline’s fleet. In addition, Ethiopian will introduce Airbus’ new HBCplus satcom connectivity solution on this aircraft, thereby offering seamless, high-speed gate-to-gate connectivity.

The A350-1000 will provide operational commonality with Ethiopian’s A350-900 fleet, ensuring seamless integration with shared pilots and mechanics simplifying training and maintenance processes. It is set to serve more premium destinations, including Washington D.C., London, Paris and Frankfurt.

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Lorne Philipot

Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was captivated and fascinated by flying from the day he took his first airline flight. With a passion for aviation in his blood, he has flown to destinations in all corners of the globe. Lorne has traveled extensively and lived in various countries. Drawing on his travels and passion for aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks, and new developments.

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