Ethiopian starts countdown to first A350-1000 delivery

November 4, 2024 in Business, Companies, Travel & Tourism, U by Editor

Flag-carrier Ethiopian Airlines is counting hours to the delivery of Africa’s first Airbus Industrie A350-1000, four of which it has on order with the European airframer.  Certificates of ownership are expected to change hands in Toulouse this afternoon, with the aircraft departing for Addis early Tuesday morning as Flight ET 9201, for a same day arrival at Addis Bole International at 13.33 local time.

ET’s  A350-1000’s have been configured to a two-class cabin with 46 seats in Business and 349 in Economy class for a total of 395 seats. They are also equipped with Thales latest Avant in-flight entertainment system. With a range of 15,000 kilometres, the A350 1000 can seat between 250-410 passengers in a 2-class cabin but can accommodate up to 480 passengers in an all-economy configuration.

A fairly recent Airbus Customer, Ethiopian first flipped to Airbus, when it signed a contract  for the purchase of 12 A350-900s during the 2009 edition of the Dubai Airshow. It took delivery of the first A350 in July 2016, but quickly placed a follow-on order for another 10 examples of the type in July 2017.  While that took its orderbook for the A350 to 22 aircraft, four of those were converted to the larger -1000 variant in July 2022. Later, the carrier ordered another 11 A350-900s, taking its total orderbook to 35 aircraft.

The A350 has gained popularity among Ethiopians passengers and flight-crew alike. While passengers like the aircraft for its advanced ambiance and onboard comfort, the flight crew praise it for its advanced automation and flight envelop protection, including full protection against aerodynamic stalls.