Ethiopian Airlines is set to increase its frequency from Mumbai to double daily starting March 2015. This information was provided by Tadesse Tilahun, Regional Director India Sub Continent, Ethiopian at a press conference held in Mumbai. The new frequency will be serviced by the 787 aircraft, with late night and early morning departures. He further added that the airline plans to emulate the same expansion in New Delhi following the necessary permissions.
“Mumbai is one of Ethiopian’s oldest markets, having commenced commercial operations 43 years ago, and charter flight operations having begun as early as 1948. India is a very important market for us with increased corporate and labour traffic coming through year on year. Even Ethiopia’s Tourism Board is working on increasing tourism from India, with the Board and airline being headed by the same individual. We are also designing packages together to promote the destination,” he stated.
Over the last two years, Ethiopian has registered a 24 per cent growth in passenger numbers from Mumbai, carrying 212 passengers a day on average. The double dailies are expected to significantly increase these numbers. Similarly, load factor from Delhi registered a 24 per cent growth over the last two years, Tilahun informed. The flight route carries 92.5 passengers a day.
To celebrate the new frequencies, Ethiopian has launched special offers, including a buy one get one free scheme and 40 per cent discount for individual travellers, among others, on tickets to Entebee, Nairobi, Khartoum, Juba, Djibouti and Hargeisa from Mumbai. For agents, who get a 3 per cent commission from Ethiopian, an additional 3 per cent is being offered as part of the inaugural offer.
Tilahun further stated that the airline is seeing potential from South India, especially Chennai and Bengaluru, and hopes to add at least one route from the region this year.
Tilahun also revealed that a recent study by CAPA Centre for Aviation stated that the Africa-Asia seat capacity (with Asia’s main markets being China and India) has seen maximum growth on Ethiopian. The airline is the top African carrier in terms of hubs, fleet, load factor, seat capacity and revenue.
“Ethiopian is the fastest growing African airline, with the last decade having notched a 500 per cent growth. In 2013-14 alone, the airline grew 17 per cent in terms of capacity; 13 per cent in terms of passengers and 21 per cent in terms of revenue. We also have lots of aircraft on order to expand our fleet and hope to be the first African airline to operate the A350,” he revealed.
The airline also touched the six million passenger milestone in 2014, Tilahun added.
Furthermore, Ethiopian has expanded its codeshare with its partner Air India in a bid to enable seamless connectivity between Africa and India. The expanded codeshare covers five African destinations including Nigeria, with more connections in the pipeline.
Mukesh Bhatia, General Manager – Commercial, Western Region, Air India said, “We have finalised five African destinations for the codeshare with Ethiopian, and will soon finalise five more. We hope to add all the Ethiopian routes to our codeshare eventually. The codeshare agreement has seen a 40 per cent growth so far in revenue and we are sure the business will only further increase now. Since both airlines are operating the 787, we are sure of offering the passengers the same great aircraft experience and comfort when they fly on a codeshare route.”
