Aviation History
Ethiopian Airlines, founded in December 1945 with technical assistance from TWA, is one of Africa's oldest and most successful carriers and today anchors Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport as a major intercontinental hub. It became the first African airline to operate jet aircraft, an early Boeing 787 Dreamliner operator, and in 2011 the first African member of Star Alliance, while its aviation academy has trained generations of aviators from across the continent. Ethiopian has grown into Africa's largest airline group by fleet and revenue, expanding through subsidiary carriers in other African states, though the March 2019 crash of Flight 302 remains a significant chapter in its history.
Ethiopian Air Lines was established with technical and managerial support from Trans World Airlines (TWA), beginning operations the following year.
The airline's inaugural flight connected Addis Ababa with Cairo, marking the start of scheduled Ethiopian air service.
Ethiopian Airlines founded its aviation academy in Addis Ababa, which grew into one of Africa's largest and most respected pilot and crew training institutions.
With the introduction of the Boeing 720B, Ethiopian became the first sub-Saharan African airline to operate jet aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines began flights to the United States, becoming one of the first sub-Saharan African carriers to serve the US market.
Ethiopian Airlines became the first African carrier to join the Star Alliance global airline alliance.
Ethiopian became the first African airline to operate the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, an early adopter among global 787 operators.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 people aboard and contributing to the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX fleet.
Through continued fleet growth and subsidiary investments in carriers such as ASKY Airlines and Malawi Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines Group solidified its position as Africa's largest airline by fleet size and revenue.
Ethiopian Airlines · ASKY Airlines (Ethiopian-backed) · Malawi Airlines (Ethiopian-backed)
Wikipedia, Ethiopian Airlines corporate history, Star Alliance, aviation trade press