Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
Ethiopian Airlines completed 70 years of service since its inception in April 8, 1946 and 30 years of service to New Delhi. A press conference was held in New Delhi to celebrate this and also announce the commencement of double daily flights to Delhi. Tadesse Tilahun, regional director, India subcontinent, informed, “Ethiopian Airlines is the largest growing and most profitable airline of South America. We are already operating double daily flights out of Mumbai. Due to three per cent passenger growth and 70 per cent growth rate, we have Delhi joining the bandwagon. Now there would be double daily flights out of Delhi starting March end, so the capacity would increase by 100 per cent.” The airline connects New Delhi and Mumbai twice daily with more than 90 international destinations in five continents. In addition it also creates a regular system of connection between the remaining 50 destinations in Africa. The airline operates from hubs like Addis Ababa, Lome and Lilongwe. Mahlet Kebede, manager traffic and sales manager, Ethiopian Airlines added, “These flights would help create business opportunities and convenient connectivity. We have offers like buy one get one free, discounted fares, frequent buyer, double bonus miles for our travellers till 31 May. The travel agents would get 30 per cent commission on flights. This is to promote the services and also tourism in the country.”
Ethiopian Airlines is the largest operator of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft which is operational in Mumbai. The airline also has bilateral clearance for 28 frequencies from the country and would soon add an additional point from Chennai or Bengaluru.