Ethiopian Airlines to launch nonstop flight to Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Ethiopian Airlines is launching three-times-weekly service from Addis Ababa to Dammam, the capital of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, starting on February 12.

According to a press release Ethiopian sent to ENA on Friday, Dammam will be its 8th destination in the Middle East and its 64th worldwide.

Ethiopian CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam said the new flight to Dammam provides opportunities for business people as well as tourists to explore its investment and leisure potentials.

Dammam is a large metropolitan and industrial area that lies on a peninsula stretching out into the Persian Gulf. It is a major seaport, exporting and importing a wide variety of goods and commodities. It is a center for the oil and gas industry and is the commercial center for eastern Saudi Arabia.

Dammam is also well known for its tourist attractions such as the Coastal Sports Center, Half Moon Beech, King Fahd Park and Alkhleej Makarim Village where tourists can engage in mountain climbing, hiking, skiing or surfing.

Mr Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines says, ‘The new flight services to Dammam provide opportunities for business people as well as tourists to explore Dammam’s investment and leisure potentials.’ Dammam will be Ethiopian’s 8th destination in the Middle East and its 64th worldwide. The new flight schedule will be as follows:

With this new flight, Dammam will be connected to dozens of cities in Africa via Ethiopian’s hub at Addis Ababa. Convenient connections will be available to and from cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe and Dakar.

Saudi Arabia is the oldest destination in the region for Ethiopian Airlines next to Yemen, and is the only country where the airline flies to three points in one country in that region. Ethiopian currently provides services to Jeddah and Riyadh.

As this route commences, Ethiopian announces a promotional fare from Addis Ababa to Dammam starting from USD 360 for a round trip ticket, which is valid for travel until 30 November 2012.

Ethiopian Airlines Receives AFRAA Award for Best Financial Performance

Addis Ababa- Ethiopian Airlines has earned another accolade from The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) for being consistently profitable over the years and recording the best financial results in 2010.

Ethiopian was honored with the prestigious award at the 43rd AFRAA Annual General Assembly held in Marrakesh, Morocco on November 21, 2011.

Mr. Yissehak Zewoldi, Vice President Alliances and Corporate Strategic Planning received the award at the event. Upon receiving the award Mr. Yissehak said, “It is indeed an honor for Ethiopian Airlines to receive such an award especially from fellow African carriers. This is a testimony in recognition of the persistent effort exerted by the airline to move the African Aviation to new heights.”

Ethiopian has received three prestigious awards in a row in 2011 for its outstanding service and achievements in the aviation industry.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the addition of new flight services to Milan, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 62 international destinations spanning four continents.

Recently, Ethiopian received the 2011 “AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR” Award for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and the 2009 “Airline of the Year” award from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). In August 2008, Ethiopian won “the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award” of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry. Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.

Ethiopian commences direct flights from Mekele and BahirDar to Khartoum

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopian Airlines is proud to announce that effective October 13, 2011 it has commenced direct international flights from Mekele and BahirDar to Khartoum. The new direct flights will enhance tourism and business travel between Northern Ethiopia and the Sudan thereby strengthening the existing cooperation between the people and governments of the two countries.

Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian said, “Ethiopian Airlines has long been flying from Addis Ababa to Khartoum. The new direct flight services between Mekele, Khartoum and Bahir Dar will enhance the ever increasing economic, social and political ties of the two nations. Tourists, business people and all other travelers from the Sudan and other parts of the world will now have an easy and direct link to the fascinating tourist destinations of Northern Ethiopia.”

With the opening of the new direct flight services between Khartoum, Mekele and Bahir Dar, Ethiopian has developed incredible packages for tourists. Flying to Northern Ethiopia, tourists will visit the source of Blue Nile and Tisisat Falls found in Bahir Dar and the Nejashi Mosque, the first mosque in Africa built in the 7th century AD near Mekele. Tour packages developed in connection with this flight also include the breath taking Rift Valley lakes of Debre-Zeit and Awassa. 2

Ethiopian will provide the new flight services four days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays Saturdays and Sundays using Bombardier Q-400 Aircraft.

Ethiopian plane crash report still pending

An official report on the Ethiopian Airlines crash off Beirut that claimed 90 lives is due to appear later this year, nearly 22 months after the disaster took place.

Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said Wednesday a final report on the circumstances of the crash, minutes after taking off from Rafik Hariri International Airport in January 2010, would soon be released.

“We have all the information. And we’re quite sure it’s accurate,” Aridi said during a news conference at the airport, adding that his ministry would receive the joint investigation committee’s final draft on Aug. 10.

After that, he explained, the committee would have a period of 60 days to issue a final report.

“We cannot unilaterally announce the content as we are only a part of the investigation committee,” Aridi said, warning that “if any [further] delay happens … we will present the results.”

The joint investigation committee, managed by Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, is composed of Lebanese and Ethiopian representatives, along with individuals representing Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer.

But well-informed sources told The Daily Star that Aridi had been informed by a member of the investigation committee that the final report would not be finalized before “at least one month, if not more.”

The plane crashed into the Mediterranean less than four minutes after takeoff, after performing two maneuvers ordered by Beirut’s Air Traffic Control team. All 90 people aboard were killed.

Data contained in flight recorders retrieved from the crash site show how the aircraft turned slightly immediately after leaving runway 21, before being instructed to bank reasonably hard to its left.

It was during this move that the plane got into trouble, plunging 8,000 feet (2,432 meters) before disappearing from radar screens.

A statement aiming at presenting the different stages of the investigation’s advancement since Feb. 10 – when the last report was issued – was released during the conference.

The report said the investigation committee had recently received three reports on the analysis of the trim tab part of the plane’s rear, in an operation conducted in cooperation with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, and were expecting the final report to be release Aug. 10.

The NTBS also analyzed black spots found near the hot air exits of the auxiliary power unit, and discovered the spots weren’t caused by fire or hot temperature but oil.

The report also stated that the French Bureau of Investigations and Analysis for Civil Aviation’s Safety, working in cooperation with Boeing, were unable to recover a damaged segment on one of the retrieved five cockpit voice recorders.

During a news conference in February, Aridi had already said he knew the causes of the crash, but was waiting for an agreement between the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing to be finalized before releasing the ministry’s final report.

At the time, he said a full analysis into the causes behind flight ET409’s crash would be available before the end of July.

The minister said he wanted “to assure people that our commitment [to finding out exactly what happened] will not be abandoned.”

“We call on the Lebanese to be patient and to avoid drawing conclusions,” he added.