Ethiopian Airlines gets Africa's First Airbus A350 XWB

Accra, June 20, GNA - Ethiopian Airlines, the leading airline in connecting Africa with the rest of the world, continued its aviation technology leadership with yet another first African Airbus A350 XWB.

A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Hanna Atnafu, Manager Corporate Communications, Ethiopian Airlines said the A-350 XWB would be the first airbus aircraft in Ethiopian fleet and the first of its kind in Africa.

All seats are fitted with the latest high-definition touchscreen personal monitors and a higher selection of movies, Television series and audio channels.

The statement said inflight Wi-Fi connection would be made available on this aircraft in the future.

'Passengers with smart devices can connect to the world while others can use the smart individual touch screens on their seats when the internet service goes operational,' it added.

Mr Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines said: 'We are very pleased that Ethiopian has taken the leadership role in Africa and has become among the few leading airlines in the world to invest in this latest technology and efficient flying machine.'

He said operating the youngest fleet in the industry with modern and comfortable customer features in cabin was one of the four pillars of our vision 2025, 15 years strategic road map and the introduction of the A-350 is one component of this strategy.

He said the Airlines have also made sure that its aircraft is designed and configured to surpass the expectations of our customers.

Africa's first A350 would provide new features such as wider seats in both Business and Economy classes the lowest twin engine noise level, advanced air conditioning technology and full LED mood lighting to enhance the comfort while reducing fatigue after a long flight.

'The Airbus 350 XWB will enable us to further expand our service quality especially on our long-haul flights and strengthen our connectivity and herald with the least carbon emission to our planet 'The New Spirit of Africa' to the world.' Mr Tewolde added.

Ethiopian has ordered 14 Airbus A350 aircraft and would continue receiving the remaining 13 soon constantly raising number of Airbus aircraft in the fleet ensuring the extra comfort.

The A350 XWB's innovative technology improves performance in operation. Its revolutionary airframe and simplified systems have optimised fuel burn, maintenance costs and reliability, and its engines have the lowest carbon dioxide CO2 emissions of any in the wide body category.

GNA