Ethiopian Airlines celebrates 70 years in the sky

Last night, members of the travel industry were treated to an evening of music, dance and traditional treats as Ethiopian Airlines gathered to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

Held at the Port Credit Yacht Club in Mississauga, approximately 150 guests joined in on the festivities as executives from the airline highlighted all the company has achieved over the last 70 years, and everything it looks forward to doing in the years to come.

Highlighting the ease of travel that Ethiopian Airlines offers to Canadians – getting you from Canada to any African city “in the shortest possible time” – Birhan Abate, the company’s area manager for Canada, spoke about connectivity: “Ethiopian Airlines can get Canadians to Africa in less than 24 hours. In addition to that, something that Ethiopian Airlines is offering to Canadians is a daytime departure and daytime arrival” on your flight over and your return.

Ethiopian Airlines first took flight in April 1946 and has been growing ever since, expanding into Canada four years ago with its four times weekly direct flights from Toronto to Addis Ababa, and from there flight connections across all of Africa.

Operating the youngest fleet in Africa, including 13 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, it was the 28th member of the Star Alliance family in 2011 and today moves more than seven million passengers per year. In November 2015, Ethiopian Airlines also operated the first “all woman functioned flight” – from flight deck crew members and cabin operations to airport operations, flight dispatchers, flight planning and more – aimed at “crystalizing Ethiopian corporate commitment to ‘Woman Empowerment for a Sustainable Growth’,” flying from Addis Ababa to Bangkok.

“We are putting all of our efforts into making Ethiopian Airlines well known here in Canada,” continued Abate. “And we want to thank our partners, our customers, all parties who are working with us for the last 70 years – the motto for our celebration is ‘dedication has brought us this far, passion will take us further’.”

To watch video from the event, click here.

Ethiopian Airlines offers direct flights from Toronto to Addis Ababa three times a week, getting passengers to Africa in less than 14 hours.

For more information, visit ethiopianairlines.com.