Samuel Gebre, Bloomberg News

Ethiopian Airlines Group wants to almost double its fleet over the next 12 years and expand its global network as Africa’s largest carrier seeks to better compete with Gulf rivals linking passengers between Asia, the Americas and Europe.

The state-owned carrier — Africa’s largest airline — is looking to increase its number of planes to more than 270 by 2035, compared with 140 now, and fly to more than 200 airports across the world, according to new Chief Executive Officer Mesfin Tasew. 

If successful, the strategy could generate annual sales of $25 billion from commercial and freight operations, the CEO said, up fivefold on 2021. 

“We are well positioned to continue growing profitably, expanding our network and competing in the global arena,” Mesfin said in an interview, about nine months after replacing Ethiopian’s long-term head, Tewolde GebreMariam. 

The CEO’s plan would represent a new phase of growth for Ethiopian, which dominates other African flag carriers while under increasing pressure from the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates, which are growing on the continent. The group is also trying to expand by creating new national airlines, for example in Nigeria, and developing partnerships in several other countries.

Growth Barriers

One barrier to Ethiopian’s ambition is the lack of progress on a new airport about 70km south of Addis Ababa, the capital. Bole International Airport, the city’s main hub and the airline’s headquarters, is operating at near capacity and will be “a hindrance to further growth,” the CEO said. 

The construction of the new airport — originally projected to cost $5 billion and handle as many as 100 million passengers a year — is two years late and yet to begin due to complications over the land ownership. 

Another challenge is a plan by rivals Kenya Airways and South African Airways to create a new pan-African group to better compete with Ethiopian. The two airlines, both of which are struggling financially, are already collaborating on code-sharing and mutual lounge access.  

Qatar is making inroads into Africa, threatening Ethiopian’s dominance. Alongside Dubai-based Emirates, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi and Turkish Airlines, the carrier already controls a significant chunk of the African long-haul market via its hub in the Gulf. The Doha-based airline is now in talks about a closer collaboration with RwandaAir and has invested in a new airport in Kigali. 

Nigeria Push

Ethiopian has formed its own joint ventures or partnerships in several African countries, including Togo, Malawi, Chad, Zambia and Mozambique. Additionally, the airline won a contract to set up a national airline in Nigeria and is in talks with the government in Democratic Republic of the Congo about a similar venture.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with more than 200 million people, is seen as a largely untapped aviation market as it doesn’t have a flagship carrier. The new national carrier, dubbed Nigerian Air, is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2023, Mesfin said, legal hurdles allowing.

“When we partner with other stakeholders to set up airlines at other locations in Africa, our primary goal is not to earn a dividend from the airline,” Mesfin said. “It is to set up a partner airline who can work with Ethiopian Airlines in feeding each other.” 

Ethiopian sees its revenues growing by 20% in the coming fiscal year ending in June 2023 from the $4.8 billion it made last year, with a profit target of $600 million on increasing passenger business, Mesfin said. 

Source: Bloomberg