Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for five 777-8 Freighters. The African carrier will become the second customer for the 777-8F after Qatar Airways’ order in late January.
Ethiopian Airlines signs MoU for five 777-8Fs
Ethiopian Airlines has opted for Boeing’s 777-8 Freighter after signing an MoU for five aircraft. The airline will complement its existing Boeing 777F fleet with the next-generation freighter.
Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO at Ethiopian Airlines, said,
“Consistent with our history of aviation technology leadership in Africa, we are pleased to sign this MoU with our longstanding partner Boeing, which will make us join select group of launch customer airlines for the fleet.”
According to Boeing, the 777-8F offers an almost identical payload to the 747-400F along with a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency, operating costs and emissions. The Boeing 777X Freighter was launched in January and has already attracted a firm order of 34 (plus 16 options) from Qatar Airways.
Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Boeing, said,
“Ethiopian Airlines has been at the forefront of Africa’s cargo market for decades, growing its fleet of Boeing freighters and connecting the continent to the flow of global commerce. Ethiopian will remain a key player in global cargo, providing it with increased capacity, flexibility and efficiency for the future.”
Africa’s largest cargo operator
Should this order come to realization, Ethiopian will be on its way to becoming a global force in the logistical sector. Ethiopian’s cargo operations are served by nine 777-200Fs, three 737-800Fs and over 40 cargo centers throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
CEO Gebremariam stated,
“In our vision 2035, we are planning to expand our Cargo and Logistics business to be one of the largest global multimodal logistics providers in all continents. To this…