Ethiopian Airlines to join the Star Alliance network

By Kaleyesus Bekele(Ethiopian Reporter)

(Editor's choice Top News)

Ethiopian Airlines’ fast growth and its aircraft purchase spree have stunned the global aviation industry. The profitability of the airline even at turbulent times has amazed stakeholders. The airline was ranked the 16th most profitable airline in the world in 2009.

It is the first African carrier and the second in the world next to Nippon Airways of Japan to buy the 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Ethiopian is also the first carrier in sub-Saharan Africa to place orders for the Airbus A350XWB aircraft. In 2008/2009 the national flag carrier surprised everyone by increasing its profit by 165 percent at a time when the global aviation industry was hard hit by market meltdown.

Once again Ethiopian has stunned the aviation industry by joining the internationally acclaimed group, Star Alliance. It took almost a year for the management of Ethiopian Airlines to convince the Star Alliance to accept it as a future member. 

The chief executive board of Star Alliance, a union of mega carriers, on Wednesday announced that it had unanimously approved the application of Ethiopian Airlines to join the group.  At a colorful event held at the Sheraton Addis, several CEOs of member airlines of Star Alliance and delegates attended the event. A large number of journalists from different countries came to cover the event.

“On behalf of the chief executive board, it gives me great pleasure to invite Ethiopian Airlines to join the Star Alliance network. Ethiopian’s extensive intra-African network will provide more choice for our travelers and bring the Star Alliance benefits to new markets. Moreover, we will in the future have three main hubs in Africa - Addis Ababa, Cairo and Johannesburg - allowing for an ideal access to the continent from either the North, Center, East or South,” said Jaan Albrecht, CEO Star Alliance. 

“We are happy and honored to be invited to the big family of airlines. Ethiopian will definitely enhance Star Alliance’s global network. Our long experience in the African market, coupled with our strategic hub in Addis Ababa and the recently created Lome hub, will allow Star Alliance members to access many new markets in Africa,” said Girma Wake, the outgoing Ethiopian CEO. “Together, we can offer our passengers more convenient flight schedules, greater flight frequencies, a larger network and more online connections. All these features improve the quality of the service available to our customers,” said Girma. 

Star Alliance was first established in 1997 by five airlines - Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways and United Airlines. Currently, the group has 28 members and two carriers are under preparation to link with the group - Air India and Aegean Airlines. Ethiopian would be the 31st member. Ethiopian will become the third Star Alliance member carrier on the African continent, joining Egypt Air and South African Airways. Star Alliance members jointly outsource different services and make purchases together. 

The acceptance of Ethiopian Airlines is an integral part of Star Alliance’s Africa strategy. Market studies, conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), show that Africa is forecast to have the second highest growth rate in air traffic over the coming years. Demand will mainly stem from economic growth made possible by increasing political stability and creating better business climate on the continent. 
Through its future membership in Star Alliance, Ethiopian Airlines will gain access to the many markets across the globe. By the same token, more business travelers from Ethiopia and across Africa will in the future benefit from the Star Alliance customer proposition: worldwide reach via the extensive network, seamless travel and travel, and status recognition through the frequent flyer programmes.   
Lufthansa assisted Ethiopian in joining the group. The integration teams of Ethiopian Airlines, the mentoring carrier Lufthansa and Star Alliance will begin their work shortly, with the aim of completing the membership process within the next 12 months.
Ethiopian Airlines will add five new countries (Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Mali and Niger) and 24 African destinations to the Star Alliance network, which will then encompass a total of 29 carriers, offering a choice of more than 21,380 daily flights to 1,196 destinations in 186 countries.