Ethiopian flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has announced orders with Boeing for eleven 787-9 Dreamliners with options for a further 15, and 20 737 Max 8 jets, with options for 21 more.
The airline currently operates 18 787-8 and ten 787-9 wide-body airliners, and 13 single-aisle Boeing 737 Max 8.
This order comes as somewhat of a surprise and is quite possibly the biggest PR boost for Boeing over the 737 Max, as Ethiopian was involved the centre of the 737 Max crisis. In March 2019, one of its own 737 Max 8 aircraft operating as Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa as a direct result of design shortcomings stemming from a host internal management issues at Boeing. Flight ET302 was the second Boeing 737 Max to crash and spurred the wave of groundings which ultimately ended up being global, and lasted for nearly two years.
Matt is a Berlin-based writer and reporter for International Flight Network. Originally from London, he has been involved in aviation from a very young age and has a particular focus on aircraft safety, accidents and technical details.
