“Ethiopian Airlines Stands Tall Amid Crisis” – Tewolde Gebremariam. By Daisy BARRO

 

Ethiopian's A350-900 is among the passenger aircraft being used for dedicated freighter services.

Ethiopian Airlines’ resilience to the effects of the present health crisis has been attributed to its “quick decision” to temporarily convert 25 passenger aircraft for freight operations early on in the COVID-19 pandemic - a decision which has permitted the airline to remain “cash positive” and buoyant.

Speaking at a CAPA live event recently, the airline’s Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam said Ethiopian is presently “cash positive” at a time when its peers in Africa are not doing so well chiefly because of its quick and timely decision to transport cargo rather than people, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We have a very strong cash flow, which we are still managing within our internal resources without any bailout money, borrowing for liquidity purposes, salary reductions or lay-offs. Therefore, while the return of more passenger  operations will be the catalyst for a full recovery, the state-owned carrier is at least in a better position than the rest of its peers in Africa”,  said Mr. Gebremariam.

The Chief Executive went on to say that the decision to remove some or all the seats from passenger cabins and temporarily convert them to cargo aircraft was made when the Management of the airline realized that fuel prices were favourable; that there was less bellyhold capacity in the market due to the absence of passenger aircraft and that there was urgent need to get Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) from one location to another.

Ethiopian Airlines had formerly confirmed that some of the converted aircraft include five Boeing 737-800s, five Dash 8-Q400s, four Airbus A350-900s, four Boeing 777-300ERs, two Boeing 767-300ERs and two Boeing 787-9s, all of which are operating alongside the airline’s ten Boeing 777-200Fs and two Boeing 737-800SFs.

Mr. Gebremariam concluded by noting that the airline stands tall even as the aviation sector in Africa has been losing money for about seven years now – a situation which has been compounded by only little state support made available for operators, strict boarder controls put in place by governments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of capital markets on the continent.