Ethiopian Airlines says it will be more than happy to be reinvited to assist the Ghanaian government in establishing its own National Carrier.
Mr Lemma Yadecha Gudeta, the Commercial Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, said, “We used to engage with the Government of Ghana for the establishment of a national carrier here sometime back.”
The Commercial Manager told the Ghana News Agency that the Airline participated in a bid where they were one of the companies shortlisted to go for further discussion and some issues happened in between.
He said Ethiopian Airlines felt that it was its national obligation as an African carrier to support any start-up national carriers on the African Continent.
“Therefore, whenever the Ghanaian government is ready, and if they believe that Ethiopian Airlines can make a difference, we will be more than happy to assist, because it is not about business or commercial ventures,” he added.
The Commercial Manager said It was all about making Africa self-sufficient in air transport, therefore, it was strongly its obligation, and it would be more than happy to be part of the journey that the Ghanaian government was going in establishing the National Carrier.
He said the Airline was supporting some countries to establish their national career and they did that in Togo with ASKY, the most successful airline in the Western part of Africa, currently operating a huge number of flights with 15 Aircraft.
“We (Ethiopian Airlines) are the ones managing ASKY and it’s a success story,” he added.
He said currently, they were managing the Zambian Airways, coupled with that of the Malawian Airlines and they were also in discussion with other African Countries to establish a National Carrier.
He said currently, the Airline was serving the Ghanaian market with 11 flights per week, and “we are going to increase that to 14 flights per week.”
“Your company, I said your company because we strongly believe that Ethiopian Airlines might be by the name Ethiopian, but it is an African carrier, and it is our obligation to serve the public in Africa,” he added.
The Commercial Manager said the Airline strongly believes that it must reach all Cities in Africa and by deepening its footprint by increasing frequencies.
He said Ethiopian Airlines was currently operating 145 airplanes and had enough capacity to serve its patrons in Ghana and beyond.
Mr Gudeta said Ethiopian Airlines was currently undergoing serious expansion in Africa and the rest of the world, because it had crafted vision 2035, and “we are working to make Ethiopian Airlines a $25 billion yearly revenue company and we are planning to fly to 209 stations across the globe.”
GNA