Ethiopian Shelves Plane Deals, Maps Out Privatization Plan

100-seater requirement on hold as demand favors bigger jets
Hotel, logistics arms ripe for outside investment, CEO says

The Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise logo sits on display during a news conference at the ITB travel fair at Messe Berlin exhibition center in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday, March 6, 2014. Ethiopian Airlines said it will locate its fourth hub in the Democratic Republic of Congo as Africa's No. 2 carrier seeks to tap Chinese economic links and fill long-haul flights to destinations such as Brazil.Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi

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By Nizar Manek

July 16, 2018 at 3:00 AM UTC

Updated on

July 16, 2018 at 1:22 PM UTC

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Ethiopian Airlines Group has shelved plans to establish a fleet of smaller jetliners as gains in demand suggest that the routes where they’d be deployed would be better served using larger planes.

Africa’s biggest airline had been looking at Bombardier Inc.’s C Series aircraft -- since taken over by Airbus SE and renamed the A220 -- together with Embraer SA’s E195. An order, which had been mooted as likely at this week’s Farnborough air show, is now off the agenda, Chief Executive Officer Tewolde GebreMariam said in an interview.