By Business & Finance 
Fasil Admasu, Ethiopian Airlines Station Manager; Tony Flynn, Ethiopian Airlines Sales Manager Ireland (ROI & NI); Meseret Tekalign, Ethiopian Airlines Country Manager (ROI & NI); Emer Hall, 1 millionth passenger and partner; Cormac O’Connell, General Manager Customer Relationships Dublin Airport; Maria Booyens, Ethiopian Airlines Operations Manager; Lorcan Keegan, Ethiopian Airlines Sales Executive
Africa’s largest aviation group last week celebrated a milestone in reaching one million passengers in Dublin.
Ethiopian Airlines figures have grown by 37%, load factor increased by 26% and business class traffic went up a huge 79%.
It operates a four-times weekly direct service from Dublin to LA and Dublin to Addis Ababa, with onward connection to 55 African and 26 international destinations.
The airline has been in operation since 1946 and in 2017 received the ‘Best Airline in Africa’ and a 4-star certification from SKYTRAX.
In June 2015, Ethiopian Airlines first entered the Irish marketplace and was the first airline to operate the Dreamliner out of Dublin and the only carrier out of Dublin Airport to connect the three continents of Africa, Europe and North America.
The Country Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, Meseret Tekalign, said: “Ethiopian’s steady growth since entering into the Irish market in June 2015 can be attributed to offering more choice of routes to Irish travellers with fares that are consistently competitive.
“We knew coming into a market that had little awareness of Ethiopian would have its challenges, however, we’ve worked hard at overcoming them and we’re now seeing positive results. With passenger numbers increasing month-on-month, we added a fourth service in June 2017 to our Dublin to Los Angeles and Dublin to Addis Ababa routes and that increase in schedule means we are now attracting both leisure and business traffic.”
Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said: “I want to congratulate Ethiopian Airlines on reaching this significant milestone. Ethiopian lunched direct services from Addis Ababa to Dublin and on to Los Angeles in June 2015 so it is particularly impressive that the airline has reached one million passengers in such a short period of time.
“This strong passenger growth is testament to the popularity of Ethiopian Airlines, which also offer connecting destinations in Africa through its Addis Ababa hub. We will continue to work closely with Ethiopian to ensure its continued success in the Irish market.”
