borkena,Ethiopian News
October 9,2017
In a statement published on its website today, Ethiopian Airlines announced today that it is voted as “Middle East and Africa Airline of the Year 2017”The recognition came from Airline Economics Magazine and it was announced at a Gala Dinner held in Dubai on October 3, 2017.
Ethiopian Airlines wrote:
“Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest airline group in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as Middle East and Africa Airline of the Year 2017 by Airline Economics, the largest aviation finance and leasing print publication in the world, at a Gala Dinner held in Dubai on October 3, 2017.”
Airline Economics Magazine selected winners in “the Middle East & Africa Aviation Awards category” through customer survey. Airlines in the Middle East and Africa were surveyed for the competition.
Ethiopian Airlines says that it stood out as the best airline from the Middle East and Africa to claim what it called a “prestigious Award.”
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Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian airlines, is quoted as saying the following:
“It is a tremendous honour to be recognized as Airline of the Year and to stand out from among the major Middle East and African carriers thru a vote of the readers of one of the most renowned aviation magazines, Airline Economics. Although I am very happy by the several awards and recognitions that we have been receiving from all corners of the world, I am particularly inspired by this award since our remarkable success and fast growth in all aspects of our business has gradually started to position us in a leadership position outside the continent of Africa. I thank the leaders and the team at Airline Economics for the recognition. Likewise, I would like to thank our valued customers for their continued vote of confidence and support. I also thank our strong team of more than 12,000 colleagues for their special dedication and commitment to our beloved airline and our customers. We are working together to build one of the best Global Aviation Group by scaling up the unmatched and seamless connectivity of network between the Continent of Africa and the rest of the world with more than 100 international destinations operated by the most modern and less than 5 years old airplanes on average. Ethiopian Airlines Group is among the very few airlines in the world which has shown leadership in both of the most technologically advanced airplanes in the world today which are the B-787 Dream liners and the Airbus A-350s’.”
It is not clear why the competition is held well before the end of the year.
Locally, Ethiopian Airlines is critiqued by observers for ethnic based discriminatory practices and wastage of resources. Like key government and military positions, key Ethiopian Airlines are under pro-TPLF ethnic Tigray personnel. At least two employees of the airlines sought political asylum Europe in the past few years.
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