Ethiopian Airlines has signed a tentative agreement to order five Boeing 777-8 freighters, to expand its cargo network from Addis Ababa.
The airline is already a 777 freighter operator.
Its memorandum of understanding will, if firmed, add to the total of 34 orders for the twinjet since its launch in January.
Ethiopian chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam says the aircraft will be “instrumental” to the carrier’s growth plans.
“In our vision 2035, we are planning to expand our cargo and logistics business to be one of the largest global multimodal logistics provider in all continents,” he says.
“We are increasing our dedicated Freighter fleet with the latest technology, fuel-efficient and environment-friendly aircraft.”
He adds that the company is developing an e-commerce hub terminal which, he claims, will be the largest in Africa.
Along with nine 777Fs the carrier’s freighter fleet includes three 737-800BCFs.
