Ethiopian Airlines begins flights to Moroni
Relief comes to citizens of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Union of the Comoros, as Ethiopian Airlines begins flights to the capital, Moroni. According to the arilines, the flights will be via Dar-es-Salam.
Ethiopian announced in August that it had finalized preparations to launch the flights “as of October 30, 2016.”
In a press release issued today Wednesday November 2, 2016 and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the airlines said it has begun thrice-weekly services to Moroni, making it the 53rd African city served by the airlines.
When the news broke in August, citizens of the archipelago, welcomed it with great expectations and relief. Information reaching ghanabusinessnews.com from the island following the story on the announcement of Ethiopian flights indicated that most citizens of the Comoros view the development positively, as it would mean possibly cheaper airfares and convenient travelling.
More than 350,000 Comorans live abroad and more than 200,000 of them in France alone.
While flights from France to hubs like Dar-es-Salam and Nairobi on other airlines are cheaper, flights connecting from these cities to Moroni are expensive.
Currently, the Comoros has no national career. Most airlines operating on the island are privately owned and tickets are expensive.
The state-owned airlines, in its 70th year operates over 240 flights daily from its hub in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. In the 2014/2015 fiscal year, Ethiopian Airlines made $175 million in profits, and this is more than the profit made by all airlines in Africa combined.
It is also planning to increase its fleet to 140 planes by 2025 when it expects to be generating over $10 billion on annual revenue. The airline currently has 76 planes and recently announced plans to increase this by 60 per cent by buying 44 new aircraft.
The services to Moroni, the airlines said, will be with its latest B737-800 New Generation with Sky Interior.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
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