Ethiopian selects initial 787 routes; confirms Guangzhou as first long-haul 787 destination

Ethiopian Airlines has decided on its first set of routes for its new Boeing 787 fleet, which will be placed into service in June. The carrier will initially deploy its first 787 on short/medium-haul flights to Dubai and Johannesburg from June before using the type on its first long-haul route, to Guangzhou, from August. Ethiopian, which will be the first airline to operate 787s in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, also plans to use its first batch of four 787s to serve Harare in Zimbabwe and Lusaka in Zambia.

CAPA initially reported in June that Ethiopian intended to make Guangzhou one of its first 787 destinations. In December, CAPA reported that Guangzhou remained high on its list of potential 787 routes but Ethiopian was also considering using 787s to serve Hong Kong and to open potential new destinations in Asia including Chongqing in China, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.