Ethiopian Airlines to expand its Airbus fleet with an order for 6 additional A350-900s
November 18, 2025
Ethiopian Airlines added to its tally at this year’s Dubai Airshow with an order for six additional Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft.
The order, when combined with the 26 examples of the A350 that the airline currently operates, cements the carrier’s position as the continent of Africa’s largest A350 operator.
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Ethiopian Airlines adds more Airbus A350s
This agreement was signed at the Dubai Airshow by Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO and Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus’ EVP Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business.
“We are delighted to expand our Airbus fleet size with this order and strengthen our partnership with Airbus,” commented Mesfin Tasew. “As the continent’s leading airline and the largest operator of the A350, this milestone order further supports our vision to grow sustainably while providing a world-class travel experience to our passengers and strengthening our position as the aviation leader in Africa.”
“We are proud to further deepen our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, a long-standing Airbus customer and a benchmark for aviation excellence in Africa,” added Benoit de Saint-Exupéry. “The A350’s state-of-the-art technology, efficiency and versatility will bring even greater value to Ethiopian’s operations.”
Equipping for further growth
Ethiopian Airlines, as the fastest-growing airline in Africa, has been an A350 operator since January 2016. Its current fleet of 26 aircraft is made up of 22 A350-900s plus 4 of the larger A350-1000 variant.
These aircraft can accommodate 343 and 395 passengers respectively, all in a two-class configuration.
The introduction of the A350 into the carrier’s fleet served two purposes. Firstly, it released ageing Boeing 767-300ERs from the fleet, but also has allowed for rapid international expansion for the Addis Ababa-based carrier. The airline currently operates 268 routes and serves 167 destinations across 87 countries.
The announcement of the order for more A350s came as the carrier’s second large aircraft order of the Dubai Airshow 2025. On the first day of the event, the company announced it had exercised options for more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
The airline firmed up an order for a further 11 of the aircraft, all coming from the MAX 8 variant of the US planemaker’s 737 family of single-aisle jets.
