Carrier celebrates 40 yrs of service to China

Ethiopian made its maiden flight to Shanghai on February 21, 1973. [Photo / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, is pleased to be celebrating 40 years of uninterrupted service to China. When Ethiopian made its maiden flight to Shanghai on February 21, 1973, China was opening its doors. Ethiopian by then has been marking milestone including the introduction of the first jet service in Africa.

It was that jet -- Boeing 720 -- that carried the high level delegation on the inaugural flight to china. Ethiopian was the first African carrier and the fourth globally to fly to china.

Ethiopian inaugural flight to China was a momentous occasion and was recognized by Air Transport World which awarded Ethiopian "Route Pioneering Award" for its pioneering and cross continental flight.

Ethiopian continued its operations to china without interruption changing its operations from Shanghai to Beijing on November 7, 1973. Since then China has been a key market and continues to be one of the most important destinations for Ethiopian.

As trade, investment and tourism ties between China and Africa increased, so did Ethiopian operation. Throughout the years, Ethiopian added Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Hong Kong to serve the increase demands of its passengers.

Ethiopian currently operates 28 flights a week to these four destinations in China, the most it flies to any country. With China-Africa relations at an all-time high and forecast to continue on upward trajectory, Ethiopian is continuing to enhance its products and services to cater to the needs of the traveling public by availing the best possible connections between Africa and China.