Guardian

Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, has announced further expansion of its service to the continent with new flights to Blantyre, Malawi and Ndola, Zambia.

Blantyre is the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi.It will be Ethiopian Airlines’ 44th destination in Africa and the second in Malawi next to Lilongwe.

The new schedule of three flights per week will begin on March 31st, 2013. Ndola, the third largest city in Zambia, is the industrial and commercial centre in the copper belt of the country.

Ndola will be Ethiopian’s 45th African and the 72nd international destination. It will also be its second destination in Zambia next to Lusaka.The new schedule of three flights per week will again begin at the end of March.

The Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam said, “Ethiopian, as a flagship carrier of Africa, is pleased to add Blantyre and Ndola to its wide route network and to offer passengers to and from these cities the best possible connectivity through its Addis Ababa hub”.

Passengers travelling to and from Blantyre and Ndola will enjoy smooth connections to destinations in Ethiopian Airlines’ route network such as Washington, D.C, Toronto, London, Hong Kong, and Dubai, among many others.

Earlier,Travelport, the business services provider to the travel industry and Ethiopian Airlines have announced the renewal of their long-term Operator Agreement, which will see the flag carrier of Ethiopia continue to distribute Travelport’s Galileo products and services in the country.

The exclusive five-year agreement cements the longstanding relationship between Travelport and Ethiopian Airlines and underlines the strategic importance of this east Africa region. According to Travelport figures, Ethiopia represents one of the fastest growing Global Distribution Systems (GDS) industries in Africa, demonstrating a 24 per cent year-on-year growth (2011 to 2012).

As a result of the new deal, Galileo customers in Ethiopia will continue to benefit from Ethiopian Airlines’ regional expertise and Travelport’s latest products and solutions including Travelport Smartpoint – the next generation booking tool, which has already gained great popularity among travel agents across the Middle East and Africa.

The Managing Director for Travelport, Africa, Mark Meehan said: “Since starting our operations in Ethiopia in 1997, Travelport has always maintained a strong position here, and this part of Africa remains a highly significant area of investment for us”.

“We now look forward to building on our successful relationship with Ethiopian Airlines, bringing new top of the range Travelport products and services to our customers, and continuing to grow, Travelport presence in this important part of the world.”

“Ethiopian Airlines has always enjoyed a successful partnership with Travelport and we look forward to working closely in launching new products and services for travel agents in the country”, said Gebremariam,

“Together, Travelport and Ethiopian Airlines will continue to deliver a winning combination of leading technology and regional expertise to benefit the travel agent community in Ethiopia”, he added.