Ethiopian in talks with Airbus for Widebody, Regional Jet Order

Ethiopian Airlines Group is in early talks with Airbus SE to purchase regional and widebody aircraft as Africa’s largest carrier looks to expand its foothold on the continent and beyond.

The state-owned carrier is considering an order for half a dozen Airbus A350 jets along with about 20 of the smaller A220 model, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Considerations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty that Ethiopian will go ahead with an order or in what quantities it might buy aircraft, the people cautioned.

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Ethiopian Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Airbus said it’s in regular contact with existing and potential customers, and the nature of these discussions is confidential.

The 80-year-old carrier has ambitions to become a global connector rivalling giants Turkish Airlines and Emirates. The company is working on a multi-billion-dollar airport with the capacity to handle 60 million passengers annually, with plans to expand that to 110 million by 2036.

The aviation industry is going through one of its most difficult periods as the Iran war creates disruptions from airspace closures to soaring jet-fuel prices. Yet, the shift in global traffic away from the Persian Gulf could present an opportunity for Ethiopian and other African carriers to attract more travellers away from the Middle East hubs.

An agreement with Ethiopian would allow Airbus to have a bigger presence at a carrier whose fleet is dominated by Boeing Co. Ethiopian has a fleet of 150 jets, including 90 Boeing 737s, 777s and 787s, 26 Airbus A350s and around 50 turboprops, according to planespotters.net.

The airline also has more than 60 jets on order from the US company.

Airbus has been promoting the A220, a program that lost orders in 2024, more aggressively with carriers across the world. AirAsia bought 150 of the model last week, marking the largest single order for the Canadian-made aircraft.