Ethiopian Airlines: How Africa's Largest Airline Built Its Hub in Addis Ababa

From Small Regional Carrier to the Continent's Leading Airline

A Star Alliance member since December 2011, the third African airline to join the alliance, Ethiopian Airlines has built over the decades a hub model in Addis Ababa designed specifically to capture traffic between Europe, Asia and the rest of Africa, exploiting the country's central geographic position on the continent.

One of Africa's Most Modern Fleets

The fleet numbers around 170 aircraft, with a modern core of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350-900s for long-haul, alongside Boeing 777s, 737s (including the MAX version) and 767s on medium-haul and cargo routes: one of the youngest and most diversified fleets among African airlines.

East Africa's True Intercontinental Hub

With 145 international destinations and 22 domestic, plus 70 cargo destinations, Ethiopian Airlines' network is ranked fourth in the world by number of countries connected: a figure that makes it the most natural transit point for anyone traveling between Europe, Asia and much of sub-Saharan Africa.

On Board and the ShebaMiles Program

The cabins offer several levels of service with inflight entertainment and dedicated lounges at the main airports, while the ShebaMiles loyalty program, named after the legendary Queen of Sheba, lets you earn miles on a network that few other African carriers can offer.

What passengers say

Regular travelers through Addis Ababa value above all the convenience of connections to African destinations that are otherwise hard to reach directly from Europe, and the comfort of the 787/A350 fleet on long-haul routes. Among the most recurring complaints are sometimes long transit times at Bole airport during peak hours and baggage handling judged less efficient than at other major international hubs.

Ethiopian Airlines is the most logical choice for anyone who needs to reach a secondary African destination that is hard to link directly from Europe, thanks to a network no other carrier on the continent can match. It is less suitable for anyone with a very tight connection in Addis Ababa during peak hours, when transfer times between flights lengthen noticeably.

If your connection at Bole is under two hours, consider an earlier flight: in the busiest time slots, security screening and terminal transfer times can exceed what the official minimum connection time suggests.