Ethiopian announces new service to Blantyre

Ethiopian Airlines is to start flying to Blantyre three times a week starting from the 31st March this year.

In a press statement released on 23 January, 2013, The Star Alliance member company made a brief announcement announcing the flights without further details.

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

Ethiopian Airlines remains the company with the most frequent flights into the country and currently has 10 flights a week ahead of the introduction of the Blantyre flights.

Last week, the Public-Private Partnerships Commission (PPPC), formerly known as the Privatisation Commission, unveiled Ethiopian Airlines as the winning bidder to partner the Malawi government in the operation of the new established Air Malawi (2012) Limited following the disbandment of the struggling Air Malawi.

The company, according to PPPC, beat two other companies, Fly Africa of South Africa and Global Business Networks of Botswana, with a score of 67 points against 61 and 59, respectively.

The PPPC said the company has, among other attributes, a better financial, job creation and airline business capability.