Ethiopian Airlines takes delivery of 30th Dash 8-400 aircraft

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited delivered another two Dash 8-400 aircraft to Ethiopian Airlines. The 30th aircraft – MSN 4617 – is preparing to depart for Ethiopian's hub in Addis Ababa, along with aircraft MSN 4615. Ethiopian first welcomed the Dash 8-400 aircraft into its fleet in March 2010.

"Ethiopian has taken tremendous positive steps to strengthen their capabilities with the acquisition of the first Dash 8-400 simulator for Africa and by recently adding a second simulator; achieving recognition as an Authorized Service Facility; and proving the value of a business class configuration on regional aircraft in Africa,” said Sameer Adam, Regional Vice President, Sales – Europe and Russia, Middle East, Africa, and South America/Caribbean. “We certainly look forward to more examples of Ethiopian's continuing leadership and the success of their ongoing strategic partnerships with ASKY Airlines, Malawi Airlines, Ethiopian Moçambique Airlines and Tchadia Airlines in the operation of Dash 8-400 aircraft across Africa.”

The fleet of over 155 Dash 8 Series aircraft in Africa includes more than 90 Dash 8-400 aircraft. Worldwide, more than 155 airlines, leasing companies and other organizations have ordered almost 1,300 Dash 8 aircraft.

Fire reported aboard Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending an agency representative to London's Heathrow airport to assist in investigating a fire aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The incident closed the airport for a period of time on Friday.

“The runways are now fully re-opened, following an earlier internal fire on-board an aircraft,” airport officials reported on Heathrow's website. “All arrivals and departures were earlier temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attended to the incident. Flights are now operating, but will be subject to delay. The Metropolitan Police Service have advised that there were no passengers on board and no reported injuries.”

The worldwide fleet of 787s was grounded in January due to a series of issues with batteries used aboard the passenger jet. United Airlines put their 787s back into service on May 20 on routes from Houston to other domestic hubs. United then added international 787 flying on the Denver-Tokyo route June 10.

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