Global Atlanta
Trevor Williams
Friday February 10, 2023
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Ethiopian Airlines, the fast-growing flag carrier of the East African country of 115 million people, is set to launch Atlanta’s fourth nonstop flight to Africa — and the first passenger route operated here by an airline not named Delta.
Known for its extensive reach to eastern and southern Africa, Ethiopian will give Atlantans a direct connection to Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, starting May 16.
Airlines blogs like One Mile at a Time and Simple Flying had reported that Ethiopian was selling tickets on the four-times-weekly flight just as its schedule was posted on AeroRoutes, a site that scours private data sources and media reports for new routes.
The airline, which could not be reached immediately for comment, had not confirmed the flight until Thursday, when its CEO was cited in a Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport news release.
“This announcement is truly significant with Ethiopian Airlines being the largest African carrier to fly out of ATL,” said ATL Deputy General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer Jai Ferrell. “We are the gateway to the world and this collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines further illustrates our global commitment to our passengers and stakeholders.”
When it takes off May 16 from Addis Ababa, the plane will land briefly for refueling in Dublin. Addis Ababa’s high altitude reportedly requires affects planes’ performance, necessitating the pit stop. The nonstop flight out of Atlanta will first lift off the following day at 10:35 a.m.
Beyond Addis Ababa, the flight offers one-stop connectivity to a number of other under-served destinations in the region, underscoring Atlanta’s claim as a gateway to Africa.
The city’s Black business class, sizable African diaspora and revered civil rights legacy have long been touted as assets for American outreach to a continent of more than a billion people that is often positioned as the last great untapped market.
Addis also happens to host the secretariat of the 55-country African Union, whose ambassadors to the United States have made it a point to visit Atlanta regularly.
Atlanta’s Ethiopian diaspora is estimated at more than 12,000 people, some having been resettled as refugees during the conflict with Eritrea in the late 1990s, others moving in for better economic opportunities or to study at local universities.
The flight will begin Ethiopia implements a fragile peace deal signed in November to end a civil war that has been ravaging the country’s northern Tigray region for more than two years.
For Zeleka Workneh, an Ethiopia native and 20-year resident of Atlanta, visiting home was always at least a one-stop affair. She mostly headed through Frankfurt, Germany, on Lufthansa.
She tried taking Ethiopian once but found herself stranded in Washington on the way back after her connection with United Airlines, Ethiopian’s Star Alliance partner, was treated as a separate flight even though she was booked all the way through.
“Now, having Ethiopian airlines coming straight to Atlanta — it just makes life easier,” said Ms. Workneh, an accountant who recalls local efforts in the early 2000s to get an Ethiopian flight that never materialized.
Some airline bloggers and analysts cast doubt on the prospects for the flight, given that Ethiopian has no onward service from Atlanta and thus will rely on point-to-point traffic unless it can land a code-sharing deal with Delta. Some have rumored that the airlines are in such discussions.
The airline may not have to rely solely on what is one of the largest diasporas in the U.S., as Africa’s second most populous country has some strong humanitarian and educational links with the city, even if it’s not always top of mind for the business community.
Emory University has an office in Ethiopia, one of its strategic countries, while The Carter Center, whose staff often flies through Europe or via Turkish Airlines through Istanbul, has worked in the country for 30 years and has one of the largest nonprofit footprints there. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has operations on the ground in Addis.
More business could be forthcoming. Atlanta impact investors have targeted Ethiopia, which has sought to build up its manufacturing sector in recent years. Multinationals like Coca-Cola Co. have seen promise in the market as well.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce picked Atlanta earlier the launch city of Advance Africa, an initiative aimed at reviving American business and investment interest in the continent, which loomed large in a recent speech by U.S. EXIM Bank Chair Reta-Jo Lewis in Atlanta.
Atlanta is the fifth destination in the U.S. and sixth in North America for Ethiopian.
“We have been connecting the U.S. and Africa for 25 years now and the new service will help boost the investment, tourism, diplomatic and socioeconomic bonds between the two regions,” said Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew in the release. “As a pan-African carrier, we are committed to further expand our global network and connect Africa with the rest of the world. We are also keen to better serve the U.S. by increasing our destinations and flight frequencies.”
The airport is planning a celebration when the flight first takes off from Atlanta in mid-May.