Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) has taken delivery of its first B737-800(F) freighter following the handing over of ex-Corendon Airlines jet (msn 29121) on March 1, 2019.
The 20-year-old, P2F-converted jet is one of two the Horn of Africa-based carrier will lease from GECAS. The pair were originally due to have been delivered in June 2018 and January 2019 respectively.
"The B737-800 Freighter will give us a new capability to serve short-haul destinations in African and the Middle East more economically which includes the export of Ethiopian meat, fruits and vegetables to the Gulf Region," the CEO of the Ethiopian Aviation Holding Group, Tewolde GebreMariam, said.
Ethiopian's cargo operations currently include nine B777-Fs with one more due to deliver from Boeing (BOE, Washington National).
The carrier's last B737 freighter, B737-400(F) ET-AQV (msn 28493), was written off following a landing incident in Accra, Ghana, in January 2015.
