Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
India

Ethiopia's India connect grows: A Dreamliner named Taj Mahal

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 20 Jul, 2014 07:12 AM
    In what is being seen as a recognition of the heavy traffic generated on its routes to the Indian subcontinent, the flagship carrier of the East African nation of Ethiopia has named its newest Boeing 787 Dreamliner after India's most famous monument.
     
    The Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has named its eighth 787 Dreamliner after the Taj Mahal, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's monument of love to his wife. This is the first time that the airline has named an aircraft of its Dreamliner fleet after a historical or heritage site outside of Africa.
     
    To meet the demand from the Indian market, Ethiopian Airlines has decided to operate big-bodied aircraft connecting this Ethiopian capital. Officials said the airline has already deployed the 787 Dreamliner and is exploring new direct destinations in India.
     
    More than 13 million people travel out of India every year. Hence, with its large African network, ET hopes that it will be in a position to benefit from the heavy tourism business from India and the large number of those travelling across the region.
     
    Ethiopian, which currently flies daily to New Delhi and twice daily to Mumbai, is also looking at other Indian destinations like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
     
    It also has a code sharing agreement with Air India and is set to start services to the south Indian city of Chennai, which it considers to be a gateway to a larger market.
     
    ET has named its previous seven Boeing 787s as Africa First, Lucy, Queen of Sheba, Lake Tana, Walia Ibex and Serengeti, all Ethiopian and African sites.
     
    "In doing so we are heralding the renaissance of Africa globally and we will continue promoting iconic international figures found in the destinations we serve," the ET official said.
     
    "This will also strengthen our already established relations with India as we have an increasing number of Indian travellers." 
     
    "As a pan African airline, ET is reflecting the global vision and scope of its services through such a naming," an official from ET told IANS. "This is to also show ET's commitment to recognise the world's famous places by carrying their names globally," he added.
     
    ET is the first African carrier to put Boeing's new state-of-the-art airplane into regular service in Africa. The first arrived last December and Ethiopian has nine more on order. This comes as Ethiopian becomes the 26th member of the Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance. 

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Punjab to bring e-stamping to phase out stamp papers

    Punjab to bring e-stamping to phase out stamp papers
    Aiming to eliminate the need to purchase and submit stamp papers with legal documents, the Punjab cabinet Tuesday gave nod to the draft of the state e-stamp rules, 2014 for the implementation of e-stamping system.

    Punjab to bring e-stamping to phase out stamp papers

    Tech, commerce to power Indian Railways in future

    Tech, commerce to power Indian Railways in future
    Bullet trains are set to become a reality in India with the first service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government sought to run Indian Railways - one of the world's largest - like a "commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization".

    Tech, commerce to power Indian Railways in future

    91 Punjabis return from Iraq

    91 Punjabis return from Iraq
    At least 91 men from Punjab who were stuck in conflict-hit Iraq have returned home, a state government spokesman said here Tuesday.

    91 Punjabis return from Iraq

    Punjab rides 'HIGH' on pharmaceutical intoxicants

    Punjab rides 'HIGH' on pharmaceutical intoxicants
    The increasing seizures of drugs, especially heroin, in recent years shows that Punjab has emerged as a major transit point for those in the illegal drugs trade. But the state itself, facing a worrying drugs menace, is hooked to pharmaceutical intoxicants.

    Punjab rides 'HIGH' on pharmaceutical intoxicants

    Where is Breaking News? Modi government tightens grip on information

    Where is Breaking News? Modi government tightens grip on information
    Among the subtle changes associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government are those dealing with the media and nowhere has it affected a news-hungry media's working more than in the way news sources from the government have completely dried up and resulted in shrinking of the culture of intermittent Breaking News on television.

    Where is Breaking News? Modi government tightens grip on information

    Badal to again meet Sushma for Punjabi hostages in Iraq

    Badal to again meet Sushma for Punjabi hostages in Iraq
    Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday said he will again meet Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and urge her to expedite the process of bringing back 39 Punjabis trapped in the Mosul region of conflict affected Iraq.

    Badal to again meet Sushma for Punjabi hostages in Iraq